Swamp People

February 25 – 28, 2015

Florida offers a variety of ecosystems which SIT was fortunate enough to explore. Our last stop before we work our way west was in the panhandle. That brings us to more swamp country as well!

We spent a few days in Milton Florida so we could see John and Mary Ann again and Izzy could hang with her buddies Lily and Smokey.

The weather wasn’t the best but it didn’t discourage us from spending a bit of time taking a swamp tour from John and Mary Ann’s place. The day before we did the tour, John and Steve went fishing on the river. They caught enough fish during their outing to keep them entertained.

Meanwhile Mary Ann and I went into Pensacola to see what the downtown area was doing. They have been working on establishing the historic district and providing people an opportunity to tour some of the old places.

Colorful Pelican

Keeping Time in Pensacola

 



In 1698 the Spanish established a presidio in the area, from which Pensacola gradually developed. Prior to that an expedition in August 1559 led by Tristan de Luna y Arellano arrived in Pensacola Bay to establish Santa Maria de Ochuse, a settlement that predated the founding of Jamestown by half-century and St. Augustine by half-dozen years. The settlement failed in 1561 although it was the longest-lasting colonial settlement up to that date in the current United States. Pretty cool!

As we walked around we found this church that was first established in 1763. There are quite a few restaurants in the area and one even has its own fire truck!

Christ Church 1763 Beginnings

Protecting Rosie O'Grady's

We left the downtown area and headed to a fish market to buy some shrimp for dinner. Mary Ann found a new friend while we were there. Too bad he wouldn’t fit in the car as he would probably like living at the swamp!

 

Mary Ann's Friend

Now back to our swamp tour. The pontoon boat has plenty of room for all of us to go. I think Izzy had more fun than us watching the water and the scenery. Smokey and Lily have been on the tour a few times so they knew where the spot was to land and walk around a bit.

 

Shoving Off

Set Sail For a Three Hour Tour!

Smokey Front and Center

 

Enjoying the Ride

 

Nest Tower

 Can We Go Over There? 

We Know Where We Are  

What Was That?

The pictures don’t do justice to what you get to see and especially since it was a cloudy day. The only thing we didn’t have was banjo music, maybe next time.

 



 

We enjoyed seeing John and Mary Ann again and the next time we will get to see them will be in Idaho! SIT is heading west from here so watch for updates as we trek back home.