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My Journal - January 2000 |
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Today we woke up in an enormous RV resort! Mom and dad went rollerblading and after, we all went in the pool and hot tubs! We read some then left (we were in Sarasota) to the Mote Marine Aquarium and Pelican Man's Bird Rescue and Recovery center! The Aquarium Turtles, Sharks, Sting Rays, Manatees, even a shallow pool with a bunch of harmless Horseshoe crab's and clams and lots of other stuff! The Manatees where wonderful! One of them the younger one weighed 1460 pounds! The Sting Rays where really cool and you could pet them! They liked it! The Horseshoe crab was harmless though it looked a little like a Sting Ray with its tail that really was for balance! The Turtles where cool too! They where in a pool sunning themselves! I did have a paper on them but I lost it. I also got a paper on Sharks that I still have!
About Sharks…
Sharks are among the world's most successful groups of animals, inhabiting the seas for more than 400 million years. And for more than 100 million years, they have been nearly unchanged in form. Together with they're closest relatives, the skates, rays, and sawfishes, they collectively known as elasmotranchs.
Altogether, there are more than 350 species of sharks! All have certain anatomical features in common, most notably the fact that their skeletons are made entirely of cartilage and contrasted to the bony fishes whose skeletons contain true bone. Sharks are different in other ways too. They have the same five senses we have plus electrosensitivity that helps them find live prey that may be hidden. Also unlike most bony fishes sharks do not have ribs or a swim bladder. Thus sharks are slightly negatively buoyant and despite the lift from a large oil rich liver they sink slowly unless they continue to swim. Typically there are from five to seven gill slits on each side of the head through which water exits after having entered through the mouth or spiracles (small holes on top of the head in some species) and having passed over the gills that extract oxygen!
Shark's teeth are in parallel rows and tooth loss and replacement is continuous throughout life. Studies by Mote scientists have shown that on average small nurse sharks will one tooth at a time replace an entire front row of teeth every ten days of so in summer and every on to two months in winter when they are feeding less and their metabolism slows down!
Despite their reputation sharks seldom bite people although the bite of even a small shark can be serious with loss of flesh and heavy bleeding. Most attacks are believed t result from a case of mistaken identity as when a swimmer is among fish upon which the shark is feeding or when the shark believes it is repelling an intruder or when a person bumps into steps on or otherwise molests a shark. Large pelagic sharks like the Oceanic Whitetip Shark, the Mako, the Blue, and the White Shark all of which sometimes feed on large prey have been implicated in fatal shark attacks. For swimmers in the Gulf of Mexico the potentially most dangerous sharks are the Tiger Shark, the Hammerheads, the Lemon Shark, and the aggressive Bull Shark that will enter brackish water and sometimes even fresh water. The potential notwithstanding there is still relatively few accidents in Florida. So while few sharks eat people many people eat Sharks and the heavy harvesting is a definite threat to the shark's unique role in the marine ecosystem and its long history of survival!
Here are some Shark questions and answers!
Q. Most Sharks Are Harmful To People.
A. Untrue! Of the 350 or so shark species about 80% are unable to hurt people or rarely encounter people!
Q. Sharks Eat Continuously.
A. Preposterous! Sharks eat periodically depending upon their metabolism and availability of food. For example juvenile lemon sharks eat less them 2% of their body weight per day!
Q. The Great White Shark Is Common Abundant Species Found Off Most Beaches Visited By Humans.
A. Not! Great Whites are relatively uncommon large predators that prefer cooler waters. In some parts of their range Great Whites are close to being endangered!
Q. Whale Sharks, The Largest Species Of Sharks Are Voracious Predators.
A. Incorrect! Whale Sharks which are the largest fish that ever lived are plankton feeders like the Great Whales thus the name!
Q. Sharks Prefer Human Blood.
A. False! Most sharks don't appear to be especially interested in blood of mammals as opposed to fish blood!
Q. Sharks Are Not Discriminating Eaters And Scavenge The Sea.
A. Wrong! Most sharks prefer certain types of invertebrate fish and other animals. Some sharks eat mainly fish and others eat other sharks or marine mammals. Some sharks are plankton-eaters!
Q. Sharks Are Not Found In Freshwater.
A. Forget it! a specially osmoregulatory system enables the Bull Shark to cope with dramatic changes in salinity from the freshwater of some rivers to the highly saline water of the ocean!
Q. All Sharks Have To Swim Constantly.
A. Misconceived! Some sharks can respire by pumping water over their gills through opening and closing their mouths while at rest on the bottom!
Q. Most Sharks Cruise At High Speed When They Swim.
A. Invalid! Although some sharks may swim at bursts of over 20 knots (23 miles per hour) most sharks swim very slowly at cruising speeds of less than 5 knots (5.75 miles per hour!)
Q. Sharks Have Poor Vision.
A. Erroneous! Sharks eyes which are equipped to distinguish colors employ a lens up to seven times as powerful as a human's!
Q. Sharks Have Peanut-Sized Brains And Are Incapable Of Learning.
A. Fallacious! Sharks relatively large and complex brains are comparable in size t those of supposedly more advanced animals like mammals and birds. Sharks also can be trained!
Q. Shark Meat Is Poisonous To People.
A. Wrong! Although there have been some reports of people being poisoned by shark meat the meat from the majority of sharks is edible and delicious when properly handled and prepared!
So the was my day! And then of course we went to bed!
Today we went canoeing on Myakka River and saw more them a dozen Alligators in the river! One was just a baby too! We also saw lots of Herons, Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Roseate Spoonbills, White Ibis, Limpkins, Coots! We saw a lot of birds! At the end of our trip we drove back to camp and rested watching one of the Civil War movies and went to bed!
Today we went to the Ringaling Bros. House and Museum! That was fun! I learned all about circuses! (I also got The End beanie at the museum!) The house was closed due to construction but at the museum we got free undated tickets for when it opens! After that we drove south to Venice where we walked around a bit before finding a campsite at a RV park! Then we watched two more Civil War movies and them we hit the sack!
Today was to boring to write about so I won't!
January, Monday 10, '00Today we went to Marco Island and beach! I met some kids and we played a little while! Them we drove to Flamingo in Everglades National Park! Then we went to sleep!
Today we went to one of the Visitor Centers and went on a cool walk and talk! We learned that hurricanes do the park good in that they take out all the mud in the water and make it clearer! At the main visitors center I listened to the opinions of a Ranger, a Homeowner in Miami, a Farmer, a Conservationist, a fisherman, and a vacationer about water in the Everglades! All but the farmer wanted the water for the sugar cane fields to go to the Everglades! Then we drove all the way to Grassy Key! Where we found a nice place for a bargain price and went to sleep!
Today we drove to Key West! When we got there at noon we looked at almost all of the Navy bases in Key West (which was a lot because of Pirates in the 1800's) before we found a place right on the beach and a playground! We made camp and went to bed!
Today we got up at 6 and went on the Yankee Freedom 11! A boat that was going (with a load of tourists like us!) to Fort Jefferson National Park on an island about 70 miles off the coast of Key West! We arrived there around 11:00-11:30 and went on a guided tour of the fort! The guide even took us on the roof! Most al of the wall was in need of repair! The whole fort and everything else but the lighthouse is brick! The inner part was mostly brick arches and canon windows! We got to see a real canon! (The reason the ceilings and doors where arches is to ventilate out all the smoke if a canon ever was fired which it didn't in its whole history of over a hundred years!) and saw the ruins of the officers house's and the Barracks too! The bricks where two different colors. The bottom and earlier color where mud brown which came from the south before the Civil War and rich red brick on top from Pennsylvania and the North during the War when it was a captured northern fort! After the War it was a prison and its most famous prisoner was Dr. Samuel E. Mudd, the doctor who took care of John Wilkes Booths broken leg from when he jumped from Abraham Lincoln's box in a theater and broke his leg! We saw his cell, which wasn't very interesting, and then after out own self-guided tour we ate lunch and went snorkeling! The little time I was the water I had a lot of fun! I couldn't stay long because my mask leaked but before I quit I saw lots of white fish and a purple Jellyfish! Then we cruised back walked a bit on the beach and went to sleep!
Today we went to see Fort Zachary Taylor that was also a Civil War fort! Then we hung out for the rest of the day till we went to sleep!
Today we went to the laundry mat and did laundry! Then we wandered around for a while got some blockbuster movies and then we went to the swimming pool and swam in freezing cold water and then went back to camp and watched 2 movies before going back to sleep!
Today we all walked t o Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States vacation home in Key West! We had a good hour on the tour of the Little White House Harry Truman's house! Then dad left and went back to the RV and we went to the Shipwreck Historieom! We watched a movie about Wreckers! (People who salvaged sunk ships!) We got the best view of the town and more importantly the sea! Whenever a ship struck a reef whoever spotted it first would yell, "wreck ashore!" and everyone would come running! Then we went combing the city looking for a pair of kid pants made of satin but we never found them! Then we went back to bed!
Today dad and me went down to the harbor and found a cool boat called the Lady B! Then we went back to the beach and hung out for the rest of the day till bed!
Today we went to the harbor and went on the Dolphin Watch! We never got them till the sun went down and learned there was going to be a lunar eclipse two nights later! We decided to stay two more nights then leave for Disney World! We left soon after!
Today we played on the beach for a while and went in an inflatable plastic boat then walked to the Aquarium! We took a tour and went along the wharf before heading home! There was going to be an eclipse but the clouds came in! Then all of a sudden it started raining! The moon came in and out after that but I was asleep and didn't see it!
Today we drove out of the Keys and into Fort Pierce north of Miami! We got there at dinnertime and met my third cousin and his wife! He was my great grandma's sister's son! We had dinner with them and went to see their house! We stay at a different place and went to sleep!
Today we did pretty much nothing!
Today first thing we went to the Kennedy Space Center! We went on a bus tour for 3 hours but first we went to Robot Scouts a new show that had almost nobody in it! After we went to Imax 1 L5 First City in Space! Then we went and looked at a little bit of a real space shuttle! Then we went to Walt Disney World! and camped in Fort Wilderness and went to sleep!
Walt Disney World
January, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 24,25,26, '00
On Monday we went to the Animal Kingdom! We went to the boneyard and dug up a few dino bones then we went on a scary ride called Countdown to Extinction! Then we went to Asia! We went on the Kali River Rapids and got soaked practically! Then we went on Maharagah Jungle Trek! we saw bats, birds, tigers, two kinds of antelope, and a Tapir! Then we went to Africa! We went on the Kilimangaro Safaris and had a crisis with some poachers and then we went on the Wildlife Express train to the Conservation Station! I got introduced to a snake and an owl! We pet goats and went back to Fort Wilderness and went to sleep! On Tuesday we went to Epcot! First we tried the test track! That was so fun! First you go in a hill climb then you go on a braking stunt on with ABS and one without! Then you go through doors at full speed except the doors are closed instill the last second (I always close my eyes on that!) and then you go full speed in an outdoor loop with the curves at an almost 90 degree angle! Then you go and get you picture while your still windblown! Then we walked to the espresso shop and I spilled my hot chocolate all over my pants and the wind was blowing and it was cold so we walked to China on the world showcase lagoon and I got a new outfit which I wore out of the store! Dad came and joined us at the Chinese place for dinner! Then we watch a 15-minute long spectacle of fireworks and flame! Then we went to bed! On Wednesday we went to Epcot again in the morning and watched 3D Honey I Shrunk the Audience where we get shrunk and the dog gets enlarged! Then we went on a 45-minute ride about energy by Bill Nye the Science Guy! Then we went to Disney MGM Studios for the rest of the day!
When we went to MGM we first went on a great movie ride for old movies to current ones. Then we went on the Aerosmith roller coaster that goes upside down three times. I had my eyes closed most of the time!!! We saw the Mulan parade, the Tower of Terror (elevator dropped 130 feet like on a bungee cord!!!) and Star Wars (it wasn't very scary).
I enjoyed the back lot tour of the MGM studio where they make movies. We were taken through a canyon and endured a flash flood (one woman got really wet) and a fire. Then we went back to Epcot the Tapestry of Nations Parade which was cool. I wanted to go on the Test Track again where mama's mood improved. We saw the fireworks from a better location this time.
Today we did errands for a while and then went to Walmart and to spend the night!
Today we drove to Fort Matanzas and Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine FL! We learned that Fort Matanzas (the Spanish word for slaughter) and Castillo de San Marcos where made out of fossil stone and shells named Coquina and is very very strong! This fort of shell stone is still standing and it was built in 1672 and St. Augustine was founded in 1595 and withstood many English attacks from when Britain was declaring war on Spain! (Spain owned Florida for almost 300 years that's longer than we've owned it!) England never ever got Florida by force but they got anyway in the first treaty of Paris after the French (of whom the Spanish sided with) lost the 7 years war! In the second treaty in Paris however Spain got Florida back in 1784 and gave it to us the US in 1821! Then we went and looked at Castillo de San Marcos and went to a state park watched a movie and went to BED!
Today we went into town and walked down some streets that had Musicians and painters and other craftsmen all over the place! We saw the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse in the US! The school was a tiny one-room classroom with teachers Quarter's upstairs and a Kitchen and Privy outside! We walked on the beach for a little while and then I got a beanie (magic) and we went back to the campsite and went to SLEEP!
Today we slept and watched Star Wars lV! Then we went back to Fort Matanzas and went on a Nature trail at the Visitors Center and went on a ferry across Matanzas Inlet to Fort Matanzas! Some of the old canons were from 1821 when Spain gave Florida to the US! We looked at the men's quarters and the ceiling was low enough so that I almost bumped my head! Back then the average man was 5 foot 2 inches! We went up to the roof and looked out at the inlet from under Spain's old flag! We went back to the ferry and watched a cool bird that was white and I don't remember his name. Then dad watched the Superbowl and it rained and we played Scrabble and went to Bed!
Today we went to Daytona Beach and went to a mall there (it was raining all day) I got new jeans at the Gap and mama got stuff at Victoria's Secret! We found a beanie store and got three of them (two of which I didn't have to pay for!) then we went to Blue Springs State Park! It's a refuge for Manatees in the winter cause its always 72 degrees there! We watched some really cool manatees and some babies before we watched a slide show of manatees and learned some of their names before we had to go and find a campsite before they where full! Then we went Bed!
