Today was the day I had been looking forward to all week. When I originally planned this trip, I wanted to get to a really tropical destination. Florida was as far as we could go on our budget so I started researching places that looked like the tropical image I had in my head. Through this search I discovered Fort DeSoto Park and Egmont Key. They are located at the southern end of the area we were in. Fort DeSoto boasted the Best Beach in North America and Egmont Key offered spectacular natural sights. Neither spot disappointed.
I began the day with tea and toast in bed again and watched as the sun burned off the mist and lit up the beach. Once we had all had a good breakfast we headed out the door, Nate was not yet feeling one hundred percent but he did seem better then the day before. We all happily piled in the car and set off for today's adventure. As we got closer the palms lining the highway got shorter and denser and the traffic got lighter and lighter.
We arrived at the park and walked out to the end of the pier to purchase tickets for the Ferry to go to Egmont Key. The Pier was lined with people fishing, Nate had a thousand questions about this. "Mommy, what are they doing?" "How do they catch the fish?" "What do they do with the fish?" The next ferry was coming in about 20 minutes, luckily there were tons of things to look at. There was a pelican family bobbing in the waves, a pair of ducks were diving down beneath the surface and catching fish. Then we heard the call, "right off the end of the pier, dolphins!" Sure enough there were three of them gracefully arching through the water.
As the dolphins disappeared beneath the waves we spotted the ferry coming across the bay. when it docked we boarded and waited to set sail! The ride to the key was only about fifteen minutes, on the way we spotted another pod of dolphins splashing in the surf. It was another perfect day, the sun was shinning on the perfectly calm turquoise water. Will was thrilled to be an a boat!
The captain beached the ferry and we disembarked to a piece of heaven! This key had no power, no vehicles, nothing except for the ruins of old Spanish war batteries and forts. When we first arrived, we stood on the beach and watched jelly fish bobbing in the water. The water was so clear we could see a pair of black and white fish scooting along the sandy bottom. We then headed inland to explore the hiking trails. The boys loved climbing up on the deteriorating forts and climbing through the ruins. There was a side walk that led through the middle of the key that led to the old settlement area. As we travelled the path the vegetation became lush and the palms almost over lapped at the top making a sort of tropical tunnel. The few moments where the boys weren't asking questions, making observations or complaining about the long walk we could here the rustling of lizards. A few times they scampered across the path or up a tree.
After walking for about half an hour we arrived at the still functioning light house that had been built in the late 1800s. We stopped under a grove of palm trees and had a quick snack before continuing along a path to the beach. This key is a tortoise and bird sanctuary, we heard a rustling to the side of the path, we stopped quickly and saw a tortoise having a snack, munching on a patch of vines. He froze when he noticed us but let us get close enough for Ken to take same great shots and the boys to get a really good view. When he realized that we were friendly, he went on to finishing his lunch and we continued back to the beach. For me, this was the best day of our trip, the peacefulness of the key was contagious. I soaked up every ray of sunshine. I paid attention to the feel of the fine sand under my feet and enjoyed the cool ocean water as it lapped over my feet.
Will spotted the boat heading back from it's snorkeling expedition so we headed back to the pick up stop and boarded the boat. I had really wanted to go snorkeling that day but Ken had felt that the water was too cold. The captain told us what the snorkelers had seen that day, 4 foot long barracuda and a snake. I was very grateful for Ken's foresight. That would not have been an enjoyable experience! I was envisioning beautifully coloured little fish swimming past, not giant sea monsters! Once everyone boarded the boat we headed back to the Pier. The captain had promised us that we would tour the bay in search of dolphins. As we headed out onto the bay we saw fins almost immediately, however, we were in deep water and they didn't need to come up for air very often. The captain headed for shallower water. After only a few minutes he spotted big splashes off the beach. He headed the boat toward the beach and within minutes we were in the mids of three playful dolphins! They came right up to the side of the boat. They were so close we could hear the spray erupting form their blow holes. They flipped over and swan on their backs, it was amazing. The water was so clear that we could even see them under the surface of the water. Eventually we had to drag ourselves away and head back to the shore.
With regret that the day was over, we walked back down the pier toward the car. When we got back to the condo we quickly changed and went down to the pool for one last swim. Dragging the boys out of the water one last time we headed up for an early dinner so that we could spend some time at the beach before watching the sun go down.
The boys ran and played on the beach. They dug holes, chased birds and each other. Finally, the time came where the sun sunk quickly into the ocean. The colours were spectacular, the wind picked up causing waves to crash on to the beach and just like that the sun went down on our vacation. We all headed home with heavy hearts but fantastic memories.
Ken and I had one last drink together and then turned in early for a very long next day. As we crossed the final draw bridge on our way back to the main land I was granted on last dolphin sighting. Through the early morning mist and sun beginning to sparkle on the water a dolphin crested right in my sight line. I knew that was it, our time to go home had come. Our drive home went very smoothly and we are happy to be sleeping in our own beds but we are all missing that Florida sun shine.
Until our next adventure, cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment