Day 78 - Collier Seminole State Park, FL

So if somebody told you they were going to clip their toenails and feed the worms, wouldn't you assume that worms eat toenails? Apparently those tasks were mutually exclusive. He has no idea whether worms like toenails or not.

It will be a Thanksgiving spent in a tropical place. Oh yeah. Our new friends have reservations for the holiday do at the Ritz Carlton. We have opted to cook a small feast here. So that meant a trip to the market. I set my alarm for 7:30am thinking to beat the food shopping mobs. Then I thought better of it. It's not like I have a pressing engagement elsewhere! So I let my driver sleep in. Even though the store was a bit crowded we got what we needed without much trouble.

A nice way to spend some time the day before thanksgiving is to sit in your lounge chair outside and read. Then take a bike ride.















Then walk on the tropical palm hammock trail out into the Florida wilderness. No venomous or man eating creatures were spotted by us. But our neighbors had to be rescued by a ranger when the bike path got filled up with a sun bathing mama gator and her baby. Yikes!

The trail we took had lots of interpretive signs. Thank you Florida state parks. Without the signs I never would have recognized wild coffee or known that it can be brewed into a beverage that can be recognized as coffee (albeit not mountain grown). We have walked along quite a few jungle boardwalks on this trip. I might cringe a little at the beginning of each as deepest, darkest Florida doesn't say "safe and welcoming" to me. But each walk has been very interesting.


The day use area of the park is pretty. There are tables, a restroom and a nice spot for fishing. Those royal palms make it seem so inviting. We saw a few people canoeing today - you can rent boats at the park.

Time to relax some more.