Everglades National Park to South Beach

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We awoke to a cloudy, rainy day. First stop was the Fruit and Spice Park (http://miamifruitandspicepark.com). We were able to taste some of the different fruits (some that I’d never heard of), including the sapote, which comes in different varieties, and this one tasted like chocolate. However, overall, the park didn’t live up to my expectations. Upon leaving the park, we drove on to a nearby fruit stand (which is more like a small market) called “Robert Is Here” (http://www.robertishere.com). We got some mango, grapefruit, and sapote (this particular kind tastes a lot like pumpkin pie). If you have the time, it’s definitely worth your while to spend a few minutes here.

Our next stop was the Everglades Alligator Farm (http://www.everglades.com) where we planned to go on an airboat tour of the Everglades. You may want to look into getting an Entertainment Guide (www.entertainment.com) for the area - we were able to use one of our coupons here for a savings of $23. Prior to the airboat ride, we saw baby alligators and the older alligators being fed. Unfortunately, since we were the last to board, I got stuck in the front, the wettest seat on the boat. The guide pointed out how nice Matt was to let me sit there (he was right behind me), but of course he had to protect his camera… The airboat rides here only last for about 20 to 30 minutes, so depending on your interest, you may want to look into other operations that have longer excursions.

At about 4:00 in the afternoon, we headed towards Everglades National Park (http://www.nps.gov/ever). I was worried we might not have much time at the park due to the time, but it turned out that it’s open 24 hours a day and admission to the park happened to be free that week. And, the sun finally came out and it turned into a beautiful day. Driving into the park, we saw a sign warning us of possible vulture damage to our car. Great… Then we looked up and saw several sitting in a nearby tree. As we were getting our gear together, a curious crow came down for a closer look and perched on the trunk of our car.

We started out on the Anhinga Trail. We were able to see many different kinds of birds, turtles, and alligators - some of them were almost close enough to touch (not that I’d want to…). We also started to wander down the Gumbo Limbo Trail but didn’t get very far before the mosquitoes discouraged us to go further, so we went back to the Anhinga Trail as the sun started to set.

When we left the park, we headed north with the destination of South Beach to experience the Art Deco District by night. I was seriously hungry by this time (meaning I was also pretty grouchy), but Matt kept wanting to stop to take more pics… Finally, at about 10:30, we ate at Manolo (http://www.jumponmarkslist.com/restaurants/manolo.htm). I had the Works Burger with fried egg, ham, bacon, lettuce, and tomato, and we got churros to go - yum. We made it back to my sister’s around midnight - exhausted.

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Photos

Sapote
One of the many diverse fruits at the Fruit and Spice Park.

Mamey Sapotes
A wide variety of fruits and specialty items can be found at "Robert Is Here."

Guide I
One of the guides for the boat tour in the 'glades.

Guide II
Our guide for the airboat tour.