Tour Diary: The Everglades
After an amazing house concert in Parkland, Jeff and I went out for a day in nature with our host Barry Hummel. There were loads of alligators, birds of prey, and miles of wide open spaces.
I awoke relatively early after an incredible house show at the Hummels in Parkland, FL. My head was still spinning a bit from the reaction we had been given. I lumbered into the kitchen to find Darby getting rid for her shift at the Cleveland Clinic, where she is a doctor teaching young residents the ins and outs of the profession.
Pouring myself a cup of coffee, I chatted with Darby for a few minutes before she hit the road to work. I set up my laptop and other accessories, to do some work on the blog and podcast. My intention had been to work on the patio near the pool, but with temps in the mid-40s and a strong wind blowing, I opted to return to the warmth of the indoors.
After another hour of work, Barry, and his foster dog Chucky were both up. Barry and I sipped a pot of coffee and chatted in the early morning light. Jeff got up after a while longer and we began to make a plan for the day. We all cleaned ourselves a bit, tossed some food and drinks in a cooler and headed to the car for a commute out to the Miccossukee Village, a local native American village where there is a small museum and a service that offers airboat rides of the Everglades.
We arrived at the Village mid-morning and were disappointed to find out that airboat tours were closed for the day due to local elections. Undaunted, we continued our trek down to the area in and around Everglades National Park. Because of the Federal government shutdown, the visitors center at the National Park was closed. However, all of the roads were wide open, and we would still have ample opportunity to take in the local wildlife.
Once we entered the park, we drove along a gravel road that butted up against wetlands that ran for as far as the eyes could see.Along the edge of the road, we began to see various species of wading birds out looking for their lunch. Barry explained the separate varieties of herons and egrets that we began to see with regularity.
Before we left the house for the day, Barry had promised we would see “loads of alligators”. A half an hour into the park, we started to wonder if perhaps our host was exaggerating just a bit. We drove along very slowly, closely eyeing the edge of the road and the water just behind it, in hopes of spying a gator. Then suddenly, Barry shouted, “There’s one!”
Jeff pulled the car to the side of the road and we gingerly walked over to get a look at our alligator friend silently hanging in the water waiting patiently for his next meal. As Jeff and I got more comfortable, we approached to within just a few feet of the prehistoric looking creature and snapped a few pics.
As we moved along, Barry’s promise of loads of gators was in fact, completely accurate. Over the course of the next few hours, we saw dozens of alligators, in varying sizes. Almost all the gators we saw and studied kept completely still, however at one point a juvenile gator ran out on to the road in front of the Jeep. Instead of crossing the road, the alligator continued to run as fast as it could down the road away from us, with its small, dinosaur like arms flailing side to side as it ran for safety. Finally, after sprinting several hundred yards, our little friend dashed off into a grove of cypress trees and disappeared.
As midday approached we headed out to the Fakahatchee State Park for a picnic lunch. We opened up the cooler to unload sandwiches, tortilla chips, carrots, celery, a tangy buffalo dip, and some cans of lightly flavored soda water. The sun beat down upon us as we savored out lunch. The breeze made the temperature more enjoyable, but sitting still in the sunshine of the Everglades, even in November, I could feel the back of my neck scorching ever so slightly.
After lunch, we packed up our mess and jumped back in the car for further wildlife watching. In addition to the alligators, we say a wide variety of egrets and herons. We also spied osprey, eagles, vultures, kestrels, and other birds of prey. For another 90 minutes, we slowly cruised the paths of the park until we made our way back out to the major state highway that runs along one main border of the Everglades.
As we wound our way out from the seas of saw grass, we noticed a pair of state road signs announcing “Alligator Alcatraz”, the concentration camp where our federal government is currently imprisoning an unknown number of human beings without being charged with a crime, without legal representation, and with no hope ion getting out. This horrendous facility was being bragged about by signage paid for by the citizens of Florida.
A few more miles down the road, we passed the concentration camp itself. I felt bile rise into my esophagus as I stared at the barbed wire entrance with armed guards standing watch near the front. My original plan had been to film Jeff and I playing a protest song at the site Barry refers to as “Alligator Auschwitz”. Sadly, we had not thought to bring our guitars when packing for the day, and we missed our opportunity. We rolled past that disgusting temple of hatred, wondering how much worse America has to get before we do something to fix it.
Over the next hour, we wound our way back to civilization and found ourselves in the Doral section of Miami, out near the airport. Barry had scouted a trio of breweries for us to try on our way home from a day in the Everglades. Our first stop was at a vibrant spot called Lincoln’s Beard. We each ordered a pint of the Flagship IPA and headed out to the patio for a chat in the late afternoon air.
Finishing up at Lincoln’s Beard, we made the very short drive to the nearby Unseen Creatures for another pint. The main draw at Lincoln’s Beard was their massive back patio with a lovely outdoor stage, more to come on that in future posts. Unseen Creatures offered a lovely tap room with eccentric lighting, and a large stage backed by a beautiful metal version of the brewery’s intricate logo.
We made a final stop about fifteen minutes up the road at the funkiest spot of the bunch, a brewery called Tripping Animals, a brewery that specializes in sours. My Pale Ale was fine, but I was assured by Barry that I would have been much better served to have ordered one of the more notable options on the menu. Still, my ale was more than adequate, and I managed to defeat Barry at a particularly ugly game of pool.
By the time we had wrapped up at Tripping Animals, Darby was done with her shift at the hospital and was ready to meet us for dinner. We drove north through brutal Miami area traffic until we reached 15th Street Fisheries, a charming seafood restaurant right on the water in Fort Lauderdale.
We ordered a dozen oysters, a rare treat for Michiganders like me and Jeff, and were treated to the briny combo of sea salt, lemon, horseradish, and hot sauce. With our raw seafood gone in short order, we awaited our meals with conversation about the day we had enjoyed on the Everglades.
My seafood pasta, littered with calamari, clams, scallops, and mussels in a spicy tomato sauce was absolutely splendid. Everyone else’s meals were reportedly just as terrific. The sights and smells from each plate certainly seemed divine.
Completely full and utterly delighted at the entire day, Jeff and Piled back in to the Jeep for the 45 minute drive back to the house. Barry returned with Darby in her car, and we caravanned right behind. Once home, we let Chucky out of his crate for a bit of evening social time and enjoyed a couple of nightcaps before I toddled off to bed, completely charmed by my day in and around the Everglades. The next day, there would be much more.
Cheers,
Matty C