May 11 – “Day Nine: Manny T”

Yesterday we started off with a visit to Fort Zachary Taylor.  Chris’ distant cousin on her mother’s side.  It was built during the Civil War, then used during the War of 1812.  They have unearthed some really cool canons.  And it has a pretty spectacular view as well. 

 

Chris took over the steering wheel, and we headed out of the Keys.  We stopped at Gilbert’s again for some lunch.  That’s the same place we ate with Steve and Susan last week sometime.  No idea what day.  I don’t even know what day today is.  The service was really slow for there to be hardly any crowd for lunch.  Chris learned not to order Mahi-Mahi in a place so close to Cuba.  Odd spices.  They kind of infiltrated the fried shrimp batter as well, but that good old stand-by took care of that issue.  What?  Oh.  Ketchup.  We also ordered a piece of key lime pie.  Last piece from the Florida Keys.  Still comes in about third, though. 

 

Then it was back to the Everglades to check out another visitor’s center.  Actually it wasn’t the center we were interested in.  It was the nearby marina.  It was allegedly harboring (see what I did there?) manatees.  At least there have been some sightings.  Well, 16 of 18 times the ranger has visited there, he has seen one.  That gave us an 11.1% chance that there wouldn’t be one there.  Pretty much our usual wheelhouse. 

 

As we checked in and prepared to show our National Park seniors; lifetime pass, the car in front of us drove on through after talking with the Ranger and paying the entry fee.  Bua as he left and we inched closer to the window, suddenly there was a flurry of activity from within.  And then, a siren sounded as if from a law enforcement vehicle in hot pursuit.  Except … the noise came from the building.  We expected any second for the whole thing to transform into a rocket car and take off after the apparent lawbreaker ahead of us, leaving us alone and meekly holding up our entry card.  But no.  Seems the car in front had paid just fine, but they took off without their receipt.  The ranger in charge finally declared it an “oh, well” moment and waved us through as well.

 

We found the marina with no problems, and it is official … we beat the 11.1% odds.  Manny T (he’s shy and doesn’t want his last name on social media) hitched a ride with us and will become a part of our critter family.  We saw his larger – much, much, much larger – counterparts at the marina.  Did I mention they were large?  They looked like huge floating slugs in the water that occasionally stuck their heads up for a breath of fresh air.  And since we actually saw said larger cousins, I have officially checked off one of my two desires for this trip.  I saw a manatee.  Now all that remains is to eat an alligator.  Riding an airboat through the Everglades promises to be icing on the cake as well.

 

Speaking of alligators, after gaping at the manatees for a while, we were informed that a crocodile was lurking in another part of the marina, protecting her eggs.  We hustled over there.  Not sure if the one we saw was mama, but whoever it was snuck up behind us when we were staring at her last known location.  Exciting stuff. 

 

A quick stop at the marina store gave Chris a chance to ask her questions.  They also told us to be sure and check out the osprey nest built high in an observation tower just behind the building.  Sure enough, we found that one easy enough.  Looked a lot like an eagle, but not as majestic. 

 

Then it was back through the park again to locate our hotel for the night.  No rest for the weary, though.  At least not right away.  We needed to wash some clothes.  Our room was on the first floor.  The laundry facilities were on the fourth floor.  Road trip.

 

Psalms 19:7 says, “The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul.  The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.”

 

Father, thank you for the chance to see those manatees.  It was exciting for me.  Sometimes it doesn’t take much.  Amen.