Florida Day 21

March 19

Hike and Biked 13.4 miles

Woke to seven Egrets fishing in our little bayou. Great sight.

We decided to take a bike ride and headed west. The road was quiet and flat so the riding was great.

We went out to the Silver Slipper Hotel and Casino and tried to imagine life here before and during Katrina. Apparently, all that was left of the casino is the water tower you see here:

There were even more remains of houses and debris everywhere.

We found our way to a marina and spent time talking to a fisherman who helped us “see” the impact of “the storm” (that's the term they all use). He said that essentially everything we saw along this coast is only a couple of years old. That the water went north several miles. That destroyed boats are all over the marsh, forever buried in the reeds. That fewer than half of the people have returned to rebuild. That insurance paid for very little (and his own has grown fro $1,200 a year before the storm to more than $4,000 now). And, from another younger fisherman, that the oil spill wasn't a big deal. So much to think about.

This marina was wiped out, but now some houses (VERY high up) have been rebuilt. Apparently the shrimp business has survived everything.

We had a sobering ride back (along with a stop on Ontario!):

Back from the long ride, we relaxed then headed back to the beach, likely our last visit as we start “north” tomorrow. On our way, we saw two weird “squirrels”: big, reddish, with a white face. Checked my Mammals book and didn't see a match. Work to do there.

Back to bicycle disaster. We both had soft tires. We found the leak in David's (from a burr of some sort like those we had in Texas). And my actual tire is abraded in one spot so riding may be out for the rest of the trip. Hope not.

Great sunburning day (except for that last part!).

Here's a view of our campsite: