10-19-10 (Tuesday):  Egret, tortoise and dolphins, oh my!  Not a lot going on here, but we drove to Canaveral National Seashore today.  Had lunch at J.B.'s Fishcamp and were greatly entertained by "Whitey," the local American Egret who has lived on a nearby island for several years and keeps all other comers at bay (according to some locals sitting nearby).




We also enjoyed watching a pod of dolphins fishing right off the deck where we were eating.  When you see how voraciously they attack the fish, you kind of question swimming with them as a recreational activity!

When we finished our lunch entertainment, we drove into Canaveral National Seashore.  We get in free with our senior pass, so this is a place we visit often.  This wasn't the biggest gopher tortoise I've ever seen (about the size of a basketball), but it was really brave.  I got about 2 feet away to take this picture and he (she?) never stopped eating!

We're happy to be back home in New Smyrna Beach.  We've decided to leave the big fifth wheel here permanently and do some traveling in the little travel trailer in the summer.  Best of both worlds!  We'll go over one day a week to help Wiley's mother with his father, who's pretty disabled now with Parkinson's Disease.  In the Spring, Wiley hopes to have another deep brain stimulator implanted at University of Michigan and then we hope the medical crises will end and we can take a trip to Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico to see some of the great national parks (Yellowstone, particularly).  We might even make it to New Zealand for a visit with Mark and Heather next winter.  For now, we're heeding the old adage to "grow where you're planted."  Peace!