After another day at sea, we disembarked in Tampa, picked up our rental car, and drove to Ft. Lauderdale for a few days with Jan Bell. During our visit we spent a leisurely day at the boardwalk at Hollywood Beach near Jan’s condo unit. It was a beautiful day to walk and relax.
Tues., 3/4/14 – Ft. Lauderdale – Happy Birthday, Gale
We spent today at Flamingo Gardens – a 60-acre botanical garden and wildlife sanctuary. There are 3000 tropical and subtropical species of plants and trees and 83 species of birds and animals native to Florida and of course many flamingoes. We rode the tram through wetlands, hardwood hammock and cypress forest, and listened to the narration of the guide. We spent 4 ½ hours just looking at birds and animals and enjoying walking around the paths in the lush foliage. We ate hot dogs watching Ibis and Flamingoes. It was a nice way to have spent my birthday.
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Flamingos, of course
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Crazy knee joints
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Ibis
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Pelicans |
Wood storks
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Cute little lizard |
Lots of peacocks
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Pea hen |
Handsome fellow! |
What fine nails you have!
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Roseate Spoonbill |
Anhinga
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Lizard with throat all puffed up
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Pretty flower |
Turtle |
Tortoise
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Another pretty flower
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Jan was able to get tickets to a spring training baseball game in Jupiter (an hour north). It happened to be the St. Louis Cardinals vs. the Boston Red Sox – a rematch of the 2013 World Series. We were glad she drove because the stadium area was a mass of cars and tickets were sold out. We sat behind first base with our backs to the sun and enjoyed being so close to the action.
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St. Louis Cardinals vs Boston Red Sox
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Thurs., 3/6/14 – Ft. Lauderdale to Tampa
We drove west across the Everglades and north through heavy rain and strong winds into Tampa. At least it stopped raining as we went across the Skyway Bridge. Our cruise ship went under it leaving and returning to Tampa. No ships were in sight while we crossed it.
We checked into the LaQuinta Hotel on Spruce St. across the street from the airport, ate dinner at the IHOP next door, and reorganized our packing for the flight home.
Fri. and Sat., 3/7 – Tampa to Denver
We got up at 4 AM (2 AM Denver time), got some muffins and yogurt at the hotel breakfast bar, and drove to the airport to return our rental car. The flight home was uneventful, free is wonderful.
We stayed with the Wigton’s in Denver Friday night, watched Payton play volleyball at the Crossroads Qualifier Saturday morning, and then drove to home-sweet-home and cool and dry and quiet, Estes Park. As always, great to go somewhere, great to be home.