Glass Bottom Boat Tour and African Queen

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We spent a full day at this park and then tracking down The African Queen which I hadn't planned on doing but as it was less than 2 miles away I couldn't resist. Its late so I am going to label very few of these pictures but it was a pleasant cruise.. The first photos are from the information center and the boat coming in. Then there are pictures of the mangrove trees which are pretty incredible themselves for their contributions to the Florida coastline and also the fact that they can exist in brackish water....the yellow leaves on the tree are sacrificial leaves which absorb salt from the brackish water so that the rest of the tree can survive. These trees provide nesting for many birds and animals. Lastly we have pictures of coral, fish and debris from an old shipwreck taken from the glass bottomed viewing area and pictures from on deck on the way back to shore. It takes many thousands of years to accumulate a coral reef and it is important to preserve those that we have. Unfortunately they are endangered by both boaters and divers that are careless when in the area. Lots of fun to take this cruise and highly recommended. We then have a few pictures of Chris trying to balance. Lastly the wonderful surprise of the day at least for me....The African Queen which was the boat used in and namesake of one of my favorite Humphry Bogart movies. It not only still is in existence but apparently you can rent it out for a daytrip although Bob took one look at its condition and said that there was no way that he would risk taking a ride in it...Chris who hasn't seen the movie yet thought me crazy for spending all the time that we did finding it...I said that it was a piece of movie history...maybe someday he'll be glad that he was there.

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