Using our motel in Florida City as our base, we visited Bascayne and Everglades National Parks. In the morning we drove East to Biscayne. This park is almost exclusively a marine sanctuary that can only be explored by boat our diving, but there is a corner of it on land. It was enough to have a visitor center with lots of info and a stamp for Esther's passport. We also took a short hike along the mangrove coastline. Next, we zipped back west and spent the bulk of the day in the Everglades. Fortunately, a kind ranger let us in for free despite leaving our forever pass at home. We really liked the Anhinga Trailhead, watching an alligator chasing birds unsuccessfully. Determined to make it to Flamingo, we took the long drive. The landscape of the Everglades looks a lot like African savanna, only there is a gigantic shallow river slowly flowing through all the tall grass. We caught a late lunch in Flamingo and Ellen got bitten alive by mosquitoes. On a later day, we also stopped at Big Cypress National Preserve and saw throngs of large alligators.
We spent two nights in Key West in a two bedroom guesthouse centrally located to all the attractions. Our car stayed parked the whole time. This was Esther and my third trip to Key West, but we still found new things to see. Our favorite attraction was Hemingway's House and the six toed (polydactyl) cats. Besides getting a glimpse of the colorful author's life, we got to be entertained by the properties 59 cats. Of course we walked to the southernmost US point and Mallory Square sunset. We endured Duval St. with its raucous atmosphere. The ubiquitous roosters and chickens kept the town cleared of crumbs. We had hoped to make it to Dry Tortugas National Park, but the fully booked $240 per person ferry ride prevented that from happening. We really enjoyed our accommodations, despite a loud party next door that kept Ellen peaking out the window until 1:00.
