Florida Outdoor Getaways 2008 - (Page 10) Left, BaileyMatthews Shell Museum. Right, onshore, Sanibel Island beach. Chapter 5: Oyster Bed “It is untidy, spread out in all directions, heavily encrusted with accumulations….” When the Lindberghs headed south, wilderness was their goal–absolute wilderness in the form of the Everglades and Ten Thousand Islands. “It is a kind of Forest Primeval,” Anne wrote in her diary. “There is an advantage in having real contact with nature for a time; it is a medicine that is irreplaceable….” Charles recorded in his diary. Today, whether traveling by boat, car, foot, kayak or bike, escapists embrace the surreal sense of isolation and teeming wildlife abundant at Everglades National Park and Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge. Islands of mangroves, sand and oyster beds create a maze where roseate spoonbills, bald eagles, manatees, dolphins, alligators and hundreds of rare species seek refuge. Adjacent Big Cypress National Preserve and state parks provide access to this sometimes-forbidding territory. Parks and private operators can introduce you: Just pick the mode and make ready for adventure. Modern-day divers may wear less clumsy equipment, but they still thrill at vibrant coral reefs alive with mammoth sea turtles, flashy fish, hypnotically waving sea fans, tiny seahorses and toothy moray eels. From Key Largo to Key West, a string of dive shops and resorts cater to beginners and experienced bottom-timers. From Key West, catch a boat or seaplane to Garden Key in Dry Tortugas National Park, where you can camp in the shadow of a SpanishAmerican War fort by night and snorkel or dive to your heart’s content by day. Chapter 7: A Few Shells Anne equated shells with the simplicity of island living. Skipping along the spectrum of islands from Key West, through the Ten Thousand Islands, north to Bonita Beach, Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, Captiva and beyond, it’s easy to understand the seductive attraction of life away from the mainstream. “I must remember to see with island eyes,” Anne wrote. “The shells will remind me; they must be my island eyes.” WHEN YOU GO • • • • • • • • • • Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum, 888-679-6450, www.shellmuseum.org Big Cypress National Preserve, 239-695-2000, www.nps.gov/bicy Captiva Cruises, 239-472-5300, www.captivacruises.com Dry Tortugas National Park, 305-242-7700, www.nps.gov/drto J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildife Refuge, 239-472-1100, www.fws.gov/dingdarling Edison & Ford Winter Estates, 239-334-7419, www.efwefla.org Everglades National Park, 239-695-3311, www.nps.gov/ever Mucky Duck Restaurant, 239-472-3434, www.muckyduck.com Offshore Sailing School, 800-221-4326; www.offshore-sailing.com Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge, 239-353-8442, www.fws.gov/southeast/TenThousandIsland • ‘Tween Waters Inn, 800-223-5865, www.tween-waters.com Chapter 6: Argonauta “Sailors consider these shells a sign of fair weather and favorable winds.” A favorable wind took Anne and Charles to the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas in 1941, to don diving helmets and explore “the strange world of motion,” as Anne described it, below the surface of crystalline waters that still make the Keys a scuba hotspot. 10 VISITFLORIDA.com/outdoors http://www.shellmuseum.org http://www.nps.gov/bicy http://www.captivacruises.com http://www.nps.gov/drto http://www.fws.gov/dingdarling http://www.efwefla.org http://www.nps.gov/ever http://www.muckyduck.com http://www.offshore-sailing.com http://www.fws.gov/southeast/TenThousandIsland http://www.tween-waters.com http://VISITFLORIDA.com/outdoors
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