Looking out from a Merritt Island hammock near the
bay behind Playa Linda. (above)
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Statistics:
Dates:
Winter Break- New Years' 2011
for 8 days
Areas Explored:
Florida Keys, Tampa Bay, Everglades, Central
Florida, Space Coast, Florida Panhandle, New Orleans
Transportation: 2009
Dodge Grand Caravan
New Frontiers:
Most of this trip was a rerun, but saw first crocs and drove all the way
to Florida Bay
Wildlife:
many alligators, 3 crocodiles, dozens of
manatees, bald eagles, various herons, wood storks, stingrays,
hammerhead sharks, corals, waterfowl, waders, cranes, ospreys, hawks,
turkey vultures, armadillos, & one amazing Merritt Island bobcat
Cast:
Scott, Jessica, & Andrew
Click
here to see last year's New Years' Trip
Trip Notes:
Day 1: Drove from Chicago, starting about 5 p.m.,
overnight making it to Macon in the morning for breakfast. Day 2:
Continued driving into Florida, finally stopping to rest for the night
in Kissimmee. Day 3:
A decent sleep and then took the B-Line to Merritt Island, before
heading south to Homestead through the Lake Okeechobee area. Day 4: Drove down and then back up
the entire length of the Florida Keys, stopping for a canoe ride in Key
Largo and a swim in Key West, before returning to Homestead. Day 5:
Explored the Everglades all the way to Flamingo, and then headed across
the Tamiami Trail through BIg Cypress, sleeping in Bradenton. Day 6:
Spent the day hunting manatees in Tampa Bay and the springs of the
Suwanee and then raced to Pensacola for New Years' Eve. Day 7:
Drove through rain to New Orleans and then north to Southhaven, MS. Day 8:
Drove from Southhaven to Chicago, stopping here and there along the way.
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