Yeah, they dress up the "Vidler on the Roof" from time to time.
So, today is Vidler’s 80th Anniversary celebration in East Aurora, NY. Louisa and I didn’t stop in to check it out, but we did get to drive past the busy store and Main Street sidewalks. While driving, we managed to capture the photo above. Never a dull moment in East Aurora!
Manatee at Blue Spring
We enjoyed breakfast at the hotel, and then headed out in search of the elusive manatee. We drove towards Blue Spring State Park and decided to head along the board walk. We heard rumors that there were manatees in the spring, and knew we had a chance to see some. At the end of the board walk was a small pool – and a manatee! It was just lazily swimming around… and then went back down the stream. So, we followed it, and eventually found some more manatees – and manatee babies, too! Well, they looked like mini baby blimps, but they were still very cool to see. We also saw one manatee that had been tagged with a little ring around its tail, and a boat attached to the ring by a cord. This manatee was a bit of a showoff, and did several barrel rolls.
Armadillo!
We also saw Canaveral National Seashore. It was a bit cool on the ocean, but that didn’t stop us from wandering up and down a pretty stretch of beach. We also saw our favorite tiny shorebirds, sanderlings. Since they hunt in packs, we nicknamed them “tiny raptors.” We also saw several (live!) armadillos eating grass (?) on the side of the road. Apparently they’re quite tame; some people even pet them. We didn’t, since we wanted them to remain semi-wild, but we had fun watching them.
Sunset at the marina.
We attempted to drive to the other section of the park; however, by then it was 5:45 and the gate was closed. However, we did see the entrance to Kennedy Space Center, a pretty sunset… and dolphins! We were driving over a drawbridge, when Louisa spotted a black shape jump out of an inlet. We parked near a group of fishermen/construction workers, and walked up a (closed due to construction?) bridge so we could watch the dolphin playing in the water. We also had a great view of the sunset.
We got back to Orlando in time for dinner and ate some good seafood at a restaurant (Boston’s Fish House) Tony had discovered on his recent trip to FL. After dinner we walked around downtown Disney, and eventually made our way back to the hotel.
The next day we began the long drive back to VA. Of course, we timed our drive so we would get to our favorite GA BBQ place in time to get burnt ends for lunch. It was a welcome break, especially since we encountered rain for the vast majority of the drive. We had a great whirlwind trip of FL. 
Watch out! This baby gator could bite a finger off!
Today we made our way over to the Gulf coast and then inland to Orlando. The day began with another stop in the Everglades. We drove into the northern section of the park, and stopped at the Shark Valley visitor center. We walked part of the tram tour road, and saw a variety of alligators and birds – little blue herons, more annhingas (and babies!), a baby gator, a Limpkin, and a white ibis. At some point, we realized we had no idea how long the road was, and that we were so excited about seeing more gators and birds that we left the water in the car, so we retraced our steps. This was a fortunate decision, because at this time Tony spotted a baby gator on a rock a foot or two off the path.
Palm trees are the norm in Florida.
After our hike through the Everglades, we continued our drive to the Gulf and Naples, FL. We reached Naples around lunchtime, and soon remembered that we dislike large cities with lots of traffic. However, we did stop to eat at Bravo!’s, and enjoyed our food and chance to relax.
This heron actually stayed put until the sun went down.
Following an enjoyable lunch, we continued our drive toward Sanibel Island. We made the mistake of driving through Fort Meyer’s Beach… an extra 30 minutes was added to our trip due a two-lane road with a traffic cop but no traffic light. Anyone remember the opening scene to Office Space? Kind of like that, in miniature. However, we eventually made it through the traffic, up the bridge, and onto Sanibel Island. This island was pretty crowded (it was maybe an hour before sunset), so we continued driving to the end of the island. We found a small beach, parked our car, and wandered out to enjoy the sunset. There were about 2 dozen other people on the beach, as well as a very tall great blue heron. We watched the sunset; the heron also watched the sunset with us.
Then, we began our trek to Orlando.
Sunrise over the Atlantic
This morning we got up early and headed out in search of the sunrise. Tony found a great state park… unfortunately, it didn’t open until sunrise. Louisa did not think they would open early, so we left and drove in a different direction; that direction led us to a power plant, which was closed to the public. (Some power plants have viewing stations for visitors set up along the water.) It was not yet sunrise, so we drove back to the park; it was open and we found a parking lot with an overlook , and some palm trees, along the Atlantic. We enjoyed watching the sun rise, it was a perfect morning.
Probably the clearest water we've ever seen.
Our next destination was Key West. The road through the Keys is mostly 2 lanes, which means you’re along for the drive with all the slow-moving traffic. As we were driving through a work zone, we saw a nesting bald eagle. We also stopped for a nice breakfast at Doc’s Diner near Key Largo. Another highlight of the drive was finding a little beach on the left (Gulf) side of the road. There were only about 12 parking spaces, but several were open… it was sunny, warm, and we needed a break from the traffic. There was a board walk with individual picnic tables, shelters, and beach access built into the boardwalk; it would have been a nice spot to picnic, had that been our goal. However, we wanted to play in the water. Another guy wading through the water showed us a mini crab he caught; it was about the size of a thumb nail. He carried it around before releasing it again.
Fierce. Be afraid little minnows... Be very afraid.
The water itself was very clear, warm, and the area was sandy – perfect for wading. We also saw some tadpoles swim by. Louisa decided to try to catch some. A reddish egret flying by swooped in and landed about 15 feet away. The bird proceeded to fish for the tadpoles, in much the same fashion that Louisa was. Tony managed to catch the bird on video, before it flew off.
After those adventures, we continued on our way along the keys. We drove over a lot of smaller, less populated keys. We also did a U-turn to go look at some osprey nesting about 1/4 mile off the road.
The beginning of the Keys Highway.
Once we reached Key West, we parked in a parking garage near the edge of town, and went in search of lunch. We walked down the main tourist street; most people were not Spring breakers, but after lunch we did see two tour trolleys, full of Spring breakers, including one guy go running to catch his trolley.
This chicken was delicious... I mean friendly.
For lunch we went to Blue Heaven. The food was great; Tony had a lobster sandwich, and Louisa had a shrimp sandwich with Gulf shrimp. Louisa also greatly enjoyed the potato salad. We ate outside, under large trees. On a side note, chickens roam around Key West, including inside the courtyard where we were eating. It was quite interesting. One of the roosters was talkative. For dessert we split a slice of Key Lime pie. The meringue topping was literally 3″ high, and the filling was tart and good.
Cool house in Key West.
After lunch we wandered around downtown; we found the rundown section, and decided to go get coffee rather than being in that area. In our defense, we were attempting to get to the water, but decided that coffee sounded good. We walked by some historic buildings, some “interesting” buildings (nudist bar, anyone?) and arrived at Coffee Plantation, a really cool little coffee place with some great coffee. We got a coffee and a mocha, relaxed for awhile, and then continued on our exploration of Key West.
By now it was getting closer to sunset, so we walked over to the pier by the waterfront. We were less than thrilled to see three huge cruise ships blocking our view. However, they eventually chugged out of port before the (slightly cloudy) sunset began. There were a few other people, including some Spring breakers, by the pier with us. Two were playing with a soccer ball – it bounced off the pier and under a boat. We greatly enjoyed watching one of the guys use a mooring line to lasso the ball and safely retrieve it.
Pelican at sunset.
The sunset itself was cloudy but very pretty. We really enjoyed getting to watch the sun sink behind the clouds. After watching the sun set, we walked a few blocks over to the Rooftop Cafe. We were given a table on the outside balcony, overlooking the hustle and bustle of the street below. There was also a large tree that appeared to have grown around the restaurant; it had been decorated with white lights. The food was excellent. They served some great crusty french bread with butter, and we began with some drinks – a coco-mango mojito (good) and a key lime colada (great). Tony ordered the scallops special, and Louisa had mahi with chutney, seasoned rice, and other good things. We split a key lime pie for dessert – it was wonderful, with a slightly tart interior, a thick and buttery crumb crust, and a light and fluffy meringue topping.
Delicious.
After dinner, we walked back to our car via the pier, and watched the boats’ reflections in the still water. The drive back to the hotel was not too crowded by this time, and we enjoyed our drive back through the keys under the black sky.
The best time for birding is during the dry season (Nov-Mar).
The next day we began our drive further south, towards the Everglades. We reached the park after a few hours of driving, during which we managed to bypass Miami. We drove in through the eastern entrance of the park, and stopped at the first visitor center to get a map and orient ourselves.
The gators were plentiful at Royal Palm.
We decided to drive in a bit, and stopped at Royal Palm on the way to Flamingo. People were wandering around with large cameras, so we figured this would be a good first destination. We walked over to the concrete path, and were immediately greeted by an alligator sitting at the base of an overlook. We watched the gator for a bit, and then continued to wander along the path.
Vultures were also plentiful.
We saw a little blue heron, several other gators, and then about 12 gators and half a dozen black vultures causing a ruckus. The gators didn’t mind, but they could have eaten the birds, if they had wanted to. We also saw several anhingas drying themselves. These birds were quite common in the Everglades.
Gators weren't the only animals in search of food.
The overlook with the dozen gators was rather crowded, so we kept walking along the path. We were rewarded with seeing some more gators swimming lazily through the water, as well as some sunning themselves. We overheard that there were an abnormally large number of gators there; perhaps because it was the dry season. We walked back around to the overlook with all the gators, and enjoyed watching them for awhile. Before the trip, Louisa was skeptical about seeing gators.
These owls were shy, but fun to watch.
In search of more wildlife and fun, we decided to stop at Mahogany Hammock about halfway through the park. This spot provided shade, in addition to a great nesting spot for 2 young barred owls.
Osprey nesting at Flamingo.
We then continued on to Flamingo. Most places there were closed, since they were damaged by a hurricane several years ago. However, we did see a pair of nesting osprey, some white pelicans, and a very pretty sunset.
We are no longer in a heat advisory - SC is now in an "excessive heat warning" with temps (plus humidity) reaching 115 F. I think the almost 10 pounds of fruit I bought may have been a bit excessive. The peaches ripening on my table think otherwise.
Saw an Anhinga attempting to eat a fish this morning. I think it was having problems. http://bit.ly/b3qJrq
