The local critters

Monday, February 18, 2002 Sharks are found in the Gulf of Mexico and we have caught them off Alligator Point. Generally the sharks that come into the shallow water near shore are small and of a harmless type. Fishing for them can be fun. Far more people in Florida die by lighting strike or even falling in their bathtubs every year than by shark attack. That fin you see in the water is more likely a porpoise than a shark. To the best of our knowledge the most recent shark death in the area was in about 1989 on Panama City Beach, 100 miles away.  A note, if you do fish for shark catch and release is the best policy sharks do not reproduce as prolifically as many fish and some are becoming threatened.  If you want to keep a shark be sure and check the Florida fishing regulations these are always changing but keeping and killing sharks is strictly regulated. Alligators are freshwater animals and you won't see one on the beach (we have no idea why its called Alligator Point). You will probably see some at Wakulla Springs or in some of the rivers or lakes. As with the shark, attacks are very rare. Rob's brother did once see one crossing the road near where the road first enters Alligator Point, about 4 miles east of the house. The gator must have been lost, this is rare. One note on alligators they are much more likely to eat a dog than a person, don't let your dog go swimming in freshwater, it's illegal to feed gators and unpleasant to loose your dog to one. An important note, Rob believes small children are more at risk than adults. This makes some sense adults are just too big to be easy prey, young kids are not. When dealing with either shark or alligator we suggest you use common sense, don't attempt riding or wrestling either. Snakes are rare near the house, and we have never seen a poisonous one at our end of the point. If you go inland a bit you will find more snakes including rattlesnakes and moccasins. The eastern diamond back is probably the largest and maybe most dangerous snake in the US, but you probably won't see one within a few miles of the house.  You find them more inland.  Wakulla Springs and the upper stretches of the river have produces some of the largest water moccasins ever recorded, one over 6 feet in length! There are supposed to be coral snakes and maybe even a few copperheads in Florida, but Rob hasn't seen a coral snake since the 60's and Kate has never seen one, neither of us have ever seen a copperhead. None the less if you do see a snake just avoid it, please don't kill it.  Snakes of all kinds are becoming depleted in Florida and anything you see near the house is almost certainly harmless so just look, give them a wide berth and live and let live. Bears are actually the only "dangerous" animal we know of that’s been seen on the beach is a black bear (and they are mostly dangerous to garbage cans, picnic baskets and the like). One was spotted on the Point a few years ago, there are bears in the woods nearby to the north,  seeing one at the beach would be very rare. You may see an occasional coyote or "red wolf", they are about as dangerous as a large poodle. Oh, and about bugs, of course we have bugs, the only way to see the Gulf Coast without them is on TV, or from your air-conditioned car window. Take repellent, we think deet based replants work best. Avon’s skin so soft works too, it just takes more, and more frequent applications. Bugs are really only bad in the warm months, and fortunately in the warm months sea breezes are common. The afternoon sea breeze is the best natural defense against bugs, most days you wont need repellent on the beach, but go a hundred yards or so inland and you will. Some days if you go from the house to the beach it's fine no bug and at same time if you go out the door towards the road you'll get eaten alive.  On the beach the little "no-see-ums" are worse than mosquitoes, but avoidance/repellant strategy is about the same. As the breeze dies down in the evening move to the screened in porch. We have learned to manage the bug thing quite well, and are sure you will be able to also. We hope you enjoy your stay and that you will want to come back. We try to keep a guest book in the house please write a few words in it before you go. We do update this document periodically, but can't guarantee its accuracy. If something is particularly important to you call or check it out first. Warning!!! Since renting the house on via Internet we have had a wide variety of responses from our renters, the majority have been happy, and we have many repeat renters. We have had a couple of unhappy people; perhaps it is because they didn't read this carefully, we are not sure. One couple was unhappy because they thought the area was too remote, and another was expecting a fancier house and furnishings. This is not really the middle of nowhere, you will have a few neighbors, but it is not in town and it is not close to any kind of tourist attractions or any other major services.  Tallahassee is about an hour away and you can get most anything there you need there, but it is still not a big city and not a tourist town. As to fancy, don't expect it.  The house is not new and neither is the furniture, everything works (if it doesn't we'll get it fixed for you) but the furniture is of mixed age, doesn't all match, and a lot of it was painted pink by the prior owners. Under that pink paint are some really nice old wicker and hard wood pieces, but it can be hard to look past the pink paint and appreciate it. Another complaint we have received concerned allergies. If you have medical or health problems, it would be wise to make sure you have emergency numbers on hand when you arrive. We can't control for the amount of pollen on the Gulf Coast; this region can be problematic for some people with allergies. We get a lot more inquires for rentals than we can accommodate and we only want happy renters. If something you read here worries you please call us before making a reservation. We always have many more people who want to rent the house than we can accommodate, so we want to be sure you will be happy.  We would much rather you find out this isn't for you before we rent to you than after you get there. This is an aerial view of the last 3 miles or so of Alligator Point showing the location of Kate's Dream. For reference, up is east, north is to the left.  The spit of land you see is the end, the last 3 miles or so of Alligator Point, to the north is Alligator Harbor, to the south is the Gulf of Mexico.  To the north of Alligator Harbor is the mainland.  On the north side of Alligator Point you can see the Marina, it looks a bit like a bird's beak, it is the most notable feature on the north side of the point.  You can see the Alligator Point road beginning east of the marina and going down the center of the point, and ending just past a bulge on the south side of the point.  Kate's Dream is on the beach just where the bulge begins, west of the marina.  A substantial gate at the south end of the bulge closes the road; you can see the road going a bit farther east than is actually accessible.  The gate is where the Nature Conservancy land begins.  Just for scale Alligator Point varies from 300 to 1000 feet wide. There is only the one road, no side roads, at the narrow points there are only houses on the Gulf at the wider points there are houses on both the Gulf and the Bay, and all houses are waterfront.  The road ends just about 300 yards past Kate's Dream and the last 2 miles or so of the point are Nature Conservancy land with no legal access. Off the end of the point extensive tidal flats can be seen. East is up. We are Rob and Kate Hinchee; you can contact us at rhinchee@qwest.net or call us at home at 801-451-8231. Home