A quick trip down south

Over 4th of July weekend Brett and I (along with his sister and brother-in-law) went down to Fort Lauderdale to visit some of his relatives. Everywhere we went we saw iguanas. They were literally everywhere. In parking lots, along the streets, around our hotel and in any park we stopped at for a quick walk. They were different shades of green, some were brown and blue, some were beige and orange. I think I saw more iguanas than squirrels. Most were pretty skittish.

Above is a quick video of one leaving the sidewalk and taking off into the grass as I walked towards it. They are very fast.

I saw a lot of these. I think it’s a curly tailed lizard, either a Bahama or Caymen.

I think this is a cuban knight anole. This was the only one I saw and he was pretty small, more like the size of our lizards back home.

A brown and tan one walking across the parking lot where we were having lunch.

We were able to make a quick stop at the beach. It was hot though and we didn’t stay long. With the ports nearby there were so many cruise ships and container ships out on the horizon.

The view from Brett’s aunt and uncle’s retirement home. We could see rain out on the beach. Looking right we could see Hollywood Beach and looking left we could see downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Driving home across Alligator Alley (I75), we hit a lot of rain.

The sun came out as we crossed over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

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A trip down south (south Florida)

Every year in the winter Brett and I head down to the Miami area for a long weekend to visit some relatives before it gets too hot. This past February we were looking for something to do with his aunt and uncle and were going to be close to Homestead one afternoon so we stopped at the Fruit and Spice Park.  We were way down south of Miami right before heading to the Keys. Lots of farmland down there. The park is a farm that grows different exotic spices and fruits that you can tour. We took a long tram ride with a guide who explained all of the different plants that are farmed there. We got to taste and smell some of them. It was a nice way to relax and spend the afternoon outdoors and I took a ton of pictures.

The above Rainbow Gum tree was very cool. As the bark peels off, it exposes different colors. It can only be grown in frost-free areas of the country.

There were lots of critters crawling around from the pretty green lizard to the big iguanas. The kids on the tram went crazy over them and we stopped and were allowed to get pretty close.

More to come on this trip down “south”.

SkyWatch Friday