ChrisS

for the birds….

Well, before I tell the long saga of our journey home, which included failed brakes, a highway shootout, and a snowstorm, my birdie friends have been wanting to see some of my bird photos. Well said birdie friends, you can start cringing now, because while I like to snap photos, I often just don’t know the names of the critters, so I make them up:) here goes.

Ok, I know the name of this one, a gorgeous roseate spoonbill. Once severely endangered (their feathers were coveted as hat decorations), they have come back in good numbers but are still rare to see in the Keys. We saw this one each morning of our sunrise paddles. I have many photos, so it was hard to pick a favourite, but this one shows off that gorgeous bill and feathers nicely. I’ve since learned that this is a juvenile bird, as adults the plumage becomes even more colourful:

Next is a heron of some sort – green heron? Yellow crowned heron? 

                                    

Next, another uh, wading bird, that’s the best I can do for naming this one right now, we saw lots of these guys in the mornings, fishing in the flats

 

A crane in the everglades.. sand crane?

                                     

A white ibis, these guys were everywhere – love the blue eyes!

Cormorants not interesting to photograph? Yes they are, this is one of my fav shots, check out that aquamarine coloured eye!

Thanks for looking!

the last day was just perfect…

Our last day in the keys could not have been scripted to be more perfect. A gorgeous sunny day with a high of 28 degrees. We went for an early morning paddle to Indian Key, the entire key is a State Park, with no bridge connecting to it.

We pulled up to a sheltered bay as the water around the dock was a little choppy

              

The park used to be a little town, and they still have the streets marked out with interpretive plaques, gorgeous views of the sea, old foundations and an overlook

          

          

We lingered on the island for quite a while, only four other people came through while we where there. Then we paddled back across the bay, our last paddle in the keys.

By then it was time for a (late) lunch, so we went for seafood at the local restaurant just down the road, and the chef did up my favourite meal just for me, one that used to be on the menu three years ago, but that they had taken off. Lunch was finished off with key lime pie, and then it was time to pack up.

Just as we were discussing whether we should rinse the saltwater off the kayaks, the skies opened up, rain came bucketing down, it was an awe inspiring storm, and washed off the kayaks pretty well too :). It cleared off fast, and not long after we walked down to the dock to see a double rainbow to the east

               

and an absolutely breathtaking sunset to the West

As we were quietly watching the sunset, I looked down, and at that exact moment a gorgeous spotted eagle ray glided by

              

I said to Mike “maybe it’s actually our last day on the planet, and we just don’t know it yet” :)

Luckily, that was not the case, but the next three days were, uh, less than perfect. It all balances out I guess :).

Thanks for visiting!

everglades paddle

We went for a nice long paddle in the everglades yesterday, stopping at the visitor centre to ask what would be a good trail. Of course the everglades has all kinds of environments within it, from ocean to salt marsh to sawgrass, lakes and mangroves. We wanted a “river of grass” type of trail because that would be different from anything we have done before. The rangers seemed happy that people were wanting to get out to more “off the beaten path” areas and suggested a great trail, so off we headed.

We saw signs up warning that vultures will pick off the black rubber trim from cars. Huh? How often could that happen? Well apparently all the time. As soon as we pulled into the put in for out trail, we saw one of the little buggers picking off the rubber trim around someone’s sun roof:

I chased him off that car, but  suspect he was back at it seconds later. Thankfully our car didn’t look picked at when we returned.

The paddle started out through mangroves, looking down into the crystal clear water we could see the remains of ancient coral rock.

Some of those mangrove passages were so narrow we had to pull the kayak paddles apart and use just one side.

Eventually, we came out to a vast open area, the “river of grass, interspersed with mangroves:

 

we paddled around for almost 3 hours, navigating by the poles the park sets up to as guides. Without those, wow, you would get really lost really fast,. We also did a couple of hiking trails after our paddle and between the two saw lots of wildlife, alligators, coots, anhingas and herons.

one of many highlights were sightings of three different wood storks, on the endangered species list due to water levels being “managed”

We spent the entire day in the park, and then made the drive back to the keys, stopping at the locally renowned “Fish House” for dinner. Today is a forecasted high of 27 degrees C, we are going to stick close to the condo and enjoy the beach and water nearby.

Thanks for visiting everyone, hope your holidays are merry and bright!

Eat. Sleep. Paddle.

What more could you want? 6:30 am Sunrise paddles:

 

Mid day paddles

Past beaches

through mangroves

Under bridges

and of course, ending the day with a sunset paddle

Thanks for stopping by!

it’s worth the drive

Even though it’s a long drive, a verrry long drive. Well actually, it’s not that bad, and at least you can stop and get out or get what you want to eat, not like being on say a 15 hour flight to India, strapped in and no where to go, begging the flight attendant for food and water.

But I digress. We started out bright and early on the 24th, it looked like this:

Our first comment was at the gas station just down the road: “you guys are either very optimistic or you have a REALLY long drive”. He actually seemed surprised when we said “really long drive, to Florida”

So off we went, with a cooler full of healthy snacks, and lots of tunes to listen to. Our first delay was on the 401 where the highway was closed off but by 10am we had crossed the border into the States with no incident or line-up.

And then we drove, and drove and drove, taking turns in 7 hour stints. We had the back set up with a foam mattress for sleeping and I had a very nice sleep there! Here’s a photo of Mike snoozing

At 4am we crossed into the sunshine state (the sun was not up yet of course:)), and by 7:30 we stopped for breakfast, cooking up eggs on our campstove. That Santa, he’s a pretty clever fellow and left out stockings hanging on a palm tree for us. I was still wearing my candy cane pyjamas bottoms in this photo, and the day was already getting hot, and humid.

Not too far down the road we had some car trouble, and to make a long story short, it must be something with the gas filter or pump, we have to take it to the mechanic tomorrow (nothing was open today) but if we keep the car under 80km/hour, we don’t stall. Unlike when we were on the Florida turnpike and stalled, dead, in the middle of the highway. Ugh.

By 1pm we were heading across the turquoise seas of the keys, the temperature a sunny 27 degrees C.

Alright so I don’t want to rub it in too much, but it was so gorgeous, we just threw our stuff in the door, and then went for a walk, swim in the pool, and snorkel in the ocean

  

We then had a full Christmas dinner with food I had pre-prepped and packed before we left. Tomorrow we are heading out for a sunrise kayak paddle. I can’t wait.

Merry Christmas once again everyone, hope this finds you happy and well!

We are ready to go…

Wow, was it a rush after work today, getting everything packed up. But as I type the kayaks are on the car, several meals are prepared and packed (including a full Christmas dinner), I have a box of scrapbook supplies for another scrapbook-on-the-road project, the house is nice and clean for when we get back and now we just need to sleep so we can get up early and drive drive drive. Someone will be here with Tazzie and about 40  hours from now we should be on a beach in the sun.

Of course, I had to finish last week’s photo of the day layout before going, here it is:

Photos are: Courtney on Skype, getting a pedicure for the upcoming barefoot days, our front door wreath, me and Taz reading before bed, Gammy’s antique ornament, mom and I, and brunch with the angels on Sunday.

Merry Christmas everyone, I’ll post from Florida if we can get online!

Yay, a Pig!

  Thanks to Sharon and Wilf for their Gift of Hope to me, a pig!

  Besides being a valuable type of livestock, pigs also do their part by eating food waste and providing fertilizer to grow lush, plentiful crops. With your gift, families also learn how to breed and care for the animals.

  I am just loving these gifts, keep ‘em coming everyone!

more Gifts of Hope!!

I got some more great gifts through gifts of hope..my sweet angel Courtney bought us:

School supplies for a child in Sierra Leone: Schools obliterated, classrooms destroyed, children killed or forced to become soldiers. That’s what 11 years of civil war did in Sierra Leone. Ever so slowly, the people of this country are working to heal. Plan is there — building children’s futures by rebuilding the education system. Our breakthrough program is an all-out blitz, restocking schoolrooms as quickly as possible so they’re ready for shaping young minds. The classrooms are rebuilt, then filled with chairs, desks, textbooks, chalkboards, maps: all the tools children need to grow and learn about their past, their future and just what they’re capable of achieving if they’re given the chance. This is your opportunity to give them that chance.

and

High energy biscuits: When a disaster strikes and food is scarce, these power-packed biscuits are life savers. They’re a nutritious, balanced meal rolled up into a single package. Filled with all the mineral, vitamin and protein requirements for a complete meal, they’re a much-needed short-term fix. When you give this gift, you save lives.

Thanks so much Courtney for your wonderful gifts, we love them, and you! Courtney is now on Skype so I get to see her beautiful face in our living room more often

           

It’s a great gift idea, for you, me or someone else (mom and Joe got a goat). Check it out!

It’s almost here!

Christmas vacation that is, and we are heading down to Florida for the holidays, leaving early on the 24th and driving straight through. So we visited most of my family last weekend, heading down to Toronto on Saturday morning and coming home Sunday night. We made a few stops for shopping on the way down, and then when we were about 5 minutes from Mom’s place, noticed a bit a a commotion, pulled over and this guy ran by:

              

Wow talk about good timing, some people had been lined up for hours to see the Olympic flame go by, and there we just stumbled on it!

We had dinner out with mom and Joe at Baton Rouge and then came home for a quiet evening. The next day we were up early to meet up with the Angels, aka Reegan and Courtney and we went for brunch at Milestones

    

Reegan was talking a lot about a new girlfriend he really likes, so I couldn’t resist teasing him about weddings. He had been out to see the movie Avatar the night before, so just to be a little goofy, and embarrass his sister, he wore the glasses through the parking lot and into Best Buy

             

After Brunch we drove up to my sister’s place to visit her and her new kitty, Ted

             

Finally, we headed home, using the new GPS navigator that Santa left for us at Best Buy.

            

Should come in handy for our super long drive to Florida. We leave in about 32 hours! WooHoo!!

Merry Christmas everyone!

I got a goat!

Through Plan Gifts! Thanks to Joan and Doug for this gift, which will help a family in a developing country. Owning a goat means a family livelihood and improved health and education for their children.

Pardon my hair in this photo, I’d just been through a day of sandstorms in the Moroccan desert :)

I’d love more goats, or chickens, or school supplies, or whatever else anyone would like to buy through Plan Gifts of Hope! Thanks!