I awoke this morning, Thursday Feb. 24th, with the thought that this is the panthers’ last chance to show themselves, the wood ducks’ last chance for a photo, and the last time a painted bunting can see if it can stay in one place long enough for me to get a full frame picture. Then there’s all those no-shows:  snail kites, swallow tailed kites, pythons, diamond back rattle snakes, water moccasins, big “banana”  spiders, Limpkins (the screamer), that I’ve seen the other dozen Februaries here at Bear Island in the everglades at Big Cypress, but not this time. I know it’s not the natural world’s last chance, but my last full day to be here before starting on my western meander for March and April of My Adventure 2011.  
    All I want is to avoid a crisis, be warm, and for things to just work (computers at least half the time!) well; perfection isn’t required. So far so good, no major problems. Most days I’ve worn sandals, and everything has worked; especially my nest, the camper. It gets 5 stars! The restaurants I’ve eaten in have been terrific; as well as their leftovers (especially the El Sibone paella), plus shrimp I bought at 3 Capts. in Marathon, and the conch I collected on the beach in Marco Island, that I’ve combined with my camping food of whole grains, beans, potatoes and noodles with sweet corn and fresh vegetables to make some very tasty dishes that would be hits on any menu!
     I’ve overcome the early challenges of the Islamorada police rousting me out of my parking spots in the middle of the night, the camper’s water pump refusing to work then cooperating, replacing my laptop’s screen solved the computer’s problem, and I’ve got the battery shuffle to & from the solar panel to harvest Reddy Kilowatts down to a routine. Also, the park service at Big Cypress issued me an ORV permit, so I could drive to Pink Jeep camp sites 5 miles deeper in the cypress swamp, so I could begin morning walks each day in the American Jungle, where I usually turn around.
    I was in the Keys for January, mostly in Key West with two short stays in Islamorada at MM 82.  While at Key West I took up residence in a little parking lot between the Truman Annex and Zachery Taylor S.P. near my favorite water hole, the Green Parrot, and found a comfort station at the Weston Hotel on Sunset Pier, a living room at the La Concha Hotel, kayaked to islands off the little public beach at the end of Simonton St., El Sibone became my favorite eatery, and the rest of Key West was my playground, plus I enjoyed the street performers at the Sunset Celebration.  All within walking distance.  Oh yeah, I was treated to OC musicians John LaMere & Kevin Poole who were playing there and were better than all I heard, except the James Brown Band from Detroit.  Wow!
    In Islamorada my day began with watching wading birds have breakfast in the low tide at the Moorings and Cheeca Lodge with the sunrise as a back drop, kayaking in the Bay off the bridges to the crystal clear water of a lagoon at Ligumvitae S.P. & reef remnants. There I found shells that are the gems of my trip; and Bird Island where I watched the frigate birds put on a magnificent soaring show.  Sunset at the Lor E Lei and their HH entertainment was a wonderful ending to each day.  Here in Big Cypress nature has shown me something every day that most people never see in a lifetime including a 300-400 lb. black bear, painted buntings, a bobcat, wood ducks, pilliated wood peckers, and more.
    I took a break from nature’s splendor to go to the Everglades City Seafood Festival, where I enjoyed three days of national bands playing southern country rock, and went to Marco Island to solve my laptop’s problem.  There I found Seacret’s Jim Long (he knows every request!), more delicious food (especially the bouillabaisse at Konrad’s and shrimp, mussels, and scallops over pasta at NeNe’s), and the variety of unusual shells on the beach are phenomenal.
    Now I’m ending my peaceful, relaxed, successful stay here and going back to Marco for the weekend after kayaking the mangrove tunnels of the Turner River again where I saw a baby alligator sitting on its mother’s head last time. Sunday I’ll be in Ft. Myers Beach, then onto Siesta Key, Shired Island, St. Jo Peninsula and a visit with friends in Ft. Walton Beach. There’ll be more kayaking and good food for sure.  Afterwards I’ll be going west with a stop on the Cajun Trail along the coast of Louisiana, spring break at S. Padre Island, a week or so of fantastic camping, kayaking in the canyon, and hiking at Big Bend N.P., Tx, and on to Cibola NWR (south of Blythe, Az.), the Mojave Desert, Las Vegas for the 3Bs (buffets, beer & Bball NCAA Finals on TV), then I head east to the new bridge over the Hoover Dam and on to Toroweap (north rim of Grand Canyon), Bullfrog in southern Utah.  By then I’ll be ready for steamed crabs and OC’s beach.  Nothing like them!!!
    As I came out of the mangrove tunnel an alligator out did the baby on the head trick with more than a dozen using her for an island! Now, I’m parked on the edge of Estero Bay outside of Lover’s Key State Park at the end of Bonita Beach and before the start of Ft. Myers Beach. No fuzznics bothered me last night; maybe I’m on the edge outside all their boundaries!!! Good place to be!  Just like a saying on a Green Parrot wall in Key West: “If you’re not on the edge you are taking up to much space!"  I even saw a manatee this morning on my walk and riding the bike to HH I saw a dolphin. Both were firsts for this year.
    I have lots of before and after Irene photos on facebook @ Bob OCFotoGuy & http://picasaweb.google.com/o.c.fotoguy2009. Of course there’s no sensational damage and that’s a good thing!!!  If you want you can purchase any of the photos on those sites.