Flamingo Gardens

Saturday, October 31, 2015  Halloween
We were up very early this morning as we had to finish packing, have breakfast and be clear of our room before 8:00 am even though we weren't getting off the ship till some time after 9:00.  So it is that we were out on the deck enjoying breakfast when the skies were just beginning to lighten at our final port in Ft Lauderdale.

Our waiting area was the Vista Lounge where they had coffee, tea, juice and rolls set out for us to enjoy while waiting for our announced time to lead.  A video show of places around the world that Princess ships visit offered lots of tantalizing views some of which we have seen over our years of travel.  We also had time to wander out to the Piazza area and see some of the decorations already in place for the Halloween celebration that would be taking place on the ship when it sails back out again later in the day. 

We were off the ship, back to our car and on the road in no time flat once the process began.  Our plans included a visit to the Flamingo Gardens in Davie, FL not terribly far from the port in Ft. Lauderdale - in fact we were parked and into the park before 11:00.  In time for the first tour of the grounds of this lovely wildlife sanctuary created by The Wrays back in the early 1900s.  

It began as an orchard that included the home they often stayed in - actually Mrs. Wray's mother was the owner.

They created a botanical garden on the grounds that was left untouched to show what the everglades area was like.  In addition, they strived to include samples of most of the indigineous plants to Florida including the fruit trees Florida is so well known for.

 One that surprised me was the star fruit.  I always thought of that as something grown in South America.

A large part of the grounds is now also devoted to providing a home and care for injured animals and birds.  

They are treated and if they cannot be reintroduced to the wild because of their injuries they are kept here in a setting as close to what they are use to as possible.  The aviary is huge with sections set up to simulate the various land areas found in Florida.

There are screened areas for a wide variety of birds including a pair of eagles with injured wings, different types of hawks, owls, and so forth. And. of course, there were plenty of flamingos......

Bobcat, black bear, otters, turtles, alligators, etc are also in a variety of settings all kept as natural as possible. 

After spending several hours at the gardens, we enjoyed lunch at a local Panera and then drove to Florida City which is considered to be the leaping off spot for entering the Florida Keys.    Here we settled down in a motel for the night.