There’s nothing quite like a great swamp. Luckily, there’s a very swampy swamp only  few minutes from Kongo’s son’s house in Tampa, Florida named Lettuce Lake.  It’s named for the lettuce looking plants that grow all over the shallow waters.

Giant cypress trees line the water and help support abundant wildlife that ranges from stink bugs to tropical birds to alligators. Now Kongo didn’t see any gators on this visit but he saw plenty of other wildlife.

At Lettuce Lake there is a long boardwalk elevated above the swamp so visitors can explore in relative safety and not worry about being eaten by an alligator. The walkway gives amazing views of the flora and fauna of this beautiful nature preserve.

You can take out a canoe or kayak to explore too although with an “almost five” year old who sometimes has problems sitting still (who doesn’t?) and lurking thunderstorms that option was scratched. We stuck to the boardwalk.

Kongo spied a roseate spoonbill, ibis birds, hawks, snowy egrets, giant egrets, blue herons, and a pretty big stink bug.

The cypress trees were particularly interesting. Monkeys like good trees.

Travel safe.  Have fun.