Girls' Road Trip-Finale

I've become a posting slacker. A writing slacker. A pretty-much-everything slacker. My only excuse is that a puppy now lives at my house. But enough about my sleepless nights (and days). Back, in a necessarily abbreviated form, to the road trip...

With a dire weather forecast for rain, rain, and more rain, we reluctantly canceled plans for visits to Savannah and Charleston, packed our bags, and hit the road for St. Augustine. The drive up the coast toward our nation's oldest city was lovely, but a little scary. Billowing dark clouds and gusting wind, made the waves look gray and ominous. They broke tall and crashed toward the shore filled with white foam. Definitely NOT a beach day.

We finally arrived in St. Augustine and our first stop was the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum. St. Augustine is home to the oldest seaport in the United States. I love the stripes on the lighthouse. (Note: This picture is from the lighthouse site. Pretend it's raining and you'll experience what we did)

In our race against the weather, we had no time to explore. We did a quick tour through the museum and then headed for downtown St. Augustine, the oldest city in the United States.

The Castillo de San Marcos fort is the oldest masonry fort in the United States with construction beginning in 1672. It was built to guard against privateers. For its advanced years, the fort appears remarkably well preserved. Alas, we didn't have time to go inside.

Next we raced to the quaint downtown area that houses such landmarks as the first schoolhouse in the United States, small shops, and mouth-watering food. Each of these treasures line the narrow quaint streets of this truly historic city.

We wanted more time to look around, but the rain began pelting us hard and steady. We had many miles to go before reaching our overnight stay in Atlanta, so we said good-bye to St. Augustine. I hope to return someday and spend a lot more time exploring the history of this charming area.

After a brutal push to Atlanta, we collapsed in exhaustion and set the alarm for 5am. Then we were up and running with the mission of getting home as soon as possible. Though we couldn't stop to browse the area, we drove through the lovely Smokey Mountains, a mysterious and delightful sight.

Many hours later, we were finally back home again. Four weary travelers made a small pact. We would not disclose every mishap and mix-up we experienced on our road trip. (Disclaimer: I can reveal  what happened as long as identities remain confidential-so there could be a story or two later-Bwahaha!)

And thus ends the girls' road trip. I could wax eloquent about friendships formed, bonds deepened, and lessons learned, but I'm still mulling it all over. Bottom line to readers: I highly recommend a girls' road trip to get real, get personal, and have the kind of fun you simply can't have when men are around.

Girls Road Trip-Lighthouse, Rehab Center, Fish

So much to see, so little time...

We hauled ourselves up and hit the road running for another day trying to capture the highlights of the Daytona area. We walked on Daytona Beach (oddly, you can pay to drive on the beach if you want, this seems to me a bad idea for everyone concerned, but no one asked for my opinion).

Next we drove to Ponce De Leon Inlet Light Station. I snapped this photo with my trusty cell phone and thought it turned out pretty as a post card.

The lighthouse is 175 feet tall, and was completed in 1887 in an effort to decrease the number of shipwrecks in the area. It's had a few "makeovers" since that time, including getting electricity in 1933. Touring the grounds, I was struck by what a solitary life the lighthouse keepers led in the early days. It was a 24/7 job to keep a kerosene lantern burning for the safety of ships at sea.

There are a mere 203 steps to the very top, where one can go outside and walk around on an observation deck just below the light. This is not recommended for those with a fear of heights. I started up the steps with every intention of making it to the top. However, it was a humid and hot day, the lighthouse is claustrophobic-ally narrow, and half way up I started sweating like a pig, sure I'd die any moment. Alas, I wimped out and turned around. Maybe next time...

After seeing the sights (the grounds have many small buildings filled with memorabilia), we walked a short distance to the Marine Science Center. This nonprofit rehabilitates injured seabirds and turtles. It's also an educational center.

They have a touch pool in which there is a shark and several stingrays. We were allowed to touch first, and then feed them...

The stingrays were smooth and soft as velvet, while the shark had skin tough as leather. Fascinating!

We learned that most turtle injuries come as a result of collisions with boat propellers causing gashes in shells and amputated limbs. Any creature with injuries severe enough to make them unable to survive in the wild are kept on site to help educate the public. Here's one of the turtles curently in care. The floating green things are slices of green pepper, a special treat.

Here are a couple of the birds in care. Most of them have suffered wing or leg injuries.

Your eyes aren't fooling you. That's a bald eagle. I had no idea eagles traveled to Florida. I thought they only hung out where it was cold. Is this the older eagle population? And if they winter in Florida do they call themselves snowbirds? This fellow didn't answer my questions.

Our final stop of the day was a local outdoor restaurant. It was close by and located right next to the water. Boondocks serves up great food, has beautiful scenery, casual ambiance, and is pet friendly. Many people travel there by boat. What more could anyone ask?

Check out the catfish swarm below the restaurant's dock. Do you think they are used to getting a few handouts?

Whew! Another jam packed day. Back at home base we had a cocktail (or two) and collapsed. Then we read the weather report. Heavy rain predicted all up and down the coast. H'mmm. Should we reconsider our carefully laid plans?

Slither and Yon

Photo credit Honolulu Zoo.

Recently, there has been coverage of the burgeoning population of Burmese Pythons in Florida. It’s speculated that these snakes have been released by owners who are no longer able or willing to care for them. In the warm, moist atmosphere of Florida, the snakes are multiplying rapidly. Scientists have been monitoring this problem for several years, and although Burmese Pythons are typically identified, other constrictors have also been discovered.

Burmese Pythons are native to Southeast Asia, and imported to the United States primarily to become pets. Because the snakes grow to substantial sizes (20-30 feet in length and hundreds of pounds at maturity), these same pet owners eventually have a problem they can’t handle...hence the release.

The National Park Service estimates that there are at least 100,000 free roaming constrictor snakes in Florida, and as a non-native species, they are wreaking havoc on the ecosystem. Thus the mission of authorities now is to find, capture, and destroy as many as possible for there is significant evidence that the constrictors have the ability to migrate throughout the southern portion of the United States, where warm weather and mild winters provide a perfect place for them to thrive.

This is yet another unfortunate example of the result when people obtain exotic pets. I had an experience with a constrictor owned by my son many years ago. I won’t go into the details here, but suffice it to say it’s not an experience that I care to repeat.

Please, if you have an exotic animal, consider that this may not be the best situation for either you or the critter. Find an appropriate sanctuary to take the animal in, and never, ever consider releasing it into the wild.

Our fragile environment may depend upon it.

Hemingway House

Gertrude Stein, resident at Hemingway's home.

Ernest Hemingway spent much of his time in Key West, where his home still stands. It is now a museum, and open for tour. As the story goes, Hemingway would write in the mornings when the temperature was most comfortable, then explore the island in the afternoon. He became acquainted with a sea captain, who gifted Hemingway with an unusual cat. It had an extra toe on each front paw. The extra toe made the cat look as though it wore mittens (another nickname for the phenomena).

You can see the descendents of this original polydactyl cat at Hemingway's Key West home. Approximately sixty cats reside on the grounds, about half of whom are polydactyls. The felines are carefully monitored, allowing only enough kittens to be born each year to maintain the population. Each one is typically named for an author, actor, or artist.

Hemingway has become so closely linked with polydactyl cats that animal shelters often nickname polydactyls, "Hemingways".

If I ever make it to Key West, the Hemingway Home is on my list of must-sees. After all, if it inspired him...