More Florida –House of Refuge

    It’s hard to imagine that just a little more than 100 years ago,the east coast of Florida was a total wilderness. There weren’t any roads,few towns and all traveling was done by ship. Tropical storms ,sand bars and coral reefs caused ship wrecks so houses were built as shelters for the survivors. The keeper and his family lived on the first floor and the second floor was a dormitory. The shipwreck victims would be fed ,clothed and sheltered until another ship could pick them up and they could continue their journey. This is the only house of refuge that is still standing.  More pictures here - https://picasaweb.google.com/tonyandkaren1/HouseOfRefuge#

Southern Florida’s Unique Places

   We’re so glad that we’re in Florida now –sunshine and 75 degree weather! It’s been wonderful.  :D
   We love to stop at quirky little places and this place fits right in.  It was built by Edward Leedskalnin as a tribute to a girl from his hometown in Latvia. She broke off their engagement and he moved to the US. Then from 1923 to 1951, he single-handedly and secretly carved over 1,100 tons of coral rock, and his unknown process has created one of the world's most mysterious accomplishments. Some of the rocks weight 58 tons but he set them in place without any help!
  Another interesting spot was the Fruit and Spice Park. It’s a educational county park and has tasting tours of the exotic fruits and nuts that grow on the park grounds. The guides pick samples right from the trees. Any fallen fruit is also fair game –but we were too chicken to try that stuff!  More pictures here - https://picasaweb.google.com/tonyandkaren1/SouthernFloridaSUniquePlaces?authkey=Gv1sRgCNWNq7ik4O6qfw#

Everglades National Park

   Alligators! They’re most famous resident of the Everglades but it’s also  home for many other animals , birds and of course mosquitoes. We were pretty lucky because it’s been just cool enough to keep the mosquito population down.
   The Everglades has even been a home for humans. There are still traces of Calusa  Indians villages but the inhabitants  disappeared around the 1700s , wiped out by white man’s diseases. Later Indians fared a little better and still live on the edges of the Everglades. They’re descendants of the Seminole and Miccosukee who escaped into the maze of grass, mangrove and small hardwood islands to avoid the mass deportation of the Indians to Oklahoma.
  This is such a unique place. It’s the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States and has been designated a World Heritage Site. So many people want to live in south Florida which has caused a lot of damage to the Everglades – draining the swamps , diverting water with canals and polluting what is left with heavy metals and agricultural runoff. It’s a constant balancing act to provide for the people while trying to control further destruction and preserve what is left. More pictures here - https://picasaweb.google.com/tonyandkaren1/EvergladesNationalParkFlorida?authkey=Gv1sRgCOnEj_f4tsKfNw#