Who knew that 2020 would be such a wild and crazy year. Starting with wildfires in Australia, Daylight Savings Time ending on the same week as a full moon and Friday the 13th, widespread protesting against racial injustice and the Coronavirus – and we’re barely into June! 

Click on the first photo in each group and scroll to see the square photos at full size.
To start at the beginning of this series, visit Dodging the Deep Freeze 2020.

Best Laid Plans

Our original plan for the end of this trip was to join up with our kids and grandkids for six nights in Williamsburg, VA followed by two days in DC during their spring breaks. By the time we returned from Aruba, the Coronavirus was on everyone’s mind. After an email from our Congressman stating that our White House tours had been cancelled, we assumed that other items on our itinerary would soon follow suit. Shortly thereafter, the kids’ schools were set to close down so we cancelled the last ten days of our trip.

While keeping a close eye on the ‘rona situation at hand, we continued our road trip with one week at the Vacation Village at Weston, FL. Although my brothers balked about its location being way west of their Fort Lauderdale home, we had several day trips to the Everglades pencilled in which were in that general direction so we booked it anyway. Although it was a very nice resort, we will probably never stay there again because (don’t tell them this) they were probably right – it was quite a hike from Fort Lauderdale. A lot of our time in Weston was spent making a plan while cancelling plans, but we still had some good times with my brothers.

Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse

One day we ventured about ten miles north of Fort Lauderdale to Pompano Beach to see the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse. If you can plan ahead, about once a month a shuttle boat runs from Sands Dock out to the lighthouse where you can take a tour and climb its 175 steps. Since ours was a spur-of-the-moment visit, we had to be happy with our view from Hillsboro Inlet Park. It really was a beautiful view, even if only from afar, and makes me want a re-visit when we can get up closer.

The lighthouse has quite a complicated history, but here’s the gist:

• 1855: Hillsboro Inlet was deemed hazardous, but no money equals no congressional action
• 1890: Thirty-five years later a new bill stated: “This light is very much needed by vessels bound through the Florida straits into the Gulf of Mexico or to the island of Cuba. Its erection will complete the chain of lights which extend from Jupiter Inlet to Tortugas, so that the navigator can make one light before losing sight of another.”
• 1904: Three acts of Congress and fourteen years later, funds were finally secured and three acres of land were purchased
• 1905: A Detroit, MI company was hired to build a skeletal lighthouse (in Detroit), and a construction company in West Palm Beach was hired to build three houses, one oil house and a barracks.
• 1906: The new lighthouse was completed, inspected, approved, disassembled and shipped via Lake Erie, Lake Michigan, Mississippi River, Gulf of Mexico, around Key West, and north to the Hillsboro Inlet (4,000 nautical-miles). The lens was shipped from Paris and yet another construction company from New Orleans cleared the land, laid the foundation and re-assembled the lighthouse.
• 1907: Fifty-two years from start to finish, Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse was finally illuminated and placed into service under the jurisdiction of the United States Lighthouse Board.

Located between Palm Beach and Miami, Pompano Beach is often called the Heart of the Gold Coast. It’s a pretty classy neighborhood, so have someone else do the driving so you can check out the houses!

We’re done sightseeing for the day and we’re off to Happy Hour at Thai Spice back in Fort Lauderdale. We only had (several) appetizers, but they were absolutely delicious and the drinks were awesome as well!

Two-hour Shark Valley Tram Tour

Next day, after my brother arrived at our very convenient location in Weston, we travelled on the Tamiami Trail (US 41) for a day trip to the Shark Valley Visitor Center. It is about an hour’s drive and as with most visitor centers, it offers educational displays, a park video and a gift shop. But this Visitor Center also offers guided tram tours (2hr tour from 9-4) and bike rentals (15-mile paved) available from Shark Valley Tram Tours, Inc. Since the trams are open-air, we were safe from the Coronavirus and had great views of the gators and birds.

I always thought of the Everglades as a swamp, but I was immediately set straight when our guide told us the Everglades is actually a very shallow, slow-moving river that in some places is just inches deep and 50 miles wide. Here is some more information about the Everglades:

The River of Grass

“Sometimes called The River of Grass, it forms as water from Lake Okeechobee, which historically overflows the lake’s banks, moves onto the southern Florida plains. The waters then make their way to the Gulf of Mexico at the amazingly slow rate…

The Everglades River is lazy, and its pace creates an ecosystem that’s friendly to about 150 species of trees, 40 species of mammals, hundreds of types of colorful birds, and an array of reptiles and amphibians, including crocodiles and alligators. It’s a unique habitat that you won’t see anywhere else on Earth.

Everglades National Park is a big place, covering approximately 2,357 square miles, which makes the park bigger than Rhode Island and Delaware. It is the third largest park in the lower 48 states, surpassed by only Death Valley and Yellowstone.

Everglades National Park has been designated as an International Biosphere Reserve and a Wetlands of International Significance by the United Nations. So it is not only crucial to the local region and state, but recognized on an international scale.” – READ MORE

Our Tram Tour Continues

Pictured below are Cypress trees that thrive for up to 600 years in very wet or flooded conditions. Cypress forests often grow in the shape of a dome, with taller trees in the center, along the flow of water. If these domes are very dense, they are probably teeming with all sorts of nasty animals, so don’t think you’re safe if you find a pretty grove of trees – it’s probably just the opposite!

All along the roadway culverts provided a hangout for alligators where they can sun on the grass or head into the water if they need cooling down.

This was the perfect time of year to see some new families in action. All along the way were baby gators learning survival skills from mom. Baby alligators stay together in a group close to their mother for one to two years. I don’t remember our guide telling us how old these babies may be, but seeing the little ones was worth the price of admission!

The wetlands also provide a beautiful habitat for birds of all sizes and shapes, so expect to see more of them below.

Observation Deck

At about the half-way point of our tour, we stopped for a break at a very cool observation deck. Its gradual swooping ramp provided easy access to panaramic views of the Everglades – for about 20 miles in each direction! We could see the road we came in on, and the water below was home to many fish with many varieties of birds staking-out the shoreline.

70 Endangered Species

The Everglades is home to nearly 70 endangered species, including the manatee, the Florida panther and the American crocodile. This is the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles co-exist. Hundreds of different types of birds also live here so needless to say, my camera was kept pretty busy.

Fabulous Tour

Many of our misconceptions about the Everglades were set straight on this wonderful tour today. It was fun riding around on a tram finding gators and their babies and more beautiful birds. Our driver did her best to stop when she saw things of interest or when folks signaled that something was moving, and our guide was eager to tell stories of these fascinating wetlands.

We didn’t plan our meals too well today and were very hungry by the time the tram tour was over. Luckily the Miccosukee Restaurant was just down the road. A very pregnant employee recommended the Indian fry bread. Actually she was rambling on and on about all the things she liked on the menu, so she must have been hungry too! The Indian fry bread was delicious.

Up next: The Great Escape

Happy trails,
Barb