Everglade Paddle

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February 14, Saturday - Valentine's Day

Up relatively early with a card and coffee for Deb, then I rode Bear over to the marina to say goodbye to Bob and Marilyn and to snap some pictures of their boat. Later, Deb and I suited up and headed into town for a trip to Wal-mart, some computer time in Starbucks, and a nice seafood lunch at The Big Chill restaurant on Key Largo. We returned to Flamingo after dark, lit up another campfire, and Deb presented me with a card and chocolate. What a girl !

February 15, Sunday

We had an 8 o’clock reservation for a tandem kayak at the Marina, so we were up early and rode over. Thick fog on the bay was just beginning to clear off when we paddled out the channel and turned towards Snake Bight. A bight is a bay inside of a larger bay, so this name has nothing to do with anyone getting bitten, even by the Burmese Pythons that have been accidentally introduced into the everglades . We paddled along the shoreline, and were startled by a large tarpon that leapt out of the water right next to our kayak ! Hundreds of birds lined the tree tops, including Pelicans that seemed way to large to actually be supported by the thin branches at the tops of the Mangrove trees. Fish were jumping all around us, and suddenly we were amongst 3 dolphins that decided to play along with us. What a great treat for Deb’s first paddle in a kayak. A light breeze blew us back towards the harbor, we circumnavigated Joe Kemp Key, and paddled back into the marina to portage over the concrete dam and into the Buttonwood Canal. Two large crocs were sunning themselves across the canal from the put-in, and Deb spotted a small 1 footer sitting on a Mangrove tree branch just above the waterline near the end of our little tour of the canal area. Another marina shop coffee, and we headed back to site B5 for a cool shower and a lazy afternoon.

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