A Phenomenal Bike Riding Day!

Ken and I were up around 7:30, made a cooked breakfast, and then met Ernie and Noela at 9:00 to go to the Cape Haze Pioneer Trail about 5 miles from our CG. The weather forecast yesterday predicted a cloudy day with showers around noon time.  WRONG!!!!  It was a gorgeous, sunny day with temperatures around 80.  The sky was a beautiful blue and the sun remained out all day.  A perfect day for a long bike ride on a paved, level trail.

We are standing on a bridge along the bike trail.  From here
we saw the alligator and lots of  BIG fish!

Here is Mr. Alligator!

We rode to the little fishing village of Placida which was such a quaint little artsy area that reminded us a lot of Matlacha or Key West.  There were only a few shops, but they had such unique, mostly handcrafted items.  We really enjoyed walking around the small area.  There was also a fish market and The Fish Market Restaurant.  We ate lunch there on the outdoor deck overlooking the water.  Each of us had a different salad and they were nicely presented and tasted great!

The fishing village of Placida is very colorful!

This fishing shacks really look like the ones in Matlacha
and Key West.  So colorful!

Ken loved the mermaid!

We got back on the trail around 1 and rode the 8 miles back to our vehicles at the beginning of the trailhead.  Along the way we saw an alligator, fish, beautiful birds, an eagles nest with momma and her 2 babies, a dolphin jumping, and an owl.  We returned to the CG around 3:30 after riding 17 miles.  What a fun-filled day!

Ken was able to get this osprey just as he was taking flight!

A snowy egret!

We could only be sure this was an owl when Ken took the
photo.  From a distance it just looked like a dark blob!
I think it is a great photo!

This photo is amazing too, for we were fairly far away
from this eagle's nest!

Now you can see both eaglets!

So many white pelicans!

Now it was time for Happy Hour back at Waldo.  While waiting for Ernie and Noela, Ken spent quite a bit of time going through all the photos he had taken (he probably had 40 or so of just the eagle!!!) saving only the best ones for me to put on our blog.  Ernie and Noela spent about 1 1/2 hours here before we separated for dinner.  Ken and I took about a mile walk around the CG and then Ken grilled salmon and a pork chop for dinner while I made salads.  We spent the evening in Waldo touching base with my mother, Melissa, Cindy, and Nancy Savage.  Hopefully Nancy and Melissa will soon be on their way to Florida.  Both of them are having some challenging times so we are hoping for the best for both of them.