As we finally started heading south again, by way of the Georgia coast, we were struck by the abundance and variety of bromeliads (air plants). They attach to trees for support, but don't otherwise harm it. The variety is amazing.

In Ft. Myers, Florida (on the Gulf Coast) Thomas Edison maintained a winter home and laboratory. He spent three months each year here. His house was the first to be illuminated by electric lights in town. Henry Ford also had a vacation home next door.

Edison also collected plants from around the world to aid in his researches. Among the gifts of fauna was a Banyan tree from India. It is over 400 feet in diameter, and would be larger if they wanted to give up the parking lot. One of his areas of research was to find a domestic source of natural rubber.

Below Fort Myers, the beaches are lined with condominiums, hotels, and resorts. Although not as crowded as the east coast, it won't be long before there are more retirees and winter residents than there is room for.

The Caribbean Gardens (in Naples) is a zoo and botanical garden. It is was fun and educational to wander around among the unfamiliar plants and trees, watch some of the talks, and pet the baby alligators. The kids are holding an amelonistic (lacking black pigment) Boa.

When we got to the Everglades, we happened upon the second annual Cheese and Cracker Festival in Everglades City. The main event was their second attempt to get into the Guiness Records with the world's largest grilled cheese sandwich. They needed a forklift to turn it over, but it will be three months before confirmation of the record. Click on the picture to see the remains.

On a boat trip into the Everglades National Park, we were treated to views of a variety of bird life, including a southern bald eagle and this osprey watching over the boat traffic in the 10,000 islands area.

The mangroves are responsible for the majority of the small islands of the southern coast of Florida. They also provide fishing grounds for the wading birds, including this Great Blue Heron.

On an air boat ride through the swamps, we kept getting the feeling we were being watched. Skimming over the water and grass was a blast!

On a ride through the grass swamp in the center of the Everglades, we flushed a pair white tail deer. Most of the grass swamp is only one to three feet deep with a sprinkling of mangrove and hardwood 'islands' which provide a place for native mammals to dry out and have young.

Leaving the swamps behind, we skirted around Miami and started heading down the causeway through the Florida Keys.

Arriving in Key West gave us our third corner of the continental U.S., and this marker is about two blocks from our 'apartment'. This week Key West is host to a power boat race of off-shore racers. The town is like many tourist towns with a small population of locals, and larger population of seasonals, and a huge transient population. Some immense cruise ships also make it a stop on their trips. It does has some unique history and color, but so do most tourist towns.

While we were in Key West, we couldn't pass up the trip out to the 'most remote park' in the National Park System. Fort Jefferson on the Dry Tortugas.

The fort was built on a coral island (Garden Key) about 70 miles from Key West in the 1850s. It was never finished, but during the civil war was used as a prison by the Union Army. The moat was used for defense and to protect the walls from being battered by storm surge.

On Loggerhead Key not far away, a lighthouse was built. The seven Islands that make up the Tortugas have no fresh water, but the fort exploration, bird watching, snorkeling, diving, and fishing around them are big attractions.

On the way back to the mainland, on Grassy Key, we stopped at the Dolphin Research Center. A non-profit, research and educational facility, it houses more than a dozen Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins. There are some demonstrations, and some encounter sessions (although the popular 'swim with dolphins' program is booked a year in advance).

The original 'Flipper' of the TV series was played by two former residents of the center (a male and a female), and many of their offspring are here. None of the dolphins are captured from the wild, and a viable breeding program is in place. They are fun to watch as you wander around the enclosures.

Traveling north above the Everglades, we found out that boaters can sail east to west through mainland Florida by way of a channel and Lake Okeechobee. It connects the intracoastal waterway to the Gulf of Mexico. The lake covers 750 square miles, but is less than 30 feet at the deep end. In 1928, a hurricane caused waves so big that 1,000 people were killed, so a tall dike with locks was built completely around it.

On the 'Space Coast' is the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge. These Wood Storks (and Great and Snowy Egrets) are just a few of the many bird species that inhabit the area around the Kennedy Space Center.

At the Space Center's Visitor Complex is the 'rocket garden', a collection of historic rockets - the largest of which is this Saturn 1B. These were used to deliver crews to Skylab, the US's first space station. It was the first rocket designed by NASA for space and not a converted military machine.

We were treated to a rare sight on a tour around the complex, the Endeavour waiting for launch on November 30th, without being surrounded by the Service Structure. It is a sight!

In the International Space Station Center, this supply/cargo module (and another one like it) was being loaded and tested for delivery by the shuttle to the Space Station. This is where all the pieces and parts destined for the station are given the final checks. Nerd Heaven!