Naples Pier

Ayk and I headed to the Naples Pier after the zoo. We would have checked out the animals longer, but there was a wedding there that evening. Look, I love animals too, but zoos smell foul. Who gets a whiff of sulfurous swamps and wildebeest dung, and thinks “Now THAT’S what I want wafting through the air while reciting vows.” What a romantic.

The beach was too chilly for swimming, but that didn’t stop us from dipping our toes in the gulf. We stayed on the pier till twilight. People watching should always come with a sunset backdrop.

So long, sun.

Beaches to the left

Beaches to the right

Dutch fisherman (Ayk swears he was Serbian) was kind enough to let me document his fish-gutting process.

It has teeth!

Expert gutter

Open wide

Looking back to the beach

Awkward nighttime flash

“Don’t touch it! It’s an electric eel!” the kid said as the fisherman reeled in his catch. Shocker: this guy wasn't giving off any hertz (baazing!).

Now it’s bait.

Sunset on the pier
 

Playing with perspective

For dinner, Ayk and I went to Café Barcelona. The only reason I’m mentioning this restaurant – not for the forgettable tapas – is because a Big Boyz Bail Bonds pen, ubiquitous in Baltimore restaurants, found its way to Naples. We asked the server, and she wasn’t sure where the pen came from. Guess someone wanted to share a bit of Baltimore with the Sunshine State.

Everglades: Geriatrics

We really wanted to get a fan boat tour of the famous Florida swamplands.  Sadly, most of them require at least a day in advance to make a reservation, and we didn't even think to do a tour until that day.  Instead, we took an Everglades National Park tour of the 10,000 Islands.  There were no gators to be seen, but there were plenty of geriatrics.  In fact, we were the only people there under the age of 60 other than the tour guides.  I quipped to Ayk, “If you added the age of all the people on this boat, it’d be greater than 10,000.”

I have no problems with geriatrics, but there are some disadvantages to senior-friendly tourist attractions.  See, I imagined a boat tour of the Everglades with the wind whipping my hair while some Who song blares in the background.  Hardly our experience.  This boat tour was as slow as their elderly patrons. 

So slow in fact, I literally had to bite my lip during this following incident.  When a soda can fell from a retiree’s lunch bag to the ground and rolled under their feet, it took an excruciating minute for them to retrieve it after I told them it fell.  A minute doesn’t sound like a long time, but I timed myself and it took less than 5 seconds.  Take that, Gramps!

We did see the nose of a manatee.  It's just as exciting as it sounds.

SHARK!!

No, just dolphins.  And believe it or not, they're not much nicer than sharks.

Aw, but they're so cute!

Mine was supposed to be a turtle.  Ayk's is a manatee.

New Orleans: Fish in the Tank and Fish on a Plate

Audubon Aquarium

Ayk’s sister-in-law recommended that we visit the aquarium.  Though it’s not as expansive as the Baltimore Aquarium, I’m still glad we went.

Sad-Turned-To-Heartwarming Fact (the Fun Fact's killjoy cousin): When Katrina hit New Orleans, a few aquarium staff braved the storm to protect the animals.  They were told to leave once the looters took over the city.  With no one monitoring the aquarium, the back-up generators that pumped oxygen into the tanks failed.  Sadly, most of the animals died.  The heartwarming part is that aquariums across the country donated animals and help raise funds for the New Orleans aquarium.  Hooray togetherness!

Lionfish are an invasive species and have no natural predators along the Atlantic Coast.  They are apparently good eatin', just be careful of their poisonous spines.

Diamondback Terrapin.  Hi, Testudo!

Penguin!

Blue Hyacinth Macaw - the most terrifying animal there.  This monstrous bird gave me the stink eye and squawked each time I tried to take a picture, thus making them blurry.  One girl started crying when she saw it.  I hear ya, kiddo.

Haaai!

"Sorry about killing all those cute sea critters with our oil spill.  Here - take some plaques and some money for your aquarium."

Jacques-Imo’s
Seeing all the fish swim around in the aquarium made us rather peckish for some seafood.  We headed to the Garden District for dinner at Jacques-Imo’s.  If you’re going to New Orleans, put this quirky Creole restaurant on the top of your list.  It’s a little pricey ($20-30/entrée), but it’s worth it if you’ve got the money and the time.  I said time, because there will definitely be a wait.  We got there around 5 PM and we had a 30-minute wait.  By the time we left, it was nearly a two-hour wait.

Told you it was quirky.

Cornbread drizzled with melted butter and herbs

A friend suggested getting a picture with Jacques, the restaurant’s owner.  He quipped, “You sure?  I’ll break the camera.”  Though he didn’t, his animation certainly blurred the picture.

Fried green tomatoes with blackened shrimp

Gator cheesecake.  Sounds disgusting, but it is so savory and rich.  It's more like a quiche than a custard.  As for the gator?  Jacques could’ve put chicken in there and I probably couldn’t tell the difference.

Abita, a local brew.  We tried each of their beers everywhere we went.

What looks like rabbit food is actually a tasty spinach salad tossed with a light dressing with a fried oyster on the side.  And they actually do serve rabbit there.  Catfish, too.

Ayk got the Carpetbagger Steak (filet mignon with an oyster-creme sauce) and I got the Blackened Red Grouper.  So amazing.  The sides were somewhat average when compared to the outstanding appetizers and entrees; we had maque choux, collard greens, and cole slaw.  We had no room left for dessert.