So mid way through our vacation, we drove down to Everglades City, and more specifically the Chocohoskie Island for a sunset boat tour in Everglades National Park. It was something Mark had planned and really wanted to do, and I went into not knowing what to expect because I never looked at anything he ever sent me on it. We ended up taking Sawyer and Isla, and leaving Margot with my parents. At one point we considered going it alone but we thought they'd love all the wildlife and we were right.
We drove about 2-2.5 hours south to get there, and had an early dinner at what seemed to be the only restaurant on the island. Both girls were well behaved and ready to go when we arrived at Captain Rodney's house. Here we are on the boat about to shove off.
And just because it's pretty, these are the old docks right near Captain Rodney's, wiped out by past hurricanes that hit the island.
So, unbeknownst to me the Everglades is 10,000+ islands, and we were in the area right off the gulf - so the water is salt-water, and not the "brackish" (as Captain Rodney put it) water that I imagined where the alligators and swampy land is. This was just beautiful little islands of mangroves, with tons of birds, jumping fish, turtles, and dolphins.
Here's a bunch of birds that we saw - we went among several islands that form a small chain - think the size of a few trees together, that make up the largest rookery in the US. As you motored up you got a sense for all the birds that were nesting in those trees, and more kept flying in as the sun was setting. We saw many pelicans..
Cranes...
And I believe this is an osprey...
The boat tour was interesting because the water is not marked, and therefore not too many boaters are knowledgeable enough on the different obstructions in the water. At low tide you'll see new sand bars and such which are hidden at high tide. Thankfully Captain Rodney is a 6th generation boat man in the area and knew the place like the back of his hand. Here's a little bird hanging on a partially submerged tree.
At one point he pulled over and grabbed one of his fishing rods to let the girls have a try. We told him they'd never been fishing before and he was determined they would catch something. It was so fun to watch them...
While he bait the hook and cast off, each of them got to reel in to see if we caught anything.
Isla eventually became more of the scout - checking to see if there was anything still on the hook as it came to the surface.
And while Sawyer had several bites many of them got away. She did finally reel one all the way in and was super proud of herself. We threw him back in the ocean and moved on. While we were out sitting, we also saw turtles in the water and a stingray jump. very cool.
Even Mark got in on the action for a bit. He didn't catch anything but I think he enjoyed it himself.
The rest of the pictures are probably overkill, but there were so many good ones I'm going to put them in...I mean - come on - what a ham. She loved when we were speeding along.
Isla on the other hand continued some narcoleptic habits she displayed throughout the trip and would close her eyes to rest. She wasn't really asleep but she played the lethargic card really well.
And other times, she would just sit calmly with her shades on. I really would love to go inside this girl's brain for a few minutes to see what goes on.
Alas, it was a sunset cruise and so eventually the sky started to turn pink and we got a lovely view of the islands in a new light.
Here's a small glimpse of the rookery - you can see so many birds flocking in.
As we were motoring around the rookery, we saw this little fin pop up. It was a baby dolphin. Eventually we got it to play in the wake of our boat which was really cool. He would swim alongside the boat and jump up every now and then which everyone loved. Such graceful animals.
And then as we realized the Can't-See-Em bugs were starting to get us it was time to head home. We picked up the speed and really got some wind in our hair - the beauty of boats I think...makes you feel very carefree.
I tried to capture these pictures because each girl looked very peaceful and joyful as we were cruising along.
All in all, it was a great break from the day to day routine of our vacation, and something I don't think our girls will forget. Sawyer and Mark even did a little book with some pictures to bring in and show her class.
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