A Curious World

This week the clock "fell back" an hour for daylight saving time. Our schedule is pretty flexible so hasn't been that big of a deal...until today. We're feeling it today.

I'm sure part of the reason we're lagging is because we went to Brain Candy Live with Adam Savage and Michael Stevens last night and we were up later than usual. It's totally okay though. All throughout the show the kids were fully engaged and were practically bouncing in their seats! Today they all woke up inspired and have been reliving moments and describing things they want "to try at home"...You know what I call that? Quality entertainment and worth every penny.

Basically, "Brain Candy Live" celebrates makers and science, and gets people excited about questions like "Why?" and "How?" and "What would happen if...?" When education becomes fun, the whole world opens up and the possibilities are endless! My kids loved the demonstrations and explanations of why things behave the way they do. It was great and I'm so glad we went!

The next show we'd love to see is the "Alton Brown- East Your Science Tour" but we leave just before he gets here. So if you know him, be sure to ask him to add a few shows in the Northeast before we leave..... You will? Thanks! We're big fans! ;-)

Last Saturday we drove to Sarasota just to see what was there. We stopped for gas at one point and saw pickled sausage and eggs on the counter. No, we didn't try them. So if you have and can tell me about them, please do! I'm curious. I tried Kool-Aid Pickles when we were in Alaska but since I hate sweet pickles, they weren't for me. Perhaps these are worth a second look?

Sarasota was very tropical and reminded me a lot of the Keys. Here are a few pictures we took while driving around.

The water was very blue!

This house was in the process of being built. The whole area was impressive.

The nearby town we stopped in for lunch was filled with shops and restaurants with patios like this one.  We ate things like conch fritters (pronounced konk), mango salad, and the kids enjoyed non-alcoholic pina coladas. Everything was delicious! The conch fritters are like a small crab cake or hush puppy (fried round cornmeal fritter), but instead, diced bits of conch are added to the mixture. Conch has a similar texture to calamari. They're white and firm. The fritters were good. Even the kids liked them.

You can find statues everywhere in the Sarasota area.

Near Sarasota we also saw a manatee habitat. Manatees are large endangered marine mammals who are native to Florida and warmer waters. We saw manatee habitats in the Everglades and Weeki Wachee Springs, as well, but never saw any in the wild. So we did a little digging and found out that you can find them at the aquarium in The Seas exhibit at Epcot, which is only 20 minutes from us! How could we possibly have missed this for so long?!

Yesterday we made a point to stop and see these amazing creatures. Now we can cross seeing manatees in real life off the checklist! They are so much bigger than I thought they'd be. Almost like a baby Hippo...

I wonder if one of them is named Barbara?

Look at that tail. I bet it's powerful even though they like to swim slowly.

Their eyes look grey and small, which is different from what we're used to seeing in other animals.

This week we'll be tying up loose ends so we're ready to leave for Maine in a few weeks. Hopefully the weather will cooperate for the drive up.... I guess we'll see!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

- Jen

The Southernmost Point

We did it!! As of last Saturday, we've successfully checked off three of the four corners of the continental United States road system! Once we reach the easternmost point in Maine, we can say we've been to the four corners AND Four Corners on this adventure! We also reached another milestone last weekend by hitting the 24,901 mile mark. "What does that mean?" you may ask. That, my friend, is the circumference of the Earth! Here's what it looks like:

1. Northermost- Deadhorse, AK (Arctic Ocean)

2. Westernmost- Anchor Point, AK (Near Homer by someone's house. Very unceremonious.)

3. Key West, FL (Very ceremonious! This is the first point where we had to stand in line for a picture. We gave up halfway through and just took a picture of the monument with other people by it. ;-))

Florida is really an amazing place to visit. I mean sure, you have kids (Note: Referring to them as "kids" makes me officially old. Let it be known that I'm good with that.) who visit to party during Spring Break. You have snow birds. You have theme parks and strip malls. But aside from all those, you have this wonderfully diverse and beautiful place. Floridians are a rainbow of people from all over the world. The landscape is a gorgeous mix of tropical plants, farmland, protected wetlands, and so much more. If you haven't been, I HIGHLY recommend it! Plus in winter the temps are around 70 degrees F on average, so you can avoid the hot humid weather if that's not your cup of tea.

Our journey last Friday began here in Davenport, which is only twenty minutes away from the big theme parks and is the beginning of orange grove country and farmland.

Then we reached an area where the wildlife warning signs began to change and fences were on both sides of us. It turns out we were driving through the Florida Panther Reserve. We learned that the Florida Panther is one of the most endangered species in the United States and there are only about 120-160 remaining in the wild.   

We also saw this sign, which was a little confusing at first. (Bear? Badger?) Turns out it's a bear. After all the bear warning signs we've seen over this continent, we found this one most interesting.

We began to see trees that looked like Pine but were different, and almost furry. I think they were Long Leaf Pine, but don't quote me on that. Long Leaf Pines are another species that once covered much of the southern United States. It now covers less than three percent of the original range.

The Miccosukee Tribe lives along the route we took. They use thatched roofs on their buildings, which looks very cool. They also run a casino and offer a lot of tourists programs. According to their site, they are descended from the Muskogee Creek Nation and moved east.

Before reaching the Keys, we drove through Big Cypress National Preserve and made sure to stop at Everglades National Park for a boat tour. It was amazing! Did you know that the Everglades are a World Heritage Site  and International Biosphere Reserve recognized by the United Nations? The Everglades are being used as a gauge to monitor human impact on the environment. The Florida Everglades blog discusses it further.

Our tour took us through Mangroves, which are plants that actually like saltwater. Since the Everglades include both fresh water and saltwater, this is ideal. These are really interesting plants and I can tell you all kinds of fun facts about them now. Here's one. Did you know that a forest of Mangroves can withstand the force of a hurricanes and tsunamis, which helps keep our coastlines safe? Also, the bark of the Red Mangrove is used to tan leather and it's tannins are what make the water in the Everglades look brown.

We hoped to see manatees (Barbara!) but sadly, they were hiding. Did you know that the manatee has no natural enemies here? Boat motors are their biggest threat other than diminishing habitat and low reproduction. Sad, but true. Also, the legend of the mermaid came from sailors who saw these animals. Those sailors must have been at sea for a loooooooong time to think these looked like beautiful women with fish tails..... ;-)

We were excited to see Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins, though! Our daughter took this picture. Most of the time we were in a no-wake zone, but this one came along to play in our wake once we were clear.

All along our drive and through the Florida Wildlife Cooridor, we saw birds and animals of all kinds. They were beautiful and definitely different than what we'd see up north. Except for one bird... In the Everglades you'll find tons of Osprey. Another name for the Osprey...Seahawk! We knew the folks back home would appreciate that. ;-)

Pelicans are abundant in Southern Florida as well. You can find groups of them everywhere by the water! There are several different varieties.

Our youngest son had the most fun on the tour when the skipper let him drive the boat...

We spent the first night in Key Largo, which had us singing that song by the Beach Boys. You know...Kokomo? This got us thinking. Where exactly is Kokomo? Well, here's a little tidbit for you. THERE IS NO SUCH PLACE! If you get a chance, you should listen to the song "Where the Heck is Kokomo?"

Those are coconuts! We tried one with a straw in it.

The next day we drove down to Key West. If you're nervous about driving between islands, have no fear! The drive wasn't scary at all. Most of the roads are actually causeways, so you can't tell you're even between islands. They just look like roads. There are also many islands or "keys" along the way, which prompted a fun game of "If you had your own key, what would you call it?" Mine was "Door-Key". Get it? ;-)

Much of the roadway follows the old Overseas Railroad, or Key West Extension, commissioned by Henry Flagler, built to link Jacksonville to Key West. It was dubbed "Flaglers Folly" but was soon regarded as the "Eighth Wonder of the World" in its day. The railway was eventually replaced with a road, which was severely damaged in a hurricane. It now lies in ruins next to the newer road. I love the archways built into it!

Many of the houses in the Keys also have open spaces under them, as they are built on stilts. This allows water to flow under them when storms hit, which minimizes damage.

We really enjoyed Key West and it's architecture. The scenery was gorgeous and we made sure to try some Key Lime Pie, which was the best I've ever had. Oh, and there are CHICKENS everywhere! So fun! Here are some pictures that will give you a better idea of what it was like.

We went out for dinner and were horrified to see dolphin on the menu. When we asked the server about it, she said that it wasn't the mammal. "Dolphin" is what Mahi Mahi is called in the Bahamas.  Phew!

 We enjoyed all the fresh seafood.

Another surprise was that Iguanas roam free in Key West. These two were walking around the pool area at the hotel. They didn't bother anyone but one had a great time with the lunch someone left in their cabana....

We have officially gone over the 10,000 hits mark for this blog! So now I'm pleased to announce the winner of our little giveaway!! A big congratulations to Sheila F.!!! I'll pop your package in the mail this week.

I hope you all enjoyed learning about Southern Florida. Thank you for following along!

- Jen