Last Week in South Florida

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Sunday: A second day trip to everglades national park- this time to the northern fresh water section. The weather was better- cooler and not as humid but still sunny because it's South Florida lol. Went to the shark valley visitor center where you can rent a bike to do a 15 mile loop ride out to an observation tower and experience lots of wildlife and so many alligators. I saw sooo many gators! Still have yet to see one move (except maybe a blink) as they were all just napping. Even the one with his mouth open- he never moved. They say to stay 15 feet away from all wildlife but you can see the trail isn't 15 feet so where am I supposed to go? Since the everglades are just so incredibly flat the view from the observation tower was extra rewarding- plus there were the 2 biggest alligators hanging out down there and I was safe from above 😊

After the bike ride I headed further into the everglades and drove along the scenic wildlife road- about 22 miles through a hammock. Any time you stopped you would be able to see a few birds and usually a gator. Along the drive was a hiking trail which was regular trail for the first 1.5 miles and then it turns into wading hiking and you need some gear for it. Saw some baby alligators and a lot of interesting plants, roots and soil changes- only a few inches of elevation here changes the landscape and access to water for different plants to grow. Overall I feel my 2 days in the everglades gave a really good picture of the national park and while it's vitally important to our ecosystem- it's not the kind of nature that is my favorite. I must prefer mountains, rivers and lakes 😊

Monday: Went back to a last time to the game group and played Catan for the first time in over 5 years. Definitely remember why it's an older game- it's a classic gateway game but game development has come a long way since then.

Tuesday: This month's airbnb shares a patio yard with the adjoining airbnb. So today another couple with a dog stayed next door and Copper had an instant bestfriend/girlfriend. Spent the evening on the patio (writing last week's blog lol) watching the dogs while getting eaten by mosquitoes. All enjoyable- except for those pesky bites ugh!

Friday: A day of packing and preparing for my trip next week. It's like having to pack up my entire life in my car but also making sure everything I need for my mini vacations is also accessible. I think I've said before sometimes doing the little errands being adult makes us do become extra difficult- having to go to a laundromat. Having to find a new auto mechanic etc. So yay! I did get everything checked off my to do list and next week will be packed full of fun!

Saturday: would normally be in this week's blog but it'll be in the next blog 😊

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