Tag: Florida

Road Trip to Florida: Highs and Lows

road trip
~ Loreeebee ~ 1 Comment

The past few weeks have been vacation time for hubby and I, on a road trip to Florida.  The first step involved renting a car as our 2009 Toyota Sienna would most likely not survive the trip.  If you have tried to purchase a new vehicle recently, you will know what I mean when I say it’s not as simple as it used to be.  With our Florida destination booked for three weeks we decided to wing the rest, ie stop when we were tired.

We have experienced a few hiccups along the way but nothing insurmountable. So far.

Thanksgiving (US) Weekend

When I planned this trip, I did not realize we were leaving Canada the day before the four day Thanksgiving weekend in the USA.  Apparently most Americans travel that weekend.  This became obvious as soon as we crossed the border…the highways were packed!

GPS

The Ford Escape (we love it BTW) we rented included an onboard GPS system.  Although hubby is (still) more of a map guy, he grudgingly admits to liking the commands to “turn right now!”  I must say, he listens to her voice better than he does to mine.  We did get lost in Fredericksburg Virginia looking for our first hotel though.  The hotel clerk excused the GPS though blaming the confusion on a recent road name change.  

Since that mistake, we have learned to trust the GPS to guide us to restaurants, beaches, and tourist spots here in the Nokomis area of Florida.

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

Our second night we reached Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.  A slight mix-up with Expedia on our reservations made using McDonald’s wifi (they booked us for two rooms for one night, instead of one room for two nights) was efficiently handled by that hotel clerk. So efficiently we ended up with a significant discount.  Who doesn’t love a discount, especially when travelling?

Hilton Head Island is a gorgeous vacation paradise on the Atlantic coast.  I cannot believe we have have never stopped there before but know we will again.  It was cool and cloudy with a threat of rain the day we spent there but the beach was spectacular; our favourite kind of beach that stretches for miles.

Red Tide

Our road trip to Florida continued after Hilton Head, arriving at our final destination on Casey Key, located on the gulf coast, twenty minutes south of Sarasota, the next day.  Unfortunately, we had not heard that Red Tide had also arrived a month earlier, and was still hanging around like an unwelcome house guest.  Luckily for us it had (for the most part) moved on by the end of our first week. 

In the meantime we became beach hoppers, searching for red tide-free beaches to walk.

Family Visits

A favourite part of this Florida road trip was the fact that one of our sons and his family flew down for twelve days.  Having two of our six grandchildren for at least part of the trip was an added bonus.  In fact, I’ve decided if I ever win the lottery, I will buy (or rent) a big house down here where we all could be beach bums together.  It would have to be a big house to fit all thirteen of us at once!

I think Elton John wrote Your Song with those (similar) lyrics:

I don’t have much money, but boy if I did, I’d buy (or rent) a big house where we both (all) could live (stay)

Elton John

Weather

The weather has been unusually warm and sunny for this time of year on this road trip to Florida. 

Other years we have not been so fortunate. Cooler and wetter weather is forecast this coming weekend, just in time for our departure. 

I’ll be Home for Christmas

Like that song says, this road trip will be a memory in the rear view mirror.  Although local residents here try to decorate for the holidays, a wintery white Christmas is for me!

Red Tide Devastates Florida Gulf Beaches

red tide
~ Loreeebee ~ 1 Comment

Florida’s gulf beaches are (slowly) recovering from a devastating bloom of algae that both experts and locals refer to as red tide. Although this phenomenon has been around for years, rearing its ugly head in late summer or early fall, many insist it was more deadly than ever these past few months after hurricane Ian ravaged the same coastline.

What is Red Tide?

National Ocean Service refers to red tide as a harmful algal bloom (HAB). The problem arises when this microscopic, naturally occurring, algae called Karenia Brevis rages out of control, spewing toxins into the water and air, killing fish and other water inhabitants. The airborne toxins cause respiratory concerns in humans such as coughing, burning nose and eyes.

This particular algae bloom is red in colour, which, when combined with the blue-green of clean ocean water, creates a grotesque, purplish-brown, sludge-like appearance. (think red paint added to green or blue paint) The ugly colour of the water and the carnage of dead, stinky sea life on the shores made the typically beautiful gulf coast beaches not so beautiful.

red tide

What Causes Red Tide

There are several theories on what causes Karenia Brevis to bloom out of control. The most plausible (due to the fact that this is occurring on an increasingly regular basis) blames human-generated pollution. The Mississippi River runs from north to south through many of the united states, collecting garbage, sewage, pesticides, fertilizers, and more, dumping it all into the Gulf of Mexico. Gulf currents moving north along the Texas shore gather pollutants, sweeping them across the gulf and south up the Florida coast. The algae feeds on this pollution, causing the outbreaks. In turn, the fish killed by the toxins the algae blooms release are left to rot on the shorelines. The tide then carries the rotting fish back into the water to refuel the expanding algae bloom.

The severity of this recent red tide outbreak is being blamed by some on hurricane Ian that destroyed many communities along the Florida gulf with heavy winds and flooding a few months ago. Many of the resorts and homes along the coast use septic systems which overflow under such extensive flooding. As a result, sewage and other algae fueling debris ended up in the gulf.

Getting Red Tide Under Control

Mother Nature does her part attempting to get the situation under control. The ebb and flow of tides, huge waves, constant currents, storms, and human clean-up teams all help to break up the algae bloom. Vultures and smaller birds do their part too, congregating to feast on the rotting flesh of the dead fish and crabs.

red tide

Fortunately for my vacation plans, Mother Nature appears to be winning the battle. We had to turn back on our first beach walk when my burning nose and eyes felt like I was sniffing hot peppers! Every day since has been better and now I am happy to report that the pristine beauty of our favourite, swim-in-the ocean-in-December beach is back!

Tropical Sightings

~ Loreeebee ~ 1 Comment

Recently returned from a vacation, I cannot help but notice how quickly reality reinstates itself.  In fact, today the sight outside my window is decidedly whiter and frostier, my tropical view has disappeared…

tropical view
not so tropical view

 

There were lots of tropical sightings throughout our two weeks immersed in the warm weather of Casey Key and its surrounding area on the gulf coast of Florida.  These included the vegetation, local beaches, wildlife, sunsets, Christmas decorations and of course the margaritas.

Vegetation

As I’ve said before, you can take this gardening girl out of her gardens, but you can never take the (love for) gardens and plants out of this girl!  Wherever my travels lead me, I cannot help but notice the variety of plants and the design of gardens.  Succulents are my favourite, here in Canada and anywhere else I find them, although most plants do seem so much more spectacular in tropical climates.  For example, I have planted yuccas (Adam’s Needle variety) here in my local gardens and their 4 foot stalks of white, bell-shaped blooms are beautiful. I did not witness their tropical cousins in bloom, but am willing to bet they definitely outshine (and outgrow) the northern varieties…

Adam’s Needle (northern variety) Yucca
Tropical Yucca Flower Stalk

 

Wildlife

I love all wildlife, but I find the tropical species especially interesting. The variety of birds alone kept my camera clicking, from pelicans to gulls, terns, ibis, sandpipers, egrets, herons and osprey.  Their antics and routines were fascinating. The saying “birds of a feather flock together” was evident, especially at sundown.

sandpipers
gulls
egrets

 

I realize that some of these birds are not exclusive to tropical locales, but I have never before seen an osprey patiently waiting for fishermen to donate their catches.  Apparently osprey were just removed from Florida’s endangered species list in January 2019.  This particular beauty would perch on a nearby pole, emitting a piercing chirp occasionally to let his donors know he was there, and wait for the fishermen to leave a fish on the jetty.  Much to their chagrin the more common pelicans and egrets hovering nearby were shooed away so the osprey could literally swoop in to retrieve the offering, then soar away…

waiting perch
moving in
grabbing the fish
flying away, above a swimmer

 

Other tropical wildlife species included dolphins, sea turtles and even more birds, all beautiful in their own way…

dolphin swimming off jetty
sea turtle
snowy egret
blue heron
ibis
pelican

Sunsets

A great argument for preferring the west (Gulf) coast of Florida to the east (Atlantic) coast is the abundance of gorgeous sunsets.  Every single night we watched the sun sink into the Gulf of Mexico, with the cloud formations making each sunset unique…

 

Beaches

The plentiful beaches along the Florida gulf coast are all spectacular, each featuring something different.  Siesta Key, near Sarasota, offers an extra wide expanse of soft (my granddaughter called it “squishy”) white sand, with a firmly packed strip close to the water’s edge perfect for walking, biking, jogging, and even strollers or wheel chairs. This beach is lined with miles of hotels to choose from.

Nokomis Beach on Casey Key (20 minutes south of Sarasota) boasts miles of sandy shoreline, a rock jetty at one end, lots of seashells and spectacular waterfront homes to admire.  We looked up one (smaller) home that is up for sale. A 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom fixer-upper located on the inland waterway side of the road with deeded access to the gulf is going for a cool $2.2 million USD.  I can’t afford that, but if any of you can, I will promise to come visit! Many of these gorgeous homes were damaged in a 2018 storm, so many are still under renovation.  One of the best features of Casey Key (we think) is that it is largely non-commercialized. Family owned homes and motels are restricted to two stories, supporting a more natural feel.

Venice Beach, 5 minutes further south, also sports miles of sandy shoreline as well as a massive wooden fishing jetty.  It too is dotted with high rise apartments and hotels, but offers a quainter shopping district nearby.

 

Christmas Decorations

Even the Christmas decorations have a tropical feel, although I had a hard time conjuring up any Christmas spirit without snow and cold weather.  A Santa Claus parade featured decorated boats, ranging from tiny sailboats to huge luxury yachts, floating down the intracoastal waterway one evening.  Many businesses, including our favourite Mexican food restaurant, are lit up for the holiday season too.

Weather

We were fortunate on this vacation as the weather was awesome, with the daytime temperatures hovering between 20 and 26 degrees Celsius.  Definitely more tropical than the weather here in Canada.  As you can see from some of the pictures, we did see lots of storm clouds, but only experienced rain on the very last day and even then only for a few moments.