Special Edition Post: A Series of Unfortunate Events

I am writing a special edition post today, because I want to remember every single detail of Monday, November 15, 2022. I want to be able to look back at the series of unfortunate events that lead to one of the greatest days of our lives!

We went to bed Sunday night with anticipation and excitement for the next morning.

We had tickets to go on a canoe tour led by an Everglades Institute guide through Everglades National Park!! While driving around on Sunday, we scoped out the parking lot where we would launch from, we saw the most gorgeous sunset, and ultimately we fell in love with everything the park was offering. We could not WAIT to be back exploring in a canoe. There were a few things we had not seen yet that we had high hopes of seeing while canoeing: alligator in the wild, manatees, crocodiles. All wildlife that was possible on this canoe trip. We were stoked!

We woke up Monday morning to a disappointing email. The trip was canceled. Both tour guides were sick and they didn’t have a replacement. We still jumped out of bed, eager to create a new plan. We decided we’d stop in to the visitor center to see what activities they suggested for the day. The visitor center opened at 9am, but the Anhiga Trail was open and on the way. We’d stopped in on Sunday afternoon and didn't see much, but we knew wildlife was often more active in the mornings before being disturbed by tourists. We figured this would be the perfect thing to do to kill some time. Boy were we in for a treat!!

Anhiga Trail Entrance

The Anhiga Trail is .8 miles round trip. There is a path through the trail that goes over the sawgrass marsh. A perfect spot for seeing animals in the wild. On Sunday, we met a nice man that was telling us about the animals. When we arrived Monday morning, he was there again! We were able to talk to him a bit more. He spends the winters in his van traveling around. He knew a lot about the animals and was great at spotting them. He’d just seen an alligator right before we arrived, but unfortunately, the alligator had gone under the large deck. Bummer. The day before, while we were looking at a turtle in the water, the nice man told us about the soft-shell turtle. These turtles grow to be about 20 inches and have silly looking snouts. We didn’t see one on Sunday, but we did spot one on Monday! WIN! We were so excited!

(You can see him in the center of these pics. His head is sticking out of the water in the second pic.)

You can see him under the lill

After a while, it was time to go to the visitor center. TC went ahead of me to use the restroom while I lagged behind to look for animals a little longer. Some new folks walked up, and I told them the turtle was around, but had gone back into the water. We were all waiting for him to pop back up when I got a call from T. He said, “S! A Gator! COME FAST!” I said, “YOU SEE A GATOR?! WHERE?! I’m on my way!!!” The folks laughed at me as I literally sprinted away. I yelled behind me, “There’s a gator near the front gate! The soft-shell turtle should pop back up shortly. Good to meet you! BYE!”

This was the moment we’d been waiting for!!!!!! We’d seen gators the day before while on an airboat tour (more on that later!), but we were eager to see one that was more in the wild. I rounded the corner and there was T looking out into the water at the alligator. What a dream. Come. true!!! I ran as quietly as I could so as not to spook him. TC had watched him move through the water, when I arrived, he was stopped in one spot, but his head was still above water and I got a great look at him. We stood there for a while and just watched him. A nice couple came up, and we showed them where the gator was. We oogled and oggled together. It was really fun to share these moments of awe with random strangers. After a while, the gator disappeared beneath the water, so T and I moved on to the next adventure.

We’d spent some time at the visitor center the day before, so we knew exactly where to go. We headed in to talk to the park ranger. He suggested a couple hikes, a canoe-rental option, and a boat tour of the inland areas of the water. We decided we didn’t want to rent canoes. We wanted to do that activity with a guide so we could get the most out of the experience. The pamphlet for the boat tour had a very important animal on it - a manatee! We were sold! The Ranger said we needed to head to the Flamingo Marina Store ASAP. It was an hour drive and we needed to arrive early. The drive to the store was filled with chatter about the gater and giddiness over the life we are living. We’d just seen a gator and we were on our way to see a manatee and it wasn’t even 10am yet!

We arrived at the store and jumped out of the van, sprinting toward the ticket booth. We walk up to buy the tickets- SOLD OUT! We were devastated. Another hard blow to our day. We went towards the water to regroup when I hear a noise. It sounds like a water animal puffing out air, I turn around and there it is- a MANATEE! And another, and another, and another. We were surrounded by them!! We’d been to this exact water the day before, nothing was stirring. I almost cried because I was so excited!! The manatees were putting on quite a show! On the dock, there was a water hose going into a bucket. The bucket was overflowing causing the water to run down the wall to the manatees. They were fighting over getting the water running down the wall! One would get a quick sip before being bombarded by another manatee wanting a turn. They were wrestling over the water. We stood there and watched them for a long time.

T decided to go ask the lady at the ticket booth if there was a standby line for the boat while I stayed with the manatees. She said no. Another bummer. Once again I hear, “SK! COME QUICK!” Further down the channel, there was a CROCODILE! I could not believe my eyes or our luck!!! The crocodile came closer to the dock, so we were able to get a really good look at him. We were on cloud nine!

We decided our best course of action for the rest of the day was to work our way north back to the park entrance. There were small informational side trails in several locations that we would stop at to look around. Eventually, we’d end up at the trailhead for the long hike. Our first stop after seeing the manatees didn’t have much to look at. We were about to head to the car when we ran into the couple we’d bonded with a couple hours earlier while watching the alligator. They asked if we saw any wildlife at this spot. We said there wasn’t much to see here, but we’d just seen MANATEES at the Flamingo marina store. They said they’d just come from there and didn’t think the store was open, so they left. We showed them pictures of exactly where the manatees were located and told them they definitely needed to take the drive back to see them! Unfortunately, we didn’t run into them again, but I sure hope they were able to see the manatees!

After a couple more small stops, we ended up at the trailhead for the long hike. The hike was a point-to-point hike. It was 12ish miles total. We opted to just do 2 miles and then turn around totaling 4 miles. Even in November, the Florida heat is brutal, but at least the paths are straight and flat. We only ran into two other groups on the trail, so it was peaceful. If our plans for the day had worked out, we probably would not have had time to do this hike. It was beautiful, and we were feeling so, so grateful to be back on a lengthy hike in the wilderness.

After leaving the park, we had a very important stop to make- Gator Grill!! T had gator when he was younger, but I had not had any. We ordered some grilled gator for lunch. It was delicious!! Tasted like chicken just like everyone says. The Gator Grill is iconic and was the perfect ending to a wonderful day!

Just when we thought the surprises for the day were over, the universe had one more trick up the sleeve! I had read great things about one of the other centers in the park- Shark Valley Visitor Center. It closed at 5pm and was an hour away. Our ETA was 5:01. Bummer. We decided it was worth the trip anyway. It was on the way to our next location, and the gates didn’t close until 6pm. We were hoping we’d find a great spot on the trail to watch the sunset. Unfortunately, we didn’t, but we did find the perfect spot to catch ANOTHER gator!! A mama gator and her BABIES! We’d learned from a park ranger the day before that if you see baby gators, mama gator is very close by. We spotted the babies first and knew mama was somewhere. As we were searching the water, we heard a rustle that made us start moving fast. Mama was making ripples in the water. We backed up and watched through our binoculars. WOW! What a site!

(Hard to see mamas head. She is right under the tree branch. In the middle of the first photo. The middle photo, you can see a baby in the middle on a lily pad. There are actually three babies in this pic.)

Last but not least, we spotted one more gator right beside the parking lot. Making it a total of three big gators and five babies for the day!

Yesterday was a great representation of van life. We do make plans, but when they fall through, we have to pivot quickly and gracefully. It isn’t always easy, especially for me. I hate change. This life has taught me so much about flexibility and finding the beauty in changed plans. There were several disappointments yesterday, but those disappointments made way for so many beautiful and perfect memories. We went to bed last night on a high from the day. We slept well because we were exhausted from a day of adventures that were made possible by a series of unfortunate events.