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Remember when I was "in-between jobs"? Good times. Actually, that time did allow me to watch hours and hours of television, swim and go on this trip! I figured I could justify this trip if I only went for 5 days, instead of the full week like Gump and Drew. When you are unemployed you have to look for cost saving alternatives! And yes, I realize one cost saving method is don't go on trips.
I arrived late on Tuesday (or early on Wednesday if you want to look at it that way) and along with my suitcase full of shoes, I also brought clouds. We never really saw nice weather when I was there, but it wasn't a total wash out and thankfully Florida has more to offer than just sunbathing. The first day there we piled into the rental car and drove to the Southernmost spot in the United States, 90 miles from Cuba, Key West! This was a very cool drive, there is just one highway that will take you down to Key West so there is no getting lost. We stopped at a state park for lunch and ate by the water, just lovely. After a long drive we made it to Key West just in time for dinner. I was starved, we all were, so mission critical was finding a restaurant to eat at. Main Street was lined with local restaurants, heavily populated with seafood joints, after a desperate search to satisfy everyone's appetite we settled upon Hard Rock Cafe. I am really not a fan of chains, but the food was good and arrived quickly so we had time to wander around the streets before having to head back.
Some fun things about Key West....
yup, so roosters do roost in trees! Key West is filled with wild roosters, they are all over the street and up in the trees! Odd!!
Also, local legend has it that once you get sand from Key West in your shoes, you end up having a never ending desire to return over and over again.....I did get sand in my shoes....
Back in Lauderdale:
Airboat ride in the Everglades! Scooter! This was a great experience and one I highly recommend. There are many companies around the area that offer this, we went to Everglades Holiday Park. The boats here are not your typical kind, they were all covered, but considering it was raining that worked out well for us. We drove up to the facility via a dirt road, past a row of trailer homes and parked on a grass padded parking lot. Open the car doors and what did we find ourselves surrounded by? Wild peacocks! They were everywhere, it was a little unsettling actually. I could have touched one if I wanted, but then I also could have had my eyes peeked out so I opted for running away from them. After a short wait we were on the boat and out cruising the Everglades (Did you know that the Everglades actually sit upon a river and not a swamp. That is why companies where never able to drain the area and use it for commercial property). Our boat operator and tour guide claimed to be a backwoods Tennessee local, named Scooter. He was great. Although he loved doing doughnuts with the airboat that nearly spun me into a panic attack. After working for years and years in the same area, he had trained some wild birds to eat right from his mouth! We also got to see a 6 foot gator up close and in the water. If you want to know how big a gator is, look at the distance from his eyes to his nose. Five inches equals five feet, six inches equals six feet and so on.
This night we decided to do something other than dinner out and drinks after. We wanted to go to a comedy club. We found that the Hard Rock Cafe in Hollywood, FL had a comedy show so we decided to go. Well turns out this was also the grand opening of the restaurant/casino/club so it was hoppin'. The neat thing was that mostly locals were there so we got a break from the usual tourist crowd.
Gump and I were jazzed to go Miami, Drew had recently been there so decided to sit this out. The traffic was horrible from Ft Lauderdale to Miami and I ended up making Gump get off the freeway and get gas because I was sure we were going to run out. However, I made him stop probably in the most ghetto/scary area outside of Miami that I could find! Sorry, Gump! I learned a little something on this drive, that South Beach is in Miami Beach and Miami Beach is an island pretty much and not in downtown Miami. Loved South Beach. The art deco look of the entire city is really something to see, so glad we went. The next morning we flew out...
pictures: Not on line yet
~Posted by Ann (transferring travel logs to this site)
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