Florida: Airboat ride in the Everglades

Day 198
No Travel

We finally got to see what the campgrounds and clubhouse looked like in daylight today. Before I leave here, I need to try out their pool table. I did not notice it last night as we got the nickel tour of the place, but it was the first thing I noticed this morning. Everglades Isle focuses on the RV business and not so much the boater business, so for boaters it is a well-kept secret.

I love their logo, but
 I can't understand why it doesn't mention anything about boating!

We walked up to the clubhouse for our showers, paid our docking fees for the three days we are here, and then walked up the lighthouse steps for a look around the area.

View from Lighthouse at Everglades Isle

View from Lighthouse at Everglades Isle

After eating a very late breakfast we walked across the street to Jungle Erv's Airboat Rides. They have two locations and the second, further away, location sounded more interesting for the same price, so we signed up for that one. The only drawback was that we had to bike 20 to 30 minutes to get there - partway being on Rte 41. Fortunately we did not have to go too far on the highway, it had a decent berm, and the traffic was relatively light.

Before leaving, however, I decided I was way overdressed and would "fry" in a hurry with the too-heavy clothes I was wearing. After buying our tickets, we went back to the boat briefly so I could change. Then we left town and headed on our way. Out of "N" choices for airboat rides, we chose this company because of a recommendation from the marina personnel.

Clark snapped this picture on his way out of town (not in).

I am not sure how far we biked to get to the airboat place, but it seemed like it took forever to get there. My legs complained along the way that they were tired, and a couple of times I had to stop for a water break as I was parched! We bought tickets for the 2:00 ride and arrived about 1:50, so we did not have a lot of time to spare once we got there.

Jungle Erv's was recommended by Everglades Isle as the best.

Our ticket included the airboat ride as well as entry to their jungle boardwalk and alligator show. To be sure customers actually see an alligator on their visit, Jungle Erv's has a few on hand so no one leaves disappointed.

Well-fed Alligator hangs out by the office for treats.

Many of the airboats in the area are small and hold only 3 or 4 passengers. The one we rode on was built to hold about 10 to 12 guests. My understanding from talking to the staff at the marina is that all the companies charge about the same price.

Our 12-seater airboat.

The Jungle Erv tour we selected goes through private land and is only traveled by Jungle Erv captains. All the other airboat companies, including the Jungle Erv location close to the marina, use common waters for their shows. We liked the private tour. Clark took numerous photos during our ride as well as a number of videos.

Some great videos are included at the end of the blog entry.

Airboat Selfie
(the white bands are my backpack straps that I was holding onto tightly)

We went through tight spots

and wide-open areas

through the mangroves in shallow waters

The captain said he made a wrong turn and got lost.
Then he took pictures of his guests --
8 folks who came together from Minnesota and us.

We found a non-paying guest on the boat.
The woman behind me screamed like she was being murdered when it climbed on her.

Feet up, sit back, enjoy the ride!
We had front-row seats - nice!!

About 2/3 of the way through the one-hour tour
I added noise cancelling headphones to my attire to give my ears a rest.

I looked at my watch several times during the ride - I did not want the ride to end since it was so enjoyable. As we wove back and forth through the mangroves I had two questions in my head - 1) how the heck does he know where he is since it all looks very similar and 2) are we just going in circles over the same territory and I can't tell? I never learned the answer to either question.

All too soon my hour was up and it was time to depart. We rode our bikes to the Jungle Boardwalk to take advantage of the second part of tour two-part tickets. The bike ride back to town seemed just as long and tiring as the trip to the airboat ride - no fair!! I was hoping one way would feel easier than the other. One with the wind, one against - that type of thing!

Boardwalk into Jungle at Jungle Erv's

We walked the boardwalk to the alligator exhibit first.

We were greeted by this 200-pound fella.
(Fortunately he was behind a fence.)

 The alligator handler had a lot to say. In fact he never stopped talking from before we got there as he finished explaining alligators to the prior visitors as we arrived until we could still hear him talking to his next visitors as we walked away. He went non-stop!

The handler said I could hold a small one, so I did!

He had a muzzle on to protect me from his needle-sharp teeth.
His skin felt smooth and soft and not even real to the touch.

After viewing and petting alligators, we continued our way along the boardwalk and came out where airboats passed by us.

By the time we were done with our Jungle Erv adventure, the day was rapidly coming to a close. We got back to the marina entrance at 4:20 or so and decided not to bother going back to the boat yet. We kept going and went in search of an early dinner in town. Bill at the marina recommended that we dine at the cafe with the old yellow bug out front. We found the bug but did not care for the menu.

Landmark for a Local Restaurant

The menu at the "yellow bug" cafe was mostly fried foods, and they had no stone crabs. Disappointed we left to seek our meal elsewhere. As we rode around to the various restaurants in the area, we saw a couple of interesting sights.

Chokoloskee Crossing Road Sign -
A new one on me!

Traps, traps and more traps!
What makes this unusual??
The traps are across the street from the back of the high school
which is located basically on the water!

 We finally decided on the Triad Cafe based on online reviews of the local choices. Having arrived at 5:05, we thought we were early for dinner. We were surprised when the waitress told us the kitchen just closed, but she would take our order anyway (if we hurried). Dumbfounded, we looked at one another and then the menu. She quickly got the hint that we had no idea what to order. She went to get us our water to drink to give us a couple of minutes to review the options.

I decided on a cranberry-walnut salad topped with grilled shrimp. It was delicious. Clark opted for stone crabs. The waitress told him this is the "stone crab capital of the world", so he had better order them over his other possible selections. He could not decide and asked for her advice - and got it!

Yummy salad with shrimp!

Chalk one up to Clark for one of my best birthdays ever - certainly one of the most memorable!

Airboat videos!

Florida: Naples to Everglades City

Day 197
NM Today: 40
NM Total: 3691

When we got up to get off the boat this morning, it was very low tide. I took one look at the fixed dock, close to three-feet above the gunwale of the boat, and decided that only a gymnast could get off the boat. While I stood there inspecting the situation, Clark easily lept off the boat beside me.

"Mind the Gap"
The white and grayish colored area at the bottom of the picture is the gunwale of the boat. 

Pulling on the dock lines, Clark moved the boat over closer to the fixed dock, and I managed to boost myself up and off the boat. I had a strong hold on Clark's hand as I climbed off to help. With one last look around before leaving the Naples City dock, we saw some picture-worthy items.

Who wouldn't want to go on a fishing trip with Captain Marvel?

Outdoor Laundry I mentioned in my other post.
Look at the roof with so many pelicans sitting up there.
When I walked past, I heard them making all sorts of clunking noises
like they were wearing boots.

Big Dude sitting on the laundry area roof!

Due to the low tide and the route to our next stop, we did not leave Naples until 12:00 because we had to wait for the water level to come up. Even so at some places along today's route we saw depth readings of 2.6 feet. We need 3'8" under the boat, so it was tight in these spots and we had to watch our way very carefully. (We add one foot to the depth sounder reading due to its position under the boat to get the actual clearance.)

As we made our way down the channel leaving Naples, a red jet boat appeared out of nowhere weaving back-and-forth behind us. First it looked like he would pass us on our starboard, then on our port, and then he would spin a 360 in the middle of the channel and start his antics all over again. Finally after a few 360s he passed us, and we saw that he had paying passengers on board his "tour" / thrill boat.

Two women sat in the open boat wearing the disposable rain slickers to protect them from the spray as the boat spun around. Either the guys with them were toughing it out or they had rain coats - I could not tell from the distance. After the red jet boat passed us, Clark grabbed the camera and tried to get the show on video, but of course the driver decided not to spin circles anymore.

Other than the trick boat and watching for low water, the trip out of Naples was uneventful. As I saw sign posts along the channel advising of No Wake zones for Manatee areas, I realized that scenery that had been unusual to us when we first arrived in Florida was becoming quite normal.

Minimum Wake areas for Manatees

We did see some unusual sights today however.

Hairy Boat or Thatched Roof Covering for a Boat lift?

We have seen lots of Osprey nests
but this one was between 18" and 24" high!
Deepest I have ever seen.

Our ultimate destination of Everglades City does not have much to offer in terms of big-name stores. I reminded Clark that we needed some supplies from West Marine as well as a food store. He called Marco Island Marina and made arrangements for us to stop over there for an hour to visit the West Marine and Publix.  Google maps said the trip takes about 6 minutes down the road by bike. We docked, unwrapped the bikes, and took off down the road in record time. Clark did not waste any time getting there, i.e. we were "boogying" to get there and back asap. By 3:00 we had our supplies and were once more on our way to Everglades Isle marina.

A portion of our trip included traveling on the Gulf. After yesterday's ridiculously heavy winds I wondered what the wave action would be out there. We got a sneak peak as we went past Capri Pass.

Capri Pass on way to Everglades City, FL

Later, when we got out on the Gulf itself, we were pleasantly surprised that the waters were quite calm. The report said to expect two-to-three foot waves, but I was pretty sure the waves were not even reaching that two-foot mark.

Unfortunately, after exiting the Gulf, the Idle Speed and Slow Speed - Minimum Wake zones were plentiful and we realized that it would likely take longer to get to Everglades Isle marina than we had remaining daylight. Whoops! We did not want to arrive in total darkness.

Clark asked me how far we had to go, and using the chart, I calculated it out to be about two nautical miles. At idle speed that is a long distance, so as soon as speed zones permitted, Clark took the boat up on plane, and we traveled a ways at fast speed to get us further on our way. Even so we could see that sunset was rapidly approaching.

Rapidly Losing Light in Everglades City, FL

We passed the Rod & Gun Club marina on our way to Everglades Isle marina. Clark read the reviews on each place and decided that Everglades Isle marina had a lot more to offer.

Everglades City Rod & Gun Club Marina

Everglades City Rod & Gun Club Marina

After we passed the Rod & Gun Club we still had to weave our way down the channel to get to our destination. As we approached the marina Clark tried to call the dock master but only got a recording. We did not know our slip assignment. Since it was well after 6:00, I was not surprised he got no answer at the marina office. We both wondered where we should tie up the boat.

As we pulled up to the marina, a man came out and started talking to us. Initially Clark thought it might be the dock master; however, we quickly realized from what he had to say that he was only a tenant there at the marina. Fortunately he had spoken to Bill, the dock master, earlier in the day and knew where Bill wanted us to tie up. We followed his directions and luckily got our lines on while we still had enough light to see what we were doing.

By the time we had our lines on, Bill himself appeared. The marina is actually a marina / RV park combo, and Bill lives here in his RV. He said he did not come down to greet us as soon as we pulled into the marina because there was only two more minutes left in the Broncos / Patriots game and he wanted to watch the finish.  He said we did well picking our docking location because we were tied up precisely where he would have told us to go.

Bill invited us to see the club house, so we locked the boat and he drove us in a golf cart up to the club house to show us around. The facility has a swimming pool, ping-pong tables, bar, and TV room and offers free ice and laundry facilities to guests. If the weather gets above 50 degrees while we are here, maybe I will try the heated pool or then again probably not. I am not that into swimming to face the cold air after I get out. Brrrrr!

We noticed when we pulled up to the marina that another looper boat sat at one of the docks. After getting the tour of the facility, we stopped by to say hello. They invited us to come visit, and so after dinner, we went over and talked with them for an hour or so. 9:00 is called "looper midnight", and so at just around 9:00 we said our farewells. Corkscrew, as their boat is called, plans to leave here early tomorrow morning to make their way onward towards the Florida Keys. Maybe we will see them again "down the road".

Both Bill and the folks onboard Corkscrew (they drink a lot of wine) recommended that we check out the air boats in town for an air boat tour of the Everglades. It is a little pricey, but Sonny and Phyllis from Corkscrew said it is well worth it. They even got to see an alligator! I said to Clark, "Hey, a trip on an air boat might make a great birthday present. Hint! Hint!" Since tomorrow is my birthday, we will see how that goes.

Florida: Naples - Farmer's market, heavy winds, and wild surf

Day 196
No Boat Travel

We slept in rather late today, and while I was eating breakfast, I happened to notice that Naples has a Farmer's Market every Saturday from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. It just happened to be 10:30 by the time I saw the info, so we quick got ourselves together and headed over to check it out.

We rode our bicycles and took a backpack for whatever we might find to bring back. The market was only a few blocks away, but with today's wind gusts of over 25 mph going was sometimes rough. The roads were mostly flat, but at times I felt like I was peddling up a steep incline. I wondered if the market would be closed due to the strong winds, but it was in full swing when we arrived.

Naples 3rd Street South Farmer's Market

Vegetables, Plants, Baked Goods, Jewelry, Live Music

Fresh Veggies Galore

Since we only had 30 minutes to do our shopping, I hurried through from one end of the market to the other to scope it out and then hit the stands that had the items I wanted to buy. Surprisingly I found a vendor selling fresh bagels and bought some for Clark and I to eat for lunch. I also found kettle corn and, on a lark, picked up a bag as a special treat. I even found grapefruit for Clark - I hope it's tasty! Of course I bought some potatoes, onions, zucchini, and broccoli.

With a full and heavy backpack (those spuds and onions were heavy), we headed off to see more of Naples. Clark's first destination was the Naples Pier.

Naples Pier - built 1888 to bring freight and passengers into town

The pier was like Grand Central Station, and I remarked to Clark that if they charged admission they would make a killing today. Everyone wanted to see the surf on the Gulf of Mexico. The scene was a magnificent display of Mother Nature's fury. There is something very exhilarating about watching the surf go wild.

Naples Pier

Wind-whipped Palm Trees

End of the Line - Pier closed due to wicked surf

Rugged waves

Heavy spray on pier

Crashing Surf

Rough Seas -
The news reported 15-to-18-foot waves in the Gulf --
unheard of unless there is a tropical system in the area!

We saw several people taking pictures of themselves and each other. Clark decided we needed a selfie too.

Wild hair day in the wind

One lone person was out in the waves surfing. He paddled out close to the pier, but by the time he finished fighting the waves to get out for his ride he was far south of where he started.

One Guy Out Surfing -
surfing was not recommended per tonight's news.
I wonder why!

After being blown around for our walk on the beach and pier, Clark said he had more sights to see.  I suggested we swing by the boat and empty the backpack before proceeding further on our tour. After dropping off the goodies, we found our way to Naples Bayfront via Tin City. We did not take any pictures of Tin City which seemed to consist mostly of restaurants and gift shops. All of the buildings appeared to be made of sheet metal. I expect that had something to do with the origin of the name of the area.

Bayfront was much more picturesque, and Clark got busy with the camera once more.

Naples Bayfront with
beautiful, colorful buildings

Fountain at the Bayfront

Closeup on the Fountain

Of Course King Neptune
had his own Fountain / Pool to Oversee

After visiting King Neptune, we moved on to the Depot Museum. I found a brochure in the ice cream store yesterday that said the museum was free, so Clark was "all in" on that deal. The museum was very well done and informative. 

Naples Depot Museum

The first thing we saw when we got there was a miniature train going round the track - miniature but big enough to hold seats for full-sized passengers to take a spin around the building / area.

Betty Caboose on the Miniature Train

Full-size Caboose for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad

We were able to board the full-size caboose to see the interior layout of bunks, pot-bellied stove, and seats. Inside the museum building we learned how the railroad influenced Naples' history. Until the railroad was extended as far as Naples, the only way to get here was by boat. A large portion of the museum was dedicated to Naples' railroad  history.

Miniature Train Cars on Display in Museum

Atlantic Coast Line miniature replicas

Besides providing the railroad history for Naples, the museum also described the history of the people living in the area starting with ancient Indian tribes that lived here hundreds of years ago through more modern times. In the late 1800s, without ease of access to this part of Florida, the first attempt at forming the city of Naples failed and the originators sold off all the land they had acquired in the area for just $50,000. Once railroad, and later cars, facilitated travel to the area, Naples started to thrive and eventually became the affluent city it is today.

Model T Ford in Naples' Auto Age

 Franks Garage became the first service station in Naples and later became the town's Ford dealership.

Belair Automobile on Display at the Naples Depot Museum

After visiting the Depot Museum we decided to head back to the boat. We left the boat at 10:30 or so to head out to the farmer's market, which was just about four hours earlier, and we had been biking or walking ever since. We even ate our lunch (our bagels) while we were out on the run. Too bad my FitBit does not calculate number of pedals as well as number of steps! I only made 6000 steps today, but biking for more than three hours should count for something! I am satisfied I made today's goal.

Later, after we had returned to the boat, Clark took a picture of the docks under pretty heavy cloud cover.

View from our boat at Naples City Dock

Tomorrow we are underway again and heading for Everglades City. That should be interesting indeed. We have yet to see an alligator. Perhaps we will see at least one in the Everglades.

For folks who read the blog online, here are a couple of videos of today's adventures at the pier with the winds howling and the surf crashing against the pier.