April 30, 2014 (9th Day)

It was overcast and 71 degrees when we got up.  It was still too early for us to have breakfast, so we decided we were going to bike to the far end of the isle, but could not go any further due to the private property belonging to the Coast Guard.  We biked around condos with boat docks.

After we got back from biking we got in the van and went out to explore the island. Drove all the way to the beginning of the island.  We went inside the store called Bridge Side Marina, then explored houses and campground nearby. There is a RV campground that has 80 sites.  It finally started to get sunny.

On way back to the campground we stopped at Visitor's Center to get information. The lady, who used to live in Summerlin, FL, was very helpful. We asked about the Spoonbill rookery site, but found out that we would need to cross the bridge to another island. There was a covered butterfly garden, but there were no butterflies, just flowers.

We decided to drop by Lafitte Woods Nature Preserve (Grilletta Tract) to bike/hike some ways, there was a snapping turtle on the path, and when Edith approached closely to take a picture it did not move an inch! We continued biking, but then found out the rest of the path is not suitable for biking, so we parked the bikes and then hiked the rest of the way. Lots of birds around.

We saw few historic houses that are over 100 years old that withstood Katrina's wrath in 2005. We wondered how they survived as they didn't look all that sturdy anymore. 

After hiking we biked to a restaurant called Starfish Restaurant for lunch. EH got crab patty and I had 2 pc dark chicken. Lots of locals were eating there so it was sure to be a good place! It was. 

We stopped at Sureway Supermarket to pick up few items that we need for snacks and supper, and this time Edith picked up a jar of salsa!

After we got back to the campground Erwin decided to do the laundry and Edith went to the beach to take pictures of shorebirds. There were thousands and thousands of black skimmers.  It was very interesting to watch them skim the water while in flight. After the laundry was done we went to the beach and walked for a while.  We had spaghetti for supper.

Then off to the observation tower on the state park property to watch the sunset.  Again, too much clouds here and there.  Did not get to see the full sun setting, but there were nice colors. It was difficult to take pictures on the tower cause the wind was blowing so hard and was trying to blow over the camera and tripod so Edith had to keep a firm grip on it.