Fun in Florida 4

The last day of vacation in Florida was to the Everglades. Everglades City is not very far from Naples, just approximately 45 minutes. The first picture is the end of the road. This is the beginning of the Everglades. The road ended here and you go no further without a boat and a guide. We ate lunch at City Seafood. They catch their fish daily and fry it up. My taste test for fish the first time I eat at a new restaurant is the grouper. Their's was crisp and tender. I could have had the fried whole crab, yes, shell and all. They fry it and put it on a bun. The cook said it was good but I just could not get into eating the shell. I really did not want those little crab eyes looking up at me whether they could see me or not. Everglades City is a step back in time. I loved it. It is the Florida that I thought of when I was growing up. It is a very small town but back at the turn of the century was very important during the building of the Tamiami Trail. This road runs from Miami to Tampa. When you think of the heat, swampland and mosquitoes that these people had to endure in the building of this road it is a true marvel. This is still a major highway used today. The pink building is now a museum but was the original laundry building for the workers. The blue building is the bank. I love the old look of these buildings with the palm trees everywhere. Everglades city is also the last city in the US that has it's school system K-12 all in one school. I loved visiting here. It was very peace and quietful (haha JE). We drove to Chokoloskee. As my t-shirt says Chokoloskee is a "reel" place. It is just down the road from Everglades City. It is a fishing town but is also an island. During Hurricane Wilma in October 2005 Chokoloskee sustained a lot of damage. The federal government refuse them aid because it said they were not a real place. So the t-shirts were printed up. Yes, it is a real place and a lovely little fishing town. Lastly we went to the post office. I love this picture. It is the Ochopee post office, the smallest in the US. Of course not only did I get JE to take a picture of me in front of it but I mailed myself an Everglades postcard saying "I was here and so were you", a little psychological humor there. So now I am back home. The trip was so much fun. Now it is back to knitting more and trying to get back in a routine of exercise therapy for my RA.