steelrat60's blog post - Florida trip

Hi friends and other interested parties. The time has come to bore you all with a brief recounting of my trip to Florida.

First of all, Heydidyagrabmyass....

I want to thank you for opening your home to me and feeding me for almost 3 weeks. You make good food, bro. I had an awesome time hanging out with you. I got to see the real Florida.

Grab immediately warned me of the first danger posed to Floridians, those damned fire ants. An innocuous pile of sand holds a painful surprise if you happen to stand on one. Those damned things are everywhere. I heeded that warning and paid great attention to where I put my feet.

One of my main goals was to see wild alligators. The road from Grab's place to town passes a cow pasture with a small watering hole. I was watching for wildlife, spotted some turtles sunning and there it was, that shape. "There's an alligator, Grab." I say. He goes, "are ya sure, bro?"
I was sure.
We stopped, took a couple pics. (when I get the time I will try to post a pic here) We estimated the size to be about 4-5 feet. I made no attempt to get close, I wasn't up to wading through 50 feet of swamp and climbing a fence in flip-flops. Besides, they tend to vanish into the water if you get too close.
Success was mine! I spotted an alligator, the first of many.

Florida teems with birds. A short list of the ones I saw were: Snowy egret, sandhill crane, ibis, osprey, red shouldered hawk, cormorant and many others I failed to identify.

Lizards and geckos and frogs. Everywhere.

Florida is a spit of.... sand. Were it not for the lakes, ponds, canals, ditches and other drainage solutions, Floridians would be knee deep in water every time it rained. A very large percentage of these depressions in the sand are connected with culverts, allowing pretty free travel for water critters. Therefore, almost any body of water will have an alligator. If it does not yet have an alligator, it soon will. Grab lives on a lake, which is pretty common in Florida. I saw at least three 'gators in his lake, one about 6-7 ft and two babies about 12-14 inches. Once you see the profile of that 'gator head, you can't miss it. Even harder to miss the big one sunning in the grass.

The lakes have fish, a good variety. I could stand on the bank and see catfish and pickerel feeding in the shallows. Grab likes to fish at dusk, catch and release.

We did some touristy stuff. The trip to the Navy Seal Museum was awesome, all those weapons and gear and fascinating watercraft. There was a trip down Indian River Drive, across the bridge to Hutchinson Island and up the A1A.

A trip to Florida is not complete without souvenirs. We shopped goodwill. I do love a bargain. Mine says "Okeechobee Shooting Sports". It was $2.29 US. I was unable to find a Florida Shirt for my lady but it's all good, she loved the Caribbean 'T' I found. As I thumbed through the hangers I was surprised by a shirt that was 3000 miles away from home. Mt Hood Oregon. I'm wearing it now, I had to bring it back.

I have to close here, I may add more text and some pictures later. I may not.

Steelrat