Friday, February 13, 2015

A Day With Friends

Today was one of those completely unplanned days that was full of unexpected adventures and fun. Friends Randy and Annette (who are from home but have a house here as well) picked us up and took us on a unique outing. We headed south on I-75 toward Fort Myers. Our first stop was at Manatee Park, a spot where manatees like to hang out in the winter. They are attracted to the warmer water discharged by the power plant. There were plenty of these strange-looking animals s-l-o-w-l-y swimming around. An adult manatee eats about 100 pounds of vegetation, like mangrove leaves and sea grass, in a day. That is a lot of green stuff!




Our next stop was Fleamasters Flea Market. It was quite a place- 900 stores! We prowled around for awhile and moved on.

Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve was next.These 2,500 acres are home to a diverse array of plant and animal communities. A boardwalk trail winds through about 80 acres.

Cypress trees
Strap Fern and a tree with lichens growing on it





We weren't finished yet- we moved on to Sun Harvest Citrus to buy fresh juice and ice cream. Orange juice and also Strawberry Orange juice- fresh and delicious. Our ice cream cones were a chocolate/key lime twist and and orange/vanilla twist- perfect after a hike in the swamp.

We returned to the boat for pizza. Having friends show us the sights was wonderful!


2 comments:

  1. Enjoying your blog, check for it daily. Wish we were there cruising also, temps are awful here, snow forecast 2 days this week. DO NOT MISS CAYO COASTA AND CABBAGE KEY BETWEEN PUNTA GORDA AND FT. MYERS. You can anchor in Pelican Bay for Cayo Costa and docks are available at Cabbage Key. Two of our favorite stops on the Loop.

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  2. Looks like a wonderful day! Randy & Annette are close friends of our cousins and we bought their old combine. How sweet to hang out with them!

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