Recently our travels took us over to Mosquito Lagoon to watch the Falcon Heavy rocket launch. Because liftoff was delayed over and over, until the window for launch was almost up (at 4:00PM), we had some time to waste.
We ended up on the dirt road that winds along the Haulover Canal and I took these photos of big boats passing through. The canal is the only way to get from east to west and is part of the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). It’s the waterway that connects Mosquito Lagoon and the Indian River. Any boats traveling the ICW along the eastern side of Florida will have to pass through this canal – if they are going this far.
A little dirt road will take you down along the canal embankment, on the opposite side of the boat ramp. All along the roadway are notches in the tree line where people sit and fish. This is where we parked and watched these big boats go by. I really liked the looks of this red one, and then a few tall sail boats went by. They had to open the bridge for that really tall one to pass under.
Fishing here was difficult because there were rocks everywhere. They must have been coquina like that big white one in my photo, because there really are no rocks in Florida. I got my line caught immediately, which was enough to make me quit! I sat and enjoyed the view instead.
Before the Haulover Canal bridge, heading south toward Cape Canaveral, there is a Manatee Observation area. This is part of the Merritt Island Preserve. On the opposite side of the road, on the East side of the canal, is the boat launch area. For some reason the long dock at the boat launch is still taped off and can’t be used. It’s been that way for a while now. I think the damage was from Hurricane Irma, back in September.
The spot we decided to pick as a viewing site also had a boat ramp. It seemed like a nice one, and we plan to try in out some weekday when there should be no traffic.
My photo of the white pelican below is not very good, but he (or she) stood out in the water with other brown pelicans. The other white birds are seagulls. I happened to spot it as we were leaving after the rocket launch. Apparently they visit Florida for a short time in the winter months. Read more about white pelicans at the Authentic Florida site.
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I’d never seen a white pelican either. Black swans sound gorgeous, as swans are so lovely anyway.
Fascinating. I’ve never seen white pelicans before. They are beautiful. Australia has the regular variety but we have black swans!
Lovely! The only time I see them usually is in paintings and photographs.
Pelicans are so cool. I know white ones do come to this area, but it was fun to see one.
I remember Pelicans when I visited Texas in the 1990s! They were regular brown ones but they were still a treat to someone who had never seen one before.