As you know, my boyfriend and I walk at least two fast miles every day.
As you know, I'm not a Nature Girl. He is a Nature Boy. He walks with me through malls full of gaudy twinkle lights so I occasionally need to return the favor.
On Friday we drove over to the space coast to hike at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Located next to the Kennedy Space Center, this pristine area consists of miles of hiking and driving trails.
By the way, my bird watching (Power Ranger) friend loves this place. I like to tease her about it (bird watching) but I'm grateful she encouraged us to go. She gave us a bunch a maps with folksy handwritten notes all over them. Here's a sample:
Great to park behind dunes and walk or fish on beach. Ask which end is for nudists. I try to avoid that end.
We didn't go to the nudist beach either. We took the boardwalk trail. Then the Oak Hammock Trail, about a mile long, but we got lost so it was longer.
Then the two mile Palm Hammock Trail.
We saw two alligators - one small and one humongous - lots of birds and ducks - and a snake. The snake was lying across our path. It was big. I jumped back and yelled: SNAKE! It had just eaten something big because it had an unsightly bulge in it's middle. We threw a couple of sticks at it to make it move but it didn't so we walked (waay) around it.
For the next twenty minutes, whenever there was a vine on the path I yelled SNAKE. But then I finally calmed down.
This place looks like Florida looked a hundred years ago. Dolly Parton once said "There's no such thing as natural beauty." But this is natural Florida at its best. Everything around us was a treat for the eyes.
The cost? It's free. Let's hope it stays free and pristine forever.
When we finished our hiking and a beautiful seven mile drive, we went to a well know Florida Cracker restaurant, famous for rock shrimp, called Dixie Crossroads, and stuffed ourselves.
All in all, a beautiful day.
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