Manatee Sanctuary

Sunday we visited the Manatee Viewing Center in Apollo Beach, Florida. It is located near the Big Bend Power Station Canal. It is a federal and state manatee sanctuary. It provides a safe haven for these marine animals.  The viewing center opened in 1986 and has had millions of visitiors. When the bay temperature reaches 68 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, the manatees seek out the warmer water of the Big Bend discharge canal. There are also sharks, rays, fish and crabs living in the canal.

Information on manatees
The gestation period for a female manatee is 13 months but they only have a calf every 2-5 years.  Calves depend on their mother for up to 2 years. At birth a calf can be from 3-4 feet in length and weigh 60-75 pounds.
Manatees do not form long term bonds, except for mother and calf.  They do not mate for life and are not territorial.
They communicate with whistles, chirps, squeaks, kissing, bumping, and chasing each other. They have poor eyesight and are nearsighted but can see color. Manatees have a thin layer of fat and can become cold stressed if the water temperature falls below 68.
Almost all manatees have some type of scarring and the Florida Wildlife Research Institute keeps a scar photography catalog to help identify individual manatees. Manatees are herbivores and can eat up to 10% of their body weight every day. Their teeth  are all molars. They can hold their breath for up to 20 minutes when resting. They only breathe through their noses, not their mouths.
Manatees have no natural predators.  Collisions with watercraft, ingestion of marine debris, cold stress and natural causes are the main reasons for death.
The West Indian manatee congregates in the warm waters of central and south Florida in winter. In spring, summer and early fall they can be found from Texas, east to the Florida coastline and as far north as Virginia. They can live in fresh, brackish or saltwater. They are able to travel up to 15 mph in short bursts and can travel up to 50 miles per day.

We saw several manatees in the canal but got no real good pictures since they seldom come very far out of the water.

There was also a nature trail that led to an observation tower overlooking the surrounding area. The tower was built to withstand major weather. The main poles were driven more than 30 feet into bedrock. In case of a major hurricane, the roof was designed to blow off to reduce stress on the rest of the structure.

Heavenly Angels

In Bay St Louis, MS we stopped to admire the carved heavenly angels. Several trees destroyed by Hurrucane Katrina have been "beautified." A chainsaw sculpter from Indiana  came and carved angels into these trees. They were so beautiful.

This last one is a tree near the beach. I read somewhere that three people (survivors) and their dog clung to this tree, almost as a lifesaver. It was my favorite.

We also saw the Hurricane Katrina memorial in Biloxi, MS.

This 12 foot tall black memorial is supposed to represent the height of the storm surge. It's engraved with the names of those who perished or are missing from  surrounding communities.

New Orleans-Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Having been to New Orleans several times, we decided to spend just one night here before moving on. But we did do/see a few new things this time.
We stopped in at City Park to check out the sculpture garden. Once we walked in, I realized we had actually been here before. These are a few of my favorite sculptures.

Here is a cool bridge and a gorgeous tree in the park.

Then we walked to the great lawn and over to City Golf Putt Putt. Of course LW beat me.

After checking into our hotel, we walked around the French Quarter for awhile. We lost some money at Harrahs and then had some dinner.
On Wednesday we went to Cafe du Monde for beignets. Then we visited Mardi Gras World. At Mardi Gras World they build props and floats for Mardi Gras parades.

Holocaust Museum Houston

On our way from Port A to New Orleans we made a quick stop in Houston at the Holocaust Museum. Couple of interesting things...
1. This small museum was founded by survivors who moved to the Houston area.

2. The docent who gave us the tour was in her twenties and explained that her grandfather ( a loving, kind man who raised her), was a big fan of Hitler's. They had pictures of Hitler in their house and items with swastikas. She did not realize how horrible Hitler was till she wrote a report on him in third grade and was expelled.

3. They had a train boxcar that was used to transport Jews.

4. They had a  Danish fishing boat that was used to smuggle Danish Jews away.

5. There was a display with dirt from several of the well known concentration camps.

6. There was a movie called "Voices." Survivors were telling their stories but we ran out of time and didn't get to see it.

As all Holocaust museums are, this was a very moving experience.

Nature in Port A

We've been to Port A many times but today we visited a few places we had not taken the time to see before. Nature and wildlife adventure...

1. First stop-Port Aransas Nature Preserve
1,217 acres with 3 miles of hike and bike trails with boardwalks and overlooks
Most interesting aspect...sand flats

Saw a stream of ants carrying items to a hole. Here's one of those ants.

2. Stop Two-Leonabelle Turnbill Birding Center
A boardwalk and observation tower over shallow water
Home to various birds, fish and 2 alligators
Today we did not see the alligators but we will return and try again. That's a fake alligator in the picture.

3. Last stop-UT Marine Science Education Center and Wetlands Center
Small aquariums with typical Texas coastal habitats and organisms
Hands on activities educating about estuaries
Wetlands center covers 3.5 acres of marsh and sea grass with a boardwalk around the pond

That's the jaw bone of a Fin Whale found in 1997.

Happy New Year!

Did ya feel that? There was a slight shift that occurred yesterday.
We moved out of our rented condo where we have stayed since November 1 and moved into an Extended Stay Hotel just down the road. Unfortunately the condo had already been rented beginning January 1 so we couldn't stay any longer.  But that's ok. We needed to get back in the travel mindset...the nomad frame of mind. So we packed things back into storage that we had brought out to use for the last 2 months and packed the car with everything else and shifted to  a different place.  We will stay here till next Monday when we officially hit the road AGAIN.
Quick overview of our upcoming plans...
A week in Port Aransas before heading to Miami.  We will follow the gulf coastline all the way to the Florida panhandle, down the west coast of Florida and around to Miami. From there we will take a week long cruise to the Eastern Caribbean beginning January 29. Upon our return to Miami, we will work our way up the east coast until we get to Philadelphia.  We will make a few stops along the way in Savannah, Virginia Beach area and Washington DC.  On March 14 we fly out of Philadelphia to Rome for three weeks.  We hope to make a weekend visit to Paris as well before flying back to Philly on April 5. At that time we will work our way back to Austin so we arrive in time to celebrate my birthday and Michael's birthday both near the end of April. We are planning to stay in Austin till the Memorial Day weekend.

I will begin blogging again once we leave Austin.  In case you are interested in our adventures.  Watch FB, Twitter and Instagram. Also if you have any suggestions of "not to miss" adventures, please share those with me in the comments or by emailing me directly at jwolff1963@gmail.com.

P.S.
LW is officially retired now!

Top 10 Things I Learned from Traveling the USA

We just finished traveling the USA for just over 2months (68 days) in our new car. We left Austin on August 23 and returned on October 29. We spent time with most of LW's family and some of my family. We have been to 21 states  ( 3 of which we had never been to before) and also Canada on this trip.  Our new car started with 6 miles when we bought it in April and upon our return it now has about 14,000 miles on it. Gas prices ranged from the cheapest in Council Bluffs IA and Little Rock AR at $1.97/gallon to the highest in Atlanta GA at $2.59/gallon. We had to have 2 oil changes while on the road and one stop for auto repairs ( see post about Des Moines).  We received no traffic tickets. Yea!

This will be my last post for a bit while we are home in Austin.  We have rented a condo up near the Domain to be near the kids. We are planning to depart again around the first of the year.
So until then...

Here are some life lessons (in no particular order) I have gained from our travel time.  I hope you don't mind if I share them with you. Maybe they will give you a slight advantage or some helpful information if you ever decide to take on such an adventure.

1. Less is more.  We have traveled with one suitcase for each of us, a bag with electronics in it, a small carry on size bag for bathroom stuff and a bag that has some food items in it.  We have had 4 pillows and two small throw blankets in the car.  LW took his golf clubs and one bowling ball in a bag.  He used the bowling ball once and and the golf clubs once.  As we travelled we ended up sending some clothes home that we didn't need.  Even though that doesn't seem like much, we need to cut back. So as we think about our next leg of travel, rethinking the stuff we had with us will be a major part of planning.

2. Michigan's dead raccoons = Texas' armadillos.  Not really a life lesson but interesting. Driving all around Michigan, the roadkill (and there was quite a bit) was always a raccoon.  I knew we wouldn't see armadillos like we do in Texas. I guess I was surprised by the number of unfortunate raccoons though.

3. MVP of the trip...my rain boots. I almost didn't take my rain boots.  I was thinking about how much space they would take up.  Good thing I did!  From about the time we left, we had some amount of rain ALMOST everyday until we got to about Pittsburgh around mid October. They will continue on to the next leg of our trip.

4.  Donut stores are difficult to find.  Ok maybe this is not all that important but just another "noticing."  When we lived in Arlington, it seemed like there were little donut shops on every corner.  Not Dunkin Donuts or Shipleys.  Little private owned, delicious donuts.  In Austin there are a few that we frequent.  On the road, in other cities, these were very difficult to find.  Mostly we found big name brand places like Krispy Kreme.  (I like Krispy Kreme, don't get me wrong.)

5. Diet Coke vs Diet Pepsi. What is with the rest of the country?  Almost everywhere we ate, served Diet Pepsi. In the beginning, I would tell the server diet coke please.  The server would then say,"Diet Pepsi ok?"  No!  Of course it's not ok.  But in the end I would always say yes.  Eventually I didn't even ask for Diet Coke.  Glad to be back in a state that offers Diet Coke as an option.  (Even though I am trying to cut down.)

6. Hate LA traffic!  The traffic in LA and our little fender bender has left me with a little trauma, especially if I am not driving.  LW keeps telling me to relax but my reaction in congested traffic has become almost involuntary.

7. Can ship things home..buying things.. Our rule as we started was something comes in, something goes out.  But I soon realized that I could just as easily ship things home to Michael to store for us.  Unfortunately once I discovered this idea, shopping  opportunities increased.

8. Missed having a home to decorate for holidays.  Seeing all the Halloween decorations out in the stores, made me miss the opportunity to decorate for one of my favorite holidays.  Yesterday I went to our storage and got my box of Thanksgiving decorations out and took them to the condo we are renting.  By the time LW got home from golf, I had decorated for Thanksgiving.  It makes it feel a little bit more like "home."

9. Eating out every meal. We used to eat out a lot.  Mostly because I hate to cook.  But being on the road for 2 months, eating almost every meal out in a restaurant has gotten me to where I am craving home cooked meals.  We got to a point where LW would ask what I wanted for dinner and nothing specific stuck out.  No specific cravings. He would ask, "Italian, steak, chicken."  But it always felt like we had just had that to eat.  Now in the condo, we are trying to eat in.  However, I burned the first meal....could have been my cooking skills but I think the oven temperature was way off.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

10.  We can do this!  After asking if we had fun, the next thing people seem to ask us is if we are still getting along after being together 24/7 in a small car for the past 2 months.  Actually, yes we are doing great!  Some days are better than others but it has not been too much different than living in a house.  Just a little closer quarters.  We have had a great time, seen some amazing things and are both looking forward to the next part of our travels.  But we were both ready to come home to Austin and see the kids.

So not all of those 10 things are life lessons.  Some are just thoughts.
Until January....Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!