After a couple of work days for Mike and time for me to do some chores and help his parents a bit, we headed south again. This time we went down to the west to a campground in Big Cypress National Preserve. Burns Lake Campground was pretty bare bones – a row of places to park RVs and trailers with a few tent spots across a small lake. The lake itself had warnings about alligators, so no swimming! The lake provided a lovely open area to admire some very nice sunsets.
A lot of this long weekend consisted of just relaxing. The weather got up around 80 every day and there was lots of sun after some morning fog burned off. We lazed, did a few little jobs on the trailer and truck, played some cards, and just enjoyed our time together.
We took one day to drive to Marco Island, the closest coastal beach in the area. On the way, we passed through the Everglades, miles of swamp broken up by a few trees. We drove by canals full of birds and sunning alligators. Marco Island itself was incredibly interesting. A hundred miles of waterways meant most of the houses had waterfront property, even inland. Once again we were in a completely man-made environment, but the white sand beaches were original and we headed toward them.
It took us a little while to make it to the public parking near Tigertail Beach. We waded across a lagoon and found a spot on a relatively quiet section of the beach. Finally, we made it to a beach near water that was actually warm enough to enjoy! Well, not quite warm enough to swim in, but warm enough to walk out to a sand bar.
Because we were too full last weekend to eat some fresh seafood in the Keys, we made sure we did this time. We got some grouper and even ate it on a patio AT THE RESTAURANT! No one was on the patio at the time so we decided it was safe. First time for us eating at a restaurant since July in Wisconsin. It was delicious.
It was so good in fact that we picked up some more grouper at a small pescadero to take back in the Villages.