(with a side trip to Phoenix)
March 9 - March 18, 2014
We began our trip with a quick stop in Phoenix to catch a couple of
of Padres spring training games at the new Salt River Fields at Talking Stick
outside Scottsdale. We tried to do this last year but flight delays of over 5 hours
caused us to miss the game. Salt River Fields is the home of the Arizona Diamond Backs
and the Colorado Rockies. The Padres were playing each team here on two consecutive days.
Hey kid, want to buy some auto insurance real cheap?
Baxter just can't win the rocks, paper, scissors challenge
Nor is he any good at picking up babes at the ball park!
Bud Black being interviewed prior to the Rockies game
Is that cactus growing in the batter's eye?
After Phoenix, we were off to Key West, Florida to visit the first Florida National
Park. But first, we visited some local historic sites in town.
The first was the Key West Light House.
Hey lady, you better watch out for pick pockets!
Hey good looking, want to party!
Probably a good idea!
Next we went to the Hemingway House, which was just across the street.
He seemed to have a thing for cats! Look closely at their names.
The smallest bar in Key West!
You can even take a picture of a Key West sunset
to send to the folks back home without leaving the bar!
Isn't life great!
Next, we took a boat to Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas National Park.
A storm had gone through the previous night and the water was still quite choppy.
You have to be concerned when the crew hands out barf bags at the start of the trip,
which many of the passengers ended up using during the trip!
Kathleen going up the stairs to the lighthouse and cannons
Stalactite and stalagmite formations are being formed from the lime in the cement.
Restored cannons. They had a range of 3 miles
which is the distance to the lighthouse in the picture above that of the cannons.
They heated up the cannon balls in this refractory furnace
so that they could also ignite anything they came in contact with.
The southernmost point in the United States
Next, we headed back up to Florida City to visit two other National Parks.
The first was Key Biscayne National Park, of which 90% is under water.
We were able to go on a canoe ride with park rangers to view the mangroves.
Next, we were off to the Everglades National Park.
We first drove to Flamingo on the East side of the park.
A blue heron having a snack!
An alligator beneath the boardwalk
A turtle beneath the boardwalk
Another alligator taking a snooze on the bank
There must have been 20 - 30 alligators in this area!
Kathleen tempting fate!
Next, we visited Shark Valley, on the northern portion of the park.
We took a two hour tram ride out to the observation tower in the center of the park,
where we saw a ton of alligators, birds, and one crocodile!
Here is a Roseate Spoonbill.
This guy would surface for about 10 - 15 seconds every 5 minutes.
It was tough to get his picture!
We caught the first tram ride after the park opened.
We were extremely lucky as there were only six people on our trip.
Usually the rides are sold out throughout the day.
Next, we went to Everglade City on the west side of the park.
We took an air boat tour of the swamps directly outside of the park.
We then went back to Flamingo, to take a boat trip through
the canals and lakes in the south east portion of the park.
These canals and lakes are brackish, consisting of a mixture of fresh water
coming from the north and salt water coming up from the gulf.
Again, we were lucky as there were only eight people on this tour.
This is the only place in the United States where there are crocodiles in their native environment.
This one has seen Kathleen and is ready for dinner!
Just kidding, his mouth is open to help lower his internal temperature.
Some critters in the Mahogany Hammock
Lighthouse at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park in Key Bascayne.
View of Maimi Skyline from Key Biscayne
We concluded our trip with a stop at South Beach. The sidewalk cafes were all
offering two for one drink specials as well as other discounts on their menus.
When we ordered these drinks, we thought that "two for one" meant the glass was twice as large.
But no, this was just the first drink....and it only costs $25.00 each!
