This picture was approximately 0.5 seconds before Cara's foot came into contact with that large boulder she's not looking at. She still has a scrape and a bruise... I don't know if Cara ever told the story about our canoe yet, but for those wondering why we got a bright red canoe, it wasn't planned. Her friend that ran the paddling shop in Key Largo sold it to her at cost because they received it from the company by accident, and they were afraid no one would want a bright red canoe. So we ended up saving about $250 on the purchase. A very nice deal indeed.... in case you're wondering why we call it Crack Bunny, the logo of the canoe company, Mad River Canoe, is a bunny smoking a peace pipe:
And this is us off pushing off for our Saturday adventure:
As you can see, the Captain started off in her usual spot in the rear of the canoe, while I took what I loving refer to as the "penalty box" up front. It's a wee-bit tight up there, but does provide the best seat for fishing. The Captain is more read-up on her "strokes", so accordingly there's a common held belief that her steering is more polished and safe when we get into tight situations. Suffice to say we did a little switch-a-roo as pictured here with the Captain taking her turn in the penalty box:
And low-and-behold, my steering did indeed need some work. But I still claim that's from general lack of practice, and my 2 hours at the rudder didn't get me up to speed.
We ended up paddling from the start of Robinson down into Perico Bayou, which was beautiful and mangrovy without the clutter of fancy houses hogging up the shoreline. We saw this nice Osprey posing for us down there:
All in all it was a very nice trip, and highly recommended for the locals to check out the preserve if they get a chance. And even more so, it was nice to break in our canoe finally on the west coast and start living like we should be over here!
Since the canoe was still on the car, and it was a beautiful weekend, we decided to make a second paddling day on Sunday. This time we went out to Lido Key (where St Armand's Circle is), to the park at the south end of the Key. It's a beautiful area to paddle, and apparently a big attraction since we saw a couple of paddling shops / tours going out from there. The park has some very extensive mangrove tunnels through the area like this:
The first one we went through we were with the tide, behind a kayaker that didn't belong to well there. For those wondering about the advantages comparing a canoe to a kayak, this situation is where a canoe excels. You can put your paddle straight down beside the canoe so can get through tighter areas. A kayak paddle is difficult to use in tight spaces like these prop roots. Also, canoes can hold loads more than kayaks generally. But we're biased now!
The second tunnel we went through we were against the tide, so that was a bit hairy. Some tempers were starting to flair with steering through some tight corners. We bounced off quite a few roots on that run (and apparently my "help" with the steering almost decapitated the Captain a few times).
Later we headed up into the bay, and I got to break in my fishing gear. Caught myself a nice big trout on a crank bait by snagging him on the chin after he bumped my bait. So much more fishing to do now....
After the two days, our arms and shoulders were whooped, but now we can't wait to get back out there again!
For all you Battlestar Galactica fans out there, below is the picture Marilyn shared with us from her and Tyler's encounter with James Callus (center), aka Gaius Baltar (sorry M, I couldn't resist - it's just too awesome!): 
Saturday we got up and headed to the Orchid Festival at Fairchild Gardens (a "bonus" for the weekend!). Marilyn, Rachel, and I did not leave empty handed. We had fun wandering the gardens and ooohing and aahhing over all the beautiful plants. Below, is a closeup of one orchid I got that is similar to the ones we had for our wedding centerpieces (I've been looking for one since our wedding!).
Afterwards we headed back to the house to get cleaned up. The whole reason we picked this weekend to visit Miami was for Susie (sorority sister from undergrad) and Andrew's wedding. So, Saturday night we got dressed up and headed to Miami Beach for their wedding. We ended up sitting with the rest of my sorority sisters and it was so much fun to see them all again. It was the first Jewish wedding ceremony Wade and I had been to, so it was a neat thing to see. Wade liked that they sang everything. :) After the ceremony, there was a cocktail reception where we all watched another guest pile a heaping Tablespoon of wasabi (super hot green Japanese condiment) on top of a piece of sushi - thinking it was guacamole. He stuffed it all in his mouth in one bite as Wade elbowed me to point him out "Watch this!"... after a few seconds the guy leaned his head back in pain and groaned then lurched forward and coughed while bits flew out of his mouth. By this point we'd told the rest of the table what was happening and we all laughed quietly, then the guy did it again?! Then we all lost it and laughed openly at him until we almost cried. Priceless. Then we moved on to the reception. Everything was done up beautifully and the food was great. After dinner we got a second with the bride checking out her new bling, then the DJ kicked into high gear. The guy was giving away free stuff all night long which ended up being pretty entertaining... plastic hats (see Wade), aviator sunglasses, confetti poppers, masks, mardi gras beads, leis, and the list goes on. Needless to say, we made sure to take as many pictures as possible. :) Below, Tricia and I pose with Susie the beautiful bride.
Sunday we slept in then took Jason and Rachel to breakfast in the Gables. Then we packed up and headed home. I was bummed to leave Mac, Rachel's tuxedo kitty. In the past, he's been afraid of us, but apparently the new digs make him feel like king of the castle. By the end of the weekend we were cracking up how much he liked sleeping on our stuff on the guest bed and following us around. He's a real charmer. Thanks for being such great hosts Jason & Rachel!!
