Growing up in Minnesota, Troy and I both spent a lot of time around lakes but we both have a special appreciation for the ocean. This year for Troy's spring break and for an early birthday present for him, I decided we both needed a little treat so I booked us cheap flights to Fort Myers and we started to plan a beach camping trip.I had discovered Cayo Costa on the Florida State Park site a year or more ago and kept it in mind because from all the descriptions it sounded perfect. It took us two flights, an hour cab ride, an hour ferry ride and a tram to get to our campsite--and we had to pack in all our food for the several day trip. But it was well worth it.
On the tram. Happy as a clam on the way to the campsite.We rented kayaks and bikes to tool around the island. We saw osprey, wild pigs, manatee and more.
A dolphin!
Even though I was looking closely (and ready to run), we didn't see any alligators.
Just below the surface here is a manatee. We kayaked in a little cove with maybe 4-5 of them!
The day prior we had kayaked to Cabbage Key--supposedly this place was an old hangout of Jimmy Buffet's and inspired the song "Cheeseburger in Paradise." A nice place to paddle to after roughing it a bit.
Stone crab claws. A seasonal delicacy that we had to try. Once caught, the crabbers cut one claw off and throw the crabs back so that it will grow back again. Quite labor intensive to catch and eat but oooohhhh soooo yummy!
Working on the crab claws and getting ready for the first beef burger I've ordered out in maybe 9 years (since I read Beyond Beef)!
Back in the day, if the fishermen had a good day, they would come in here for lunch and drinks. They would write their name on a dollar bill and tack it to the wall so that when they had a bad day fishing they could still eat and drink.
This caught on with tourists and supposedly there is now over $70,000 on the walls of this place. They periodically take it down and give it to charities.
All in all it was a great trip and we're already scheming about how to get back there. It's great to travel around and find little pockets of paradise!
I'll close with some random pics. You can see more on my Shutterfly site.
6 comments:
Looks awesome!!! I was especially excited to read about the manatees.
Aren't stone crabs good!! You can order them to be overnighted to your home from Islamorada Fish Co.-that is what we do! It looked like an awesome trip.
Yay, this looks gorgeous. It's too funny, because I almost went to Fort Myers with my parents and the puppy for a trip this week! But planning a trip involving a puppy proved to be too tiring. So I'm in chilly CT enjoying my spring break just the same! Glad you had a fabulous time and saw manatees!!! You both deserved it.
I lived in Ft. Myers for about six years when I was younger, and your pics of that area really make me miss it. That part of Florida is very different from the Tampa area where our family lives now - it's much more beachy, sandy, palmy, laid back, etc. That's awesome that you went to the dollar bill restaurant on Cabbage Key - I went there when I was younger and the whole dollar bill thing made it very memorable (kids, piles of cash - who wouldn't remember it). looks like you guys had an amazing time. welcome back!
Troy! Get in your tube ... er ... kayak!
what an amazing trip and beautiful pictures. looks like you guys enjoyed every second!! i'm jealous. :)
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