Our Florida trip.

markpierce said:

Don, there is too much road kill in Georgia. And I'm only within 25 minutes of my boat now.

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So, Hotel California it is....

We worked in Miami and lived near Ft. Lauderdale for three years... would go back in a heartbeat. Well, almost. Boating there isn't like here on the Chesapeake, hard choice to make...

We were living in almost the 'glades, and the nearest airboat tour was about 10 minutes from our house. Used to take visitors all the time. Another fun option was to launch our own long/motorized canoe at the same place, and take visitors out that way. Had to pay beaucoup attention to the airboats and lane crossings, though, since we were such a low profile and relatively slow craft. I could usually put the bow up within a few feet of whatever sleeping 'gators we came across.. to the point where I (learned later I) seriously frightened one of our guests...

We were in Key West last Feb, heading to Ft. Myers this coming March.

Pics bring back good memories...

-Chris

HopCar said:

Scottie that looks like a first class airboat operation. My wife has never been on an airboat and wants to go for a ride. If I bring her up, how do I get you as the captain?

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Call the number and ask Lisa to book you with captain Scott.

Nice to see your pictures of your Florida trip and dream while sitting in NYC when its cold and rainy!

One of the best parts of the whole trip to FL was a side trip down a hard packed dirt road we took while returning to Ft. Myers from Key West. On the Tamiami Trail (Hwy 41/90), about 19 miles west of Hwy 997, the main highway turns to the NW. At that point the back road takes off to the south and runs due west for several miles and eventually hooks back up with Hwy 41/90 about 20 miles later. If you are going to try to find it on a map, try Google Earth rather than Google Maps because it shows up better.

It's a decent road, hard pack and easily traveled with a regular car, and that's where we saw all the gators. We didn't keep a count of them, but I'd bet we saw 40-50 along that road. That's where most of the good photos were taken. There are also lots of swamp dwelling birds to see and photograph, and it's just a beautiful drive.

GFC said:

One of the best parts of the whole trip to FL was a side trip down a hard packed dirt road we took while returning to Ft. Myers from Key West. On the Tamiami Trail (Hwy 41/90), about 19 miles west of Hwy 997, the main highway turns to the NW. At that point the back road takes off to the south and runs due west for several miles and eventually hooks back up with Hwy 41/90 about 20 miles later. If you are going to try to find it on a map, try Google Earth rather than Google Maps because it shows up better.

It's a decent road, hard pack and easily traveled with a regular car, and that's where we saw all the gators. We didn't keep a count of them, but I'd bet we saw 40-50 along that road. That's where most of the good photos were taken. There are also lots of swamp dwelling birds to see and photograph, and it's just a beautiful drive.

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Gators near or on the road can be dangerous, specially at night. There was a young man in Cocoa killed when his pickup truck hit a gator crossing the road at night and rolled the truck. Yep, you guessed it, no seat belts. Not sure they would have helped as hitting an 8-10 ft gator at 45MPHs is going to cause some mayhem.

Wild pigs are also a major nuisance at night. Hitting them will ruin your car and maybe a lot more. The hogs are big, low profile and black making them real hard to see on the road.

Did I mention deer and black bear?

Donsan said:

Gators near or on the road can be dangerous, specially at night. There was a young man in Cocoa killed when his pickup truck hit a gator crossing the road at night and rolled the truck. Yep, you guessed it, no seat belts. Not sure they would have helped as hitting an 8-10 ft gator at 45MPHs is going to cause some mayhem.

Wild pigs are also a major nuisance at night. Hitting them will ruin your car and maybe a lot more. The hogs are big, low profile and black making them real hard to see on the road.

Did I mention deer and black bear?

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MMmmm ..... Deer, gator, hog sounds good. ya having a BBQ?

I have hunted all right here in FL. Black bear are becoming a problem again, several attacks on folks walking at night. Course in bear country ya carry, after all it is Florida.

GFC, you're describing Loop Road. It used to be a real wild area. There was a bar on the road called The Gator Hook. It was notorious for shootings, knifings and prostitution. When the National Park Service took ownership of the land, the owner burned it down so they couldn't have it.

Lucky Cole has a compound out there where he will give you a beer in exchange for a donation and photograph your wife nude. The author Tim Dorsey used Lucky in his book, Gator a Go Go. Dorsey has thrown a couple of partys there that were a lot of fun. I really liked the lesbian bike club that showed up,

Parks, glad that you are Dorsey connoisseur! I'm considering naming my tender Coleman......

That's appropriate. Coleman is a little dingy.
Dorsey has a new book coming out January 27th called Shark Skin Suit.
I sent the quote on the Buck handles.

HopCar said:

GFC, you're describing Loop Road. It used to be a real wild area. There was a bar on the road called The Gator Hook. It was notorious for shootings, knifings and prostitution. When the National Park Service took ownership of the land, the owner burned it down so they couldn't have it.

Lucky Cole has a compound out there where he will give you a beer in exchange for a donation and photograph your wife nude. The author Tim Dorsey used Lucky in his book, Gator a Go Go. Dorsey has thrown a couple of partys there that were a lot of fun. I really liked the lesbian bike club that showed up,

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He charges extra to take the photos of your nude wife! . My cousin from Alabama saw the photo of Lucky, Tim, and the Fed agent on Facebook and wisely asked "I wonder how many concealed guns and knives in just that photo?"
Answer-nobody knows, thats the whole point. Try that jihad crap down here. Pretty please.