Monday, March 3, 2008

Day 1

For the past 2 weeks we hosted our good friends from Germany. We knew that they were both athletic and adventurous, but they totally wore us out!!! For the next few days I will show you just some of the things we did on their vacation!


One morning we ventured into Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and took the 2.25-mile raised boardwalk through four distinct environments: a pine upland, a wet prairie, a cypress forest, and a marsh. Encountered quite a number of wildlife but no bears! Whew!
Click here if you want to take their virtual tour.


That evening we took a boat to Big Hickory Island and went swimming in Estero Bay as the fog rolled in. We had to leave sooner than expected as the fog became a safety concern for the boat trip back.
Believe it or not, we considered spending the night on the beach ;-)

15 comments:

Troop 1309 said...

Very nice photos! It would have been an adventure to spend the night on the beach!

rauf said...

Hi Izzidee, you have captured a miracle.
Is the bird (egret ?) walking on water ?

Josy said...

Heron, egret, stork, I can't tell 'em apart (though I my guess is for a heron), but this is a fantastic photo. I've certainly never managed to get that close to wildlife!

Nikon said...

I like the foggy beach & the waves - nice shot.
The heron is in a very colorful bit of water - I wouldn't want to go barefoot in that, though :-)

Peter said...

Not too many alligators and snakes in the swamp? I have some souvenirs from the Everglades (MANY years ago), somehow with mixed feelings!

In any case, I'm sure you guests were impressed!

Anonymous said...

You are the perfect host. Nice photo and the foggy ocean is nice too.

Chris said...

Spending the night on the beach would be wonderful. . . . .

How is your weather? Sonny boy of mine broke his hand over the weekend, and I may be heading that way (if he needs surgery).

Lynette said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

What a beautiful shot of the bird! The water looks invigorating.

Shammickite said...

Spending the night on the beach really appeals to me, but not in the cold damp fog.
And I don't know if Baby Callum resembles me... but her certainly has a lot to say at times!

kuanyin333 said...

I'm laughing because I know all too well the hosting experience--our guests too seem to have sooo much energy, and by the time they leave us, we're pooped! Yet I'm sure you had a great time...and of course, great photos to share with us!

sonia a. mascaro said...

Sounds you all had a great time! Estero Bay looks nice!

Jilly said...

Sounds like you had a great but exhausting time. What beautiful places you visited. I took the tour - so many amazing animals, birds and plants. Your friends must have had the best time.

Rest up, lady - take it easy - guests are great but tiring.

thanks for sharing this. Looking forward very much to more.

Kate said...

I wonder how many people who expressed a desire to spend a night on the beach would actually have done it. I'd like to, but I wonder about the safety issue. I'm not a wimp, and although I have slept on the beaches in Chicago during my wilder days, I doubt that I'd do it now.

JAM said...

Fantastic shot of the heron(?). (I still don't know my Florida birds very well.)

I love the foggy water shot too. That's a rare scene for me. I've only seen it a couple of time in my 11 years here.