The End (a Q&A)

8/11/25

What felt the most adventurous: Our boat trip out to Johnson Key Chickee. We didn’t have a ton of confidence in the boat so taking it almost six miles off shore and then relying on it to start in the morning was nerve-racking. We were also boating in waters we were not familiar with so we had to really study our charts. Then coming back in the morning the waves were right on the line of what we felt was responsible for our boat. It was really fun though the risk was worth the reward. Camping on a little wooden platform in the ocean was amazing and it was honestly fun to have to plan out the route and timing for the tides. It felt like we were captaining the boat not just driving it.

What was the weirdest moment: Our coworkers were pretty strange. I think it takes a different kind of person to be able to work out there and most of them were definitely different. I have a weird coworker that has eight kids and has been divorced four times, the last thing he told me before leaving was “the best part about having kids is making them”. He also told me he was an undercover sniper in North Korea. `

What was one thing that you were unsure of in the beginning of the summer that you felt sure of at the end: I (Opal) was not the most confident in my boating skills but by the end of the summer I felt like I had improved my ability to maneuver our boat, but also the skiffs and the pontoon boat at the flamingo marina. I (Oliver) feel generally more sure that when things break I can fix them. I think I am now more likely to repair, replace, repaint, etc, because I’ve done it a few time and have the confidence that I am not going to mess it up. 

What was something unexpected: When we first got there we were surprised at the lack of people our age. We assumed we wouldn’t get to know them that well and felt they were a little weird but by the end we had both become quite close with our coworkers. As the summer went on it seemed like they became more and more normal, but it could have just been us getting weirder. 

Who were your favorite people that you met or got to know: Mine (Oliver) was my boss Frank. He is a 70 year old Cuban but we think similarly and are the only close to normal people in the maintenance department. Mine (Opal) were Shawn and Brandi who are married and act like the parents of the restaurant. 

What was one moment that made you want to leave and how did you get over it / What allowed you to continue even though it was hard and not that much fun initially: There are two moments that come to mind. The first was when we tried to take a two person Kayak out one night and the mosquitos swarmed us. Opal was wearing a tank top and had at least 50 on each shoulder. You couldn’t have fit a quarter anywhere on her body without touching a mosquito. That was kind of horrifying and made us feel like we just couldn’t enjoying being outside which was the whole point of being there. The second hard moment was the times the power went out. It happened a few times, no power meant no air conditioning and it is really hard to sleep in 85 degrees. We also only had one working window and could not open the door because of mosquitos so we just ended up sitting in the dark. No power also meant no refrigeration so we didn’t know if we were going to lose our food. This would’ve have been that bad, but when groceries are at least an hour away it is much more stressful. And finally we couldn’t cook without power and we didn’t have a ton of snacks in. This meant that when the power went out you would get home sweaty, shower in the dark, and then sit there, hungry and sweat some more in the dark, dank room. We got over these things/continued to stay by: 1) lowering our expectations, 2) learning the areas, times and weather to avoid the worst mosquitos, 3) being patient but also honest that if things got too bad we could always leave, 4) relying on each other when times got really hard. The last one was the most important. 

Do you have a favorite moment / What was the best experience: There was not one moment we had together that was far above the rest but being out on the paddle board in the evening watching all the life in the bay was special. We would see many fish, birds, sharks, rays, crabs and sometimes a dolphin. At low tide with all this life around you, you can’t go 10 seconds without hearing a splash nearby. Combined with the sunset this makes for a beautiful evening. 

What did you learn about yourselves this summer: We learned we can handle hard things and how to make the most out of imperfect situations. 

Would you ever live in the area again or was it a one summer thing and what did it have or lack to make it that way: Live? Probably not but we would like the visit sometime, ideally in the winter. Florida in general is a little too crowded for us and the heat is intense. We kind of knew this going into the summer though and it was part of the reason we chose it. We felt like three months would be the perfect amount of time to live in Florida. We did enjoy living on the water though and would like to continue to do so in the future. 

Do you think you are going to do something like this again: Yes, not in Florida but we would like to continue to live in neat areas. Next summer we are going to be prioritizing career relevant jobs though. 

Best meal you made: Man, there were so many good ones. Probably the Snapper sandwiches as they came with the satisfaction of catching your own fish. 

What camera recommendations do you have: My Camera is a Cannon EOS rebel. It is a great beginner camera but if you’re serious I would recommend one with a higher ISO than mine ( top 1600). If you are shooting wildlife I would recommend a good zoom lens. 

Did you ever encounter a secrete service agent disguised as a water moccasin: Yes but they refused to come out of disguise. 

How did you get such an uptick in fishing as the summer progressed: It was a bunch of small factors that took time to learn. I improved my knots, learned where each type of bait hung out, and started to chum more liberally. I also learned how to avoid mosquitos better which allowed me to put in a lot more time, fishing almost every day after work. I find that action attractions action, when you catch a fish, other bigger fish detect the vibrations and come to check it out so sometimes all it takes is one small fish to get the bite going. Also no doubt luck played a role. 

Knowing what you know now what advice would you give someone considering the everglades for summer employment: Go to Yellowstone instead. I don’t think many other people could have enjoyed the suffering as well as we did. 

Are you sad you didn’t experience a hurricane: Yeah, it would have been fun to evacuate and spend a few nights in a hotel with all our coworkers. 

Who’s right between the national park and air boaters: The national park service does a better job of looking at the big picture and is not driven by profits but the air boaters are actually doing something about the problems and do seem to legitimately care about the ecosystem. What’s going to happen is they will realize that they need to stop fighting each other and team up against the greater enemy, the pythons. The ecosystem will get so devastated that they are going to allow the rednecks to bring their airboats into the National Park and it will foster a new era of understanding and harmony.

If you were attempting to evade law enforcement by fleeing across the everglades on foot what is the most dangerous thing you would be worried about: Its not the Crocodiles or Pythons, not even swamp ape it’s the Manchineel tree. The Manchineel tree is one of the most dangerous plants and is all over the lower Everglades. Its fruit, leaves, bark and sap are all poisonous. If you rub up against the tree or happen to walk under one when it is raining you will get burns and blisters. Ingestion of the fruit would most likely kill you with no medical treatment. Another concern would be wildfires which happen all the time and inhaling the smoke from burning Manchineel trees, this could also kill you. Either that or mosquitoes swarms bleeding you to death. 

Python Hunting

 

08/02/2025

Last Tuesday Opal and I went out and got us a snake. The day before I had gone out with Lyles, our boat captain who is also a python removal agent (gets paid to kill them) but had not seen anything. That night Opal and Bobby, who is our other boat captain joined. Lyles’s truck has lights fitted on the front and both sides that make spotting snakes easier. Essentially how you hunt pythons is you drive around 15 miles per hour and look for snakes in the road or just off the road. The main park road was just mowed around so we had a ten-foot-wide mowed grass clearing on both sides. Where this mowed grass met the trees is where Opal and Lyles spotted a big Python. We all jumped out, immobilized it and taped its mouth shut. I was surprised with how little it struggled; there was no real effort from the snake to get away at any point in the whole ordeal. We measured the snake at 7’11 which pays 200$ from the Florida Fish and Wildlife commission for and 80$ for the skins from a leathermaker. Agents do get paid by the hour but it barley covers gas so snakes like these are really how you get paid. The rest of the night was slow which python hunting usually is but Opal and I got to hear from Bobby and Lyles about the fine folk of everglades city, where they both reside. One character that came up was Ervin of Perv’n Ervins Karaoke Bar. To get people to come to his bar Ervin had promotional events like “come see the hot Mary Lee” who was his daughter. Apparently he was known for importing drugs which was not uncommon for people who lived in everglades city. Another person Bobby and Lyles knew was Dave Sheily, someone I recognized from a book my dad had given me on Florida. The book which has a chapters on Key West and explaining the ‘Florida man’ dedicates an entire chapter on Dave Sheily. In fact Dave might be the best example of the ‘Florida man’. He runs the Swamp Ape Research Facility and up until recently had the second largest captive python at 25’. Bobby and Lyles described how he fed the python as something similar to how they feed the T-rex in Jurassic park, entire goats at one time. 

The entire experience of python hunting was culturally enriching. I felt more Floridian than ever.

 As a thanks for reading this blog post here’s a Florida fact: Missouri has a back-to-school tax holiday where for a few days you can purchase school supplies tax free. Florida on the other has a “second amendment tax holiday” where you can get your guns and ammunition tax free. Florida does charge you to use the roads though.

The last weekend

 8/2/25 - 8/3/25

Opal-

We debated what to do with our last weekend here for quite a while. At one point we had booked an Airbnb in the keys but that didn’t work out. We ended up taking a skiff out in the Everglades backcountry again on Saturday and then heading to Miami Beach on Sunday. The skiff we got this time was a bit bigger and did not have a limiter. We had a good time speeding through the mangroves, White Water Bay, and the buttonwood canal. We stopped at our usual place, the South Joe River Chickee, had some donuts and did some fishing. We both caught a sea trout which was a new species for the summer. They were small so they did not get eaten. After exploring a little more we came home and took an amazing nap. 

On Sunday the goal was to swim. We left for the beach around ten o’clock. After a bit of a panic about where to eat we settled on a takeout fish place. This was a great decision and we were rewarded by good fish and cheap prices. Our order:

Snapper and shrimp combo $15.99 (two huge pieces of snapper, jumbo shrimp, fries, and toast)

Corn nuggets $2.39 (fried breaded sweet corn for those who don’t know)

Cheesecake $3 (definitely not homemade like the sign said)

Everything was well seasoned and we debated if the fish was really snapper or not. Oliver mentioned that he’d heard 75% of fried calamari is pig guts. Either way it was good food. Next we hit the beach after finding a great deal on parking in South Beach ($1/hour). The water was gorgeous, blue and clear, however the heat was intense and the UV was 11 so we only stayed about two hours. I am proud to report I did not get burned. On the ride home we picked up our last bag of groceries including some cherries that Oliver got all over himself and stained a dark purple, like a nasty bruise. He said “I should show up to work like this with a black eye and say my wife beats me.” The end. 

A near perfect evening fishing

 7/29/25

Yesterday I had what was close to the perfect evening fishing. It all started with coming home from work to a nice meal that Opal had made me. This meant that I was able to get out to the gap in the mangroves where I fish relatively early. The wind was dead, which meant calm water and lots of mosquitoes. I find that when the water is calm like this it is harder to catch bait, but if you can, it can be rewarding, leading to big fish. Indeed bait was hard to come by. It probably took ten casts to get bait and it was only a couple shiners, but then on the eleventh cast I pulled in a large 8” mullet. Mullet are the gold standard for bait but the ones I usually catch here are all in the 2”-3” range. By my standards this one was huge. Plus, this one already had a bite mark and by the looks of it there was something big out there. I had the perfect rod for it, a huge classic looking stainless bait casting reel on a large blue rod, a combo my grandad leant me for the summer. The rod and reel scream Hemmingway and look like they belong on a wall and while one day they might end up there I think they should catch something worth a story first. I hooked the mullet with a large circle hook on a wire leader rig and cast it out as far as I could. While it sat, I rigged my go to medium action rod with a much smaller mullet and cast that out too. In almost no time the medium action rod started jerking in the rod holder and I pulled in a big snook. The snook bite has been very good this past week so I have been spoiled with lots of big fish. None the less this was a really big fish, close to my personal best and bigger than anything I am used to catching. After that I caught a catfish which most people consider nuisance fish, but I am not a good enough fisherman to consider anything a nuisance fish, so I was pleased. By that time my mind had drifted away from the 8” mullet on the Hemmingway rod and while I was attempting to catch more bait, I heard the line start to zip out. Normally when a fish is pulling out drag* it makes a high-pitched sound kind of like a zipper on a jacket, with this rod it sounded like gears cranking. I let it run for a few seconds then set the hook. Immediately the fish jumped, and I knew it was a tarpon. When I have hooked tarpon in the past this is where the fight ends but this time the hook stayed in. The fight lasted a good ten minutes and every second of it I was thinking surely it’s going to break free but in the end, I was able to land it. Tarpon get huge and this one wasn’t the biggest, but it also wasn’t nothing and for my first ever tarpon I was elated. Catching anything on the Hemmingway rod and catching a tarpon were two of my fishing goals for the summer. Doing both at the same time was a true gift. Later that evening I caught a Jack Crevalle another new species for me, and a rare fish to catch around here. If I quit there it would have been the perfect evening fishing but I decided to use the Jack carcass for bait and threw it out on the Hemmingway rod. After a half hour or so something took it, but I still had the drag tight from the tarpon and the line snapped immediately. Judging by the way the rod bent I am guessing it was either a large shark or a freight train, it’s impossible to know for sure which. While this came with some disappointment and losing my shark rig, it left me feeling excited to get back out again. Today I bought new wire leaders at the marina store and tomorrow I am going back out.

 

*Drag is a setting you can change on a fishing reel that will let the rod let out line if pulled hard enough, it is used so that if a big fish pulls on your line it doesn’t break. When fishing larger setups it’s common to use a light drag to let the fish run with the bait before tightening the drag to set the hook.

People we work with

 

One of the more interesting things about this summer has been the various characters Opal and I have got to work with. We are just now starting to feel like we are figuring people out, here are some of them:

1.       Angelo runs the marina. He is around sixty years old and has a Italian accent. Although he is a ‘high up’ in the operation he lives in the dorms. His dorm is referred to as “Club Angelo”, sometimes when I am out fishing look back and see his door open with rave music blasting. Angelo believes without him this whole pace would fall apart.

2.       Ali is a front desk worker. She is in her thirties which makes her the third youngest person only older than Opal and myself. She is chatty and friendly. She does not get along with Dennis.

3.       Brandi works in the restaurant. She let me take home her mobile Wi-Fi router for my NREMT test, which is just one example of her generosity. At her birthday party Brandi karate chopped a slice of cake. She is the unofficial manager of the restaurant and is always fun to talk to when stopping in to fill up your water bottle. She is always saying to Opal “you guys have to come back in the winter when this place doesn’t suck”

4.     Cassius is the dishwasher. He ran over a crocodile and totaled his car. Now there are signs telling cars to “slow down crocodiles on road ahead”.

5.       Charles is my coworker in the maintenance department. He looks like he is 30 but claims to be 55. He has told me a good deal about his life but after hearing that he was a Marine sniper deployed into North Korea I am not sure if any of it is true. He collects knifes and gives out advice on my marriage with Opal although, I doubt Opal would want me to take any of it.

6.       Cook. There is a new cook who got a job here. His background check has not gone through yet though, so he is not an employee yet. The other day when looking for a dark spot to take photos of the night sky we found him living in his car by the amphitheater. Florida.

7.       Craig is the only permanent worker in the Marina store. He worked for the operation before it was reconstructed a few years ago. Although he is not the longest continuous working employee, I believe he started working here before anyone else. He is a big Green Bay Packers fan.

8.       Cheese helps on the backcountry boat tours. He is from Guinea and is hard to understand. I have never heard of him referred to anything, but cheese and his name tag says cheese.

9.     Dee is our human resources person; she is kind of annoying.

10.  Dennis is another one of my coworkers. He is about 5’2 and 70 some years old. Dennis is wanted in Alaska, California and Louisiana mostly for fighting people. He has had a variety of previous jobs including commercial fishing, a meat delivery business, and owning a hotel. Dennis has sunk several boats and been in a half dozen motorcycle crashes. He is very kind and would be happy to talk to you about his life. He does not get along with Ali.

11.  Eric works in the same position as Brandi. He puts on movies in the restaurant like Shrek and The Bayou which is about alligators on cocaine.

12.  Frank is my boss. He is a 62 year old Cuban. Frank and I get along well, he is kind and makes sure we are not overworked. Frank makes very good espresso in the mornings and will often buy soda, ice cream or beer for us maintenance workers after long hot days. Frank speaks good English but does most of his communicating through hand gestures and sound effects.

13.  Ken was the manager of the restaurant before he was fired. He was 82 years old.

14.  Lyles is one of the boat captains at the marina. He is pretty normal compared to most here and a python removal agent. The other night when we were out taking photos of the stars, a truck pulled up to us and we heard “what are you kids doin’ out here” It took us a second to realize it was Lyles on his nightly python runs. He once offered to show us a live six foot python he was keeping in his room on ice. You never know what’s living in the dorm next to you.

15.  Margret is the top manager here. She cares a lot about the employees. She is overworked because we have so few employees, she often must do other people’s jobs on their days off. For example, she works as the marina store cashier two days a week.

16.  Mikey is the bartender. He specializes in being grumpy, but customers seem to like him. He and I (opal) have a thing going where we only have one conversation per shift, the rest of the time we just silently judge people and nod at each other.

17.  Marvin and Marquis are the cooks. They tend to make fun of me (opal) every time I walk back into the kitchen. They do this to everyone. Marvin has a thick Jamaican accent and listens to a lot of Katy Perry. Marquis calls me O and makes the best quesadillas out of all the cooks.

18.   Shawn is the sous chef. He has one of the thickest southern accents I have ever heard and is a true deadhead. Every time he works you are sure to hear Casey Jones or Althea playing in the kitchen. He is also engaged/married to Brandi, I’m not sure which and at this point it’s too late to ask.

Tooling Around

 7/12/25

Opal-

Today was one of those days where all the bugs and problems and heat of the summer were worth it. We slept in had a great breakfast/lunch and took our now working boat (thanks to Angelo, the marina manager, and Oliver’s parents) out on the bay. We planned to go to Snake Bight, a bay within the larger Florida Bay. There we were told some employees had seen flamingos and a variety of other birds. The tide was low and there was absolutely no wind as we set out of the channel. The water was glassy smooth. There was a bit of a storm moving in but other than that perfect conditions. On our way out we had a great dolphin encounter. It swam in circles around the boat (Now christened The Boot, for no particular reason other than it sounds funny) and popped above the surface quite a few times before we left it behind. A lovely start to our boat ride. We passed Joe Kemp Key and took a left down the channel into Snake Bight. There were found plenty of markers that led all the way to a mangrove peninsula. As we neared the end of the channel we started to see lots of birds near the shore and out in the shallow seagrass. The tide was low which has become my favorite time to be out because you can hear all the life of the ocean around you. Lots of mullet slapping the water when they jump, sharks scarring and splashing away. You can’t go a second without hearing a noise at low tide. Then we saw pink. I got very excited thinking we had found flamingos, however as we got nearer, now poling through the shallow water, those flamingos turned into Roseate Spoonbills. I wasn’t very disappointed because they were the first we had seen this summer and they were still pretty darn pink. I began to regret not bringing my camera. There were so many great opportunities. I told Oliver “I bet his is how you feel when there’s lots of fish and you don’t have your rod.” As we pushed further in we noticed an opening in the mangroves and decided to investigate. When we got there both of us noticed a crocodile head staring at us from the water. It went under and we continued into the channel. Then a crocodile slid out from underneath some mangroves on the bank and slunk off into the water. As we pushed farther up, there was another crocodile, this one a little baby about 3 feet long. Further in the water started to become very shallow. Oliver had been polling us around and gave me a chance. Within a minute I had got us stuck and was frustrated. So Oliver took the pole back and we headed back out to open ocean. Back at the Marina we got some ice cream and headed home. It was what a boat day should look like. We have even mastered the boat ramp as a couple which even without being in a relationship is a very stressful place. 

A Week With The Parents

 7/3/2025 - 7/10/2025

The past week my (Oliver) parents visited. They flew in on Thursday and got to Flamingo pretty late. We met them at the lodge, ran to the room trying to avoid mosquitos and shared a key lime pie that Opal and I, mostly Opal, made.  The next day was the fourth of July, the three of us went up to Miami but Opal had to work. My parents got a hotel that was right in the heart of south beach. We checked in then spent some time swimming. That evening we walked to an Italian restaurant and got pasta and then went back to the beach to watch fireworks. The firework launching people launched the fireworks off a barge and you could see the reflection of the fireworks in the water, it was a good firework show. Later, Opal arrived, around midnight, and we took a walk around south beach looking at all the drunk people. 

In the middle of the night, I awoke to smoke and an alarm going off. The alarm was quiet, and I was the only one out of the four of us that noticed it. I quietly peaked out in the hall and indeed it was smokey, there were police officers by the room the smoke was coming from but everything seemed to be under control, so we all went back to bed. 

The next day Opal woke up very early to drive to the airport and us Koenigs headed towards Naples. Naples is on the opposite side of the Florida peninsula to Miami and most of the drive is through protected swamp. In the middle of this drive, we stopped at a visitor center and saw alligators. The culture in this part of the everglades is far less national park and far more ‘gladesmen’. There is a “Skunk Ape Research Facility” and more airboat tours that you could imagine. I think the qualifications needed to work here are doing meth. After getting to Naples, we went to a nature conservancy which was alright but weirdly empty. It kind of felt like when you are one of the last tables at a restaurant before it closes and all the employees are cleaning up and looking at you like ‘why are you still here’. Except in our case, it was two in the afternoon.

We spent the next three nights in Naples. While there, we visited the five beaches recommended in our guidebook, we caught two excellent sunsets, we went to five thrift stores, I bought zero things, and we ate three tasty dinners. We all liked Naples, but my mom especially thought it was nice. After Naples we drove north to Orlando where we met up with our friend Linda and Lindas eight-month-old son Emerson who happens to be the cutest baby ever. We first met Linda on a vacation, and she had visited us in Missouri, so it was cool to finally see her in her home state. The visit with her concluded with a multi course Vietnamese feast that was absolutely delicious. Thanks for everything Linda. 

From Orlando we drove back to Flamingo and got in around 11pm, I was in the shower when the power went out. The next day was a very busy and stressful day at work but my parents had some fun so I am going to let my dad tell you about that. 

From Fred

“If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them. The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills.”  Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms

After earning a journalism degree followed by decades of writing for newspapers and magazines on a daily basis, I’ve finally landed my first big break: getting invited to be a guest writer on Opal and Oliver’s blog.

Since the subject matter is Floridian in nature, I feel I should channel Hemingway. I could do this by drinking daiquiris and getting in a fight, or writing as a normally would, then telling AI to revise as Hemmingway. Fortunately, I consider both methods beneath me so I opted just to open with a Hemingway quote then revert to Fred.

The Everglades have been like a coy mistress for the Koenigs for throughout our beleaguered lives. (How’s that, Ernest?). The first family trip entered on the north end via Everglades city. Two children, one wife, two canoes. Two nights of camping in the backcountry on a very tiny beach head. Being the (at the time) dominant male, I took the smallest of our lot in my canoe. I had the back seat, and probably weighed three times what Oliver did at the time, as he was nine years old. This made the front of our canoe point skyward, problematic in the breeze. We took too much water, a good thing as racoons chewed a whole in the bottom of some of the water jugs, draining them.

We returned the Everglades in 2021, this time approaching from the south. The plan was to canoe camp the first night at East Cape, the second at Northwest Cape and the third at East Clubhouse, all beach sites. The first day of paddling and night of camping went as planned. We awoke the next morning to a strong breeze and big waves. We made it as far as Clubhouse Beach, where we paused after a hard fight with waves no one should face in a canoe. Sharing the beach head with a bask of crocodiles, we opted for a water rescue.

You would think these experiences would discourage a return. Au contraire, Oliver had not disavowed the river of grass, he had moved there for the summer with his beloved Opal. It had been more than a month since I had seen him. I journeyed there to Ann to see if in that amount of time he had fully transformed into Florida Man.

We embarked on this trip with some trepidation. I knew Oliver was well aware of Florida heat and mosquitos before he signed on for the summer. And I know that he shares my disdain for exaggeration. So his description of the mosquitos was horrifying. But I thought I could handle it. I won’t attempt to go into description of how it feels to have your face and neck covered as soon as you step out of the car, because the experience truly defies description. Panic inducing is about as best I can muster.

Immediately after meeting with Oliver we escaped from the Everglades and had a nice week in Florida which I assume Oliver will refer to in his blog, as my assignment requested coverage of Thursday and Friday.

Upon returning late Thursday night I received the key from the late check-in box for the room. A few seconds later the power went out. Checking into the room was a challenge, as we were unfamiliar with it and it was completely dark. We found the bed and slept until sunup. Power was on and off inconsistently the rest of the time we were there, and when it was on it was only in certain outlets, and at a minimal level.

We’re in the Everglades in July with a power outage knocking out air-conditioning and refrigeration, at a time when people who had been there for years were saying they had never seen the mosquitos this severe. I’ll say this of the staff at Flamingo in the Everglades: Every single person I met was exceptionally kind and helpful. I also say this of the staff on that particular day: nowhere outside of a maximum-security prison will you encounter people who are more fraught with regret about decisions made in their life that resulted in them residing at their current zip code.  

Ann and I did rent a skiff and took it into the backwater. One might think mosquitos would be worse there, but they were actually much better. They weren’t as extreme anywhere as they are in lodging area. Mosquitos know where to go for dinner. 

Before saying our final farewells, Ann and I felt compelled to get out on this bay we had been viewing through a glass window pane, so we got her stand up paddle board that she loaned to Oliver at the beginning of summer. As we carried it from the porch the mosquitos had already found us. Taking it down the very short walk to water, my legs were covered with mosquitos so they looked black. I had them in my ears, nose and eyes. It was maddening. For some reason they were on me, not Ann. When we got to the water I just jumped in. It was instant relief. Ann said my hat was still covered, but I didn’t care. I swam out and she paddled out for a ways, then we paused to catch our breath.

I looked to shore, and a large crocodile, I would say maybe 12 feet long or so, came out of the bushes and into the water. My read on his movement wasn’t a “People are disturbing me, I’m going to leave,” but rather, “There’s prey, I’m going hunting.” He seemed more focused toward us than away from us as he slipped into the water and disappeared.

I yelled, “Large crocodile, get to shore.” Ann was standing on the paddle board, I was in the water. The breeze was against us and the tide was going out. As my triathlon records will show, I’m a slow swimmer, and was wearing sandals and a long sleeve shirt. But we made haste for shore as best we could. Ann hadn’t seen the crocodile but was trying to stay between me and it, while I was imploring her to just get to shore. She made landfall a bit before me, and I asked her to make noise, and she did a fine job of yelling and smacking the paddle on the water. We rushed back through the mosquitos, put the paddle board away, and then were able to leave feeling like we had full Everglades experience.