My unofficial theme for this trip was "Natural Florida." We steered clear of theme parks and historical sights so that we could observe animals in their native ecosystems. My kids are doomed to trips like this for the rest of their lives, but I'm not so transparent about my motives when I start talking about the trip.
I avoided the topic of Disney World by saying things like "do you want to go canoe-ing with manatees" or "I can't wait to count the turtles and alligators we'll see." I felt lucky that we started seeing Florida wildlife immediately. On our way south we took a brief mid-day detour to a narrow stretch of land north of Cape Canaveral. Specifically we targeted Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge, going directly to an area known for manatee observation. These first photos were snapped just a few hundred yards from the seashore, but they are the saltwater wetlands inland from the sea, and their waters rise and fall with the tide.
We spotted two manatees right away. They slowly grazed on the vegetation at the edge of the shore, coming up for area every three or four minutes. I only got good photos of their tail flippers. The first manatee had severe damage to his tail, no doubt due to a collision with a motor blade. I couldn't help but develop an immediate disdain for the boats motoring through this channel when I realized how deformed the manatee was. J expressed that he was worried that the boats were going too fast.
We saw our first Florida alligator in that area and a small herd of wild hogs.
We continued onto our shortened version of the wildlife drive which drove us by large coastal lagoons. We stopped briefly to get a closer look at the area. In the mid-day sun these areas were very still, with only a coastal breeze moving things predictably.
Beautiful wading birds were still feeding at the water's edge including heron, ibis, cormorants, and egrets. We started to take note the differences in mangroves, the trees in the area that have adapted to adjust to changes in water level. We learned about the framework for the life they sustain. It turns out I'm not great at photographing wildlife, so these posts won't capture too much of that. One snowy egret shyly creeped away as I snapped a photo.
Can you spot the brown skink on the rock right in the center? The boys spent at least ten minutes spotting lizards, but they blend in so well that by the time they were discovered they escaped!
A few days later when we were going north again, we would return to Canaveral National Seashore, the national park that borders Merritt to the north on Florida's central coast. It is a turtle nesting area, but, at the last minute, we passed on the turtle mound spectating. On that day we only had time for a picnic on the beach. After spreading out our food and picnic towels we realized that the kids, who had been "starving" minutes before, had lost their appetite. They went straight to the water.
Who can eat when this is calling out to you?
"They're gonna get soaked," D predicted. He was right. One hour later they would all load into the car, happily wet from the waist down.
Imagine A's giggling and E's guttural shouts as the soundtrack for these shots.
No one can resist these waves, even with all the warnings of the strong riptide.
At Canaveral National Seashore we stood in awe as nearly sixty pelicans flew low over us in V formation. I couldn't get my camera up quickly enough--at first I was a little stunned by the enormity of the group but they were also going so fast that I couldn't get my camera setting right before they were too far off. An armadillo trundled alongside the western road in the heat of the mid-day sun. I'm sure the turtles were safely tucked into shadows after warming up that morning.
We stayed off the dunes and out of the small lagoons, and we drove away while talking about when we'd return to see the turtle mounds and hunt for shells on the beach.
Is that the measure of a visit? It might be. We have so many places we want to see in these fifty states, to return is an indication that we weren't done yet, that there was more to be discovered. We certainly felt that way about Canaveral.
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