After Orlando we stopped in Frostproof and Key Largo. In Frostproof we relaxed and visited our friends Gary and Marilynn Williams. Before they moved to Frostproof we lived on the same lake and shared several activities. While in Frostproof we installed our new vertical bike / kayak rack, enjoyed the heated swimming pool, and generally relaxed.
Key Largo was mostly a washout, with rain 5 of our 7 days there. We did take a boat tour of the saltwater side of the Everglades. We learned a ton about the ecology of the area. The Red Mangroves are internationally protected — they protect the coast from hurricanes by stopping or greatly reducing the storm surge. They are extremely slow-growing and dead ones last hundreds of years, allowing new ones to grow and replace them without losing the storm break. We loved kayaking among the mangroves. There are a lot of birds and fish in the mangroves. Below are a few pictures from the boat ride and kayaking in John Pennekamp State Park.
With all of the rain, we didn’t get to adequately explore either Biscayne Bay or Everglades National Park. We’ll be back.