Reposting for a questioner (2004 January)
The end nears. Monday January 20th. We rose early and headed to the beach. It was still pretty grey and cool, but the kids wanted to jump in the ocean, and it was not raining. The Ocean Beach Resort does have a sand wheelchair to loan, but Gma decided to walk. There were two heavy wrought-iron chairs that had been left on the beach so Gma sat. The kids jumped into the ocean and managed to stay for a while. The adults were bundled against the cold. Go figure. There were about a dozen groups walking the beach and most of them stopped to marvel at the kids endurance, or to shake their heads at the parents irresponsibility. Cocoa Beach does not have the prettiest sand I have ever seen, it is a white and black mixture that makes the whole beach a dun-grey. But the sand is soft and powdery and filled with interesting tid-bits to inspect. The view up and down the beach is quite nice. It has not been built up to within an inch of its life as Miami Beach or Sanibel, with cheek-by-jowl high rises or trophy mansions. There is still a lot of easy public access. The dunes have been well preserved in spots. The kids were ready to get out after a couple of good waves slapped them in the face. They were not too shivery when they got out. We went back to the condo, got them changed and headed off for Merritt Island. All looking for theme-park-type excitement can stop reading now.
We have been casual bird watchers for a long time. We are not the hard core types who keep a life list of everything we have sighted, but love to see new birds. The last time we had come this way was before kids, but did not realize that the whole Merritt refuge would be closed due to a shuttle launch, that ill fated trip was detailed elsewhere. So we looked forward to our visit. We entered the refuge via 406 after a long and pretty ugly ride up US1, dont go this way, it has little to recommend it. We turned into the area and backtracked to the road side guide where we picked up brochures. Our first scheduled stop was the Visitors Center, but surprise! Today was Martin Luther King Day, and the Center is closed, not only on Sundays but on National Holidays. Bummer. Here we go, armed with only a bird check list. Hopefully we can figure out what we are seeing by following the common vs. rare list for winter. We did not have room to pack our Audubons guides. We turned onto the Black Point Wildlife Drive. We stop at the post to pick up a guide, surprise, again! The box is empty, with a posted note to stop at the Visitors Center to get the guide. Sheesh. Plus, it is raining again.
Anyway. This is an interesting drive. One narrow lane going in only one direction. The drive covers salt flats and marshes. We see what we think are Green Herons and Tri-color Herons. Lots of Egret and one snowy Egret, all huddled against the falling rain. There are a lot of interesting ducks, none of which I am able to identify by the limited pictures in my guides at home. About all we ever get in Colorado are hordes of Canada Geese and Mallards, so my duck skills are nonexistent. The rain stops for a while. We see one Osprey? And lots of Plovers and Killdeer, their sad calls giving them away. The kids are excited over two alligators, moving slowly through the canals. One even crawls up on land for us to admire. We are glad to note that White Pelican are here. The only other time we have seen them was a rare migration group on a reservoir in the Colorado mountains. They are such beautiful flyers and such clunky landers. It takes us a long time to do this loop. We stop at every stop. This is a peaceful place. Man has changed this environment a lot over time, trying to eliminate the mosquito by building dikes to keep the area flooded, eliminating the tidal fluctuations. Some species benefited, some suffered. Some of the areas are now being returned to the salt marsh environment.
After this drive we head to the Manatee observation area. The manatees congregate here, sometimes thirty at a time. We do not expect to see any, wrong season, but we want to try. The only ones we have ever seen are in tanks at Sea World or the Living Seas at Epcot. There is a bridge here and you double back under the bridge. We get out of the car and there is a manatee! It rises a few times for air, then moves away. A boat motors up the Mosquito Lagoon. It is easy to see why this particular manatee has a scar across its back. Just as the manatee departs, a river otter makes a couple of dives in the middle of the river. Other wildlife is also present. In the five minutes we watch the manatee I get about twelve no-see-um-bites (they itch for a week after). No one else gets a single one. It starts to pour. We get back in the car and get back on SR402. A car is stopped on the road, so we slow, too. There are a couple feral pigs by the side of the road. We would not have known what they are doing there except the video on the bus at KSC mentions them. They are strange little black things, not at all like the domesticated pigs of today.
We drove back to Cocoa Beach via I95, much faster and not as congested as some of the Interstates in Colorado (all 2). We cruised for a restaurant, checking out the Rustys at the Pier. We decided we wanted something a little nicer. We drove to Mangroves Restaurant on A1A. Another funky non-chain establishment. Candle light and atmosphere. Must be O.K., at least one policeman was eating there. This place is gussied up to within an inch of its life with painting on every surface. Palms, manatees, dolphins painted in life size and shell bits stuccoed into the bathrooms. You name the local wildlife and it appears on the walls. Nice fish of the day, salad and starch kind of place. Decent wine by the glass.
We went back to the condo, did another load of wash and walked on the beach a bit then hit the pool. Once again the pool was warm and we had the whole thing to ourselves. This is a nice resort. Well run, someone is always cleaning something in the common areas. Lucky are the folks who have a time-share here. Although we did not participate in any of it, there appears to be lots of scheduled activities, crafts for the kids and expeditions onto the rivers for manatee watching.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=505045
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=501296
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=506602
The end nears. Monday January 20th. We rose early and headed to the beach. It was still pretty grey and cool, but the kids wanted to jump in the ocean, and it was not raining. The Ocean Beach Resort does have a sand wheelchair to loan, but Gma decided to walk. There were two heavy wrought-iron chairs that had been left on the beach so Gma sat. The kids jumped into the ocean and managed to stay for a while. The adults were bundled against the cold. Go figure. There were about a dozen groups walking the beach and most of them stopped to marvel at the kids endurance, or to shake their heads at the parents irresponsibility. Cocoa Beach does not have the prettiest sand I have ever seen, it is a white and black mixture that makes the whole beach a dun-grey. But the sand is soft and powdery and filled with interesting tid-bits to inspect. The view up and down the beach is quite nice. It has not been built up to within an inch of its life as Miami Beach or Sanibel, with cheek-by-jowl high rises or trophy mansions. There is still a lot of easy public access. The dunes have been well preserved in spots. The kids were ready to get out after a couple of good waves slapped them in the face. They were not too shivery when they got out. We went back to the condo, got them changed and headed off for Merritt Island. All looking for theme-park-type excitement can stop reading now.
We have been casual bird watchers for a long time. We are not the hard core types who keep a life list of everything we have sighted, but love to see new birds. The last time we had come this way was before kids, but did not realize that the whole Merritt refuge would be closed due to a shuttle launch, that ill fated trip was detailed elsewhere. So we looked forward to our visit. We entered the refuge via 406 after a long and pretty ugly ride up US1, dont go this way, it has little to recommend it. We turned into the area and backtracked to the road side guide where we picked up brochures. Our first scheduled stop was the Visitors Center, but surprise! Today was Martin Luther King Day, and the Center is closed, not only on Sundays but on National Holidays. Bummer. Here we go, armed with only a bird check list. Hopefully we can figure out what we are seeing by following the common vs. rare list for winter. We did not have room to pack our Audubons guides. We turned onto the Black Point Wildlife Drive. We stop at the post to pick up a guide, surprise, again! The box is empty, with a posted note to stop at the Visitors Center to get the guide. Sheesh. Plus, it is raining again.
Anyway. This is an interesting drive. One narrow lane going in only one direction. The drive covers salt flats and marshes. We see what we think are Green Herons and Tri-color Herons. Lots of Egret and one snowy Egret, all huddled against the falling rain. There are a lot of interesting ducks, none of which I am able to identify by the limited pictures in my guides at home. About all we ever get in Colorado are hordes of Canada Geese and Mallards, so my duck skills are nonexistent. The rain stops for a while. We see one Osprey? And lots of Plovers and Killdeer, their sad calls giving them away. The kids are excited over two alligators, moving slowly through the canals. One even crawls up on land for us to admire. We are glad to note that White Pelican are here. The only other time we have seen them was a rare migration group on a reservoir in the Colorado mountains. They are such beautiful flyers and such clunky landers. It takes us a long time to do this loop. We stop at every stop. This is a peaceful place. Man has changed this environment a lot over time, trying to eliminate the mosquito by building dikes to keep the area flooded, eliminating the tidal fluctuations. Some species benefited, some suffered. Some of the areas are now being returned to the salt marsh environment.
After this drive we head to the Manatee observation area. The manatees congregate here, sometimes thirty at a time. We do not expect to see any, wrong season, but we want to try. The only ones we have ever seen are in tanks at Sea World or the Living Seas at Epcot. There is a bridge here and you double back under the bridge. We get out of the car and there is a manatee! It rises a few times for air, then moves away. A boat motors up the Mosquito Lagoon. It is easy to see why this particular manatee has a scar across its back. Just as the manatee departs, a river otter makes a couple of dives in the middle of the river. Other wildlife is also present. In the five minutes we watch the manatee I get about twelve no-see-um-bites (they itch for a week after). No one else gets a single one. It starts to pour. We get back in the car and get back on SR402. A car is stopped on the road, so we slow, too. There are a couple feral pigs by the side of the road. We would not have known what they are doing there except the video on the bus at KSC mentions them. They are strange little black things, not at all like the domesticated pigs of today.
We drove back to Cocoa Beach via I95, much faster and not as congested as some of the Interstates in Colorado (all 2). We cruised for a restaurant, checking out the Rustys at the Pier. We decided we wanted something a little nicer. We drove to Mangroves Restaurant on A1A. Another funky non-chain establishment. Candle light and atmosphere. Must be O.K., at least one policeman was eating there. This place is gussied up to within an inch of its life with painting on every surface. Palms, manatees, dolphins painted in life size and shell bits stuccoed into the bathrooms. You name the local wildlife and it appears on the walls. Nice fish of the day, salad and starch kind of place. Decent wine by the glass.
We went back to the condo, did another load of wash and walked on the beach a bit then hit the pool. Once again the pool was warm and we had the whole thing to ourselves. This is a nice resort. Well run, someone is always cleaning something in the common areas. Lucky are the folks who have a time-share here. Although we did not participate in any of it, there appears to be lots of scheduled activities, crafts for the kids and expeditions onto the rivers for manatee watching.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=505045
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=501296
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=506602
