With our days and nights in New Orleans ended, we headed to the sunshine state of Florida. Our route took us from Louisiana, across Mississippi, through Alabama until we finally arrived at our destination. Four States in one day may sound like a long trek, but where the states reach the ocean (along the bayou) they are only a couple of hundred kilometers across. This meant that we were in fact through them in little more than a blink. So sadly, there is not much to report from the two great southern states of Mississippi and Alabama, as the travel was all mostly made up of long, lonely highways.
Our first stop in Florida was to a tourist centre, where the well-tanned assistants there were very helpful and we managed to walk away with a few useful maps for our adventures there. They also had some free Florida juice, both Orange and Grapefruit. Colin, who is a big fan of grapefruit juice and hadn't found too much of it on the trip so far, went away very happy indeed having consumed two cups of it – at last we were entering a land of sunny dreams where they actually grow this fine ambrosia!
We eventually stopped to eat dinner in Panama City at a restaurant called Uncle Ernie’s. Feeling that because we were in Florida it should be shorts and t-shirts weather, we decided to eat on the patio. After sitting in what turned out to be quite frigid weather, we thought better of it and quickly moved to the relative warmth of the inside. The staff there were all very friendly and they had that delightful southern drawl (y'all come back now, ya hear). The food was good and after eating we retired back to our hotel room after our day of driving.
On the next day, we decided to eat lunch at a place called Sonic Drive-in. This place harkened back to the past, or so we thought, where you ate outside in your car and were served by a rockin’ rollerblading carhop who zoomed in and out taking orders while 50’s retro music is being played at full volume. This proved not to be the case though, as the order was taken over an intercom and was delivered to us by a kind, sneaker-wearing fast food employee. The burgers were all right – but the experience was a bit of a let down (LA LA LA America).
We headed down the Gulf coast to a town across from Tampa called Treasure Island (Aarrgh!). We arrived just as the sun was setting and after first exploring the beach we settled down for dinner on the beachfront patio of Sloppy Joes, where the food was very good, and very, very plentiful. For the appetizer to our meal we shared a quesadilla, which was giant in size, so much so, that we didn’t really need to eat anything else. It seems that, similar to Texas, the restaurants around here were very generous in their serving portions!
However, this was at last, truly shorts and t-shirts weather! There is nothing like sitting on a deck beside a sandy beach, basking in the warm sun and letting the tiredness from six hours of travel ebb away while listening to a live performer grooving to their own beat. Yes, living the Florida dream!
The next day we explored around a little and ended up at a restaurant called The Hut, which was nearby on John’s Pass Village and Boardwalk. With the sun beating down on us, it was as if the summer would never end. As Christmas was approaching, Colin decided to purchase something for his brother in Australia, to send out with the Apple T-shirt purchased in Cupertino, CA that he still hadn't sent yet. He was very surprised by the super cheap airmail and the guaranteed delivery of less than a week. How come Canada Post is so bad? We also came across a wedding, which was using our hotel facilities for their reception. The bride and groom were very happy having made their life vows and the place felt like it was a buzz with their southern celebration.
Mindful of the storms that were holding their grip in the south of Florida, we decided to remain up in the Northern part of the state, which was mostly unaffected by the rain. Melbourne Beach, on the Atlantic Ocean side of the state was our destination. The wind was certainly blowing at us from down south and the Atlantic Ocean seemed fierce from our hotel room. We decided not to venture out and had what was affectively a room service meal, which turned out to be really amazing. With the weather beginning to clear, the next day we followed the coast further down and stopped in Homestead, which would position us perfectly for traveling around the Everglades and to the furthest tip of the Florida Keys.
Traveling along the Keys was really superb – you had the sense that on either side you were surrounded by water and now, at last, by tropical sunshine. This place is very expensive, as all the produce needs to be driven in from America to feed the hungry tourists and locals. We traveled to the very tip of Key West and had some lunch at the divine Santiago’s Bodega – sitting in the warmth of the sun, surrounded by roosters who inhabit the area. After lunch we went for a walk along Duval Street, the main strip. We kind of wished that we had more time to spend in Key West, but we had decided instead to travel back to Islamorada, which was a more affordable Key. We arrived at the Islander Resort at dusk and were really taken with this amazing place, if only we had arrived a little earlier we could have taken advantage of more of its amenities, but alas – it seems we are always on the road! Dinner was at Guy's Beachside Bar and Grill, which proved to be quite difficult trying to find how to get into the restaurant, in the failing light. (It turned out that the best way to enter is via the pool gates).
The next day we left the Keys behind us. On the way out, we had brunch at Mrs. Mac's Kitchen, which is quite a famous chain in this part of the world. Definitely, try them out if you are in the area – be sure to try the Key Lime Pie for dessert, even if that is ALL you eat!
With our stomachs fully fed we made our way over to the Everglades to get up close and personal with the (hopefully) well-fed alligators. We spent some time wandering around the well marked path, locating the languidly lying creatures and then pointing out our newfound friends to hapless tourists and watching their reaction. These alligators were in no way separated from us, and could walk across the path we were on freely!
After this we continued walking around the lagoon, spotting the gently gliding turtles and other wildlife that were present in this environment.
After the thrill of the alligators, we headed to Miami South Beach where we would be staying for the night. Room Mate Lord Balfour was the boutique hotel we stayed at and they were situated directly across from the beach. They were very sleek and stylish and fitted in well with the Art Deco theme of the buildings in the neighbourhood. We went out and explored the beautiful beach and walked around the area a little - this part of the beach felt as if the party was just getting going, with the food and music and the tanned lively people, some of whom were lifting weights or playing beach volleyball out in the sun. We wondered if it was just with Christmas approaching or maybe it always feels like this around here! Dinner was at Bolivar where we ate great Colombian-Peruvian-Venezuelan gastronomical fusion tapas in a smooth lounge-y atmosphere. It suited both Miami and our hungry palates very well. That night we slept soundly, even with the inclusion of the tattooed woman wallpaper, behind our bed, that kept one eye on us the whole night.
The following morning, we traveled up to Orlando and ate dinner at a divine little chain called BoneFish Grill. Orlando would be our final destination before heading back north and we spent just over a week there. The weather was slightly above average in temperature and was beautifully sunny - the irony being that we had traveled all around America and had finally found the place where the summer had been hiding all along.
As we were in the area, we had to go to Disney World – our first destination would be Epcot Center. Epcot stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow and in typical Disney style, it was a place created in the early 80's and mostly kept up to date with the occasional new ride. Our favourite ride there was called Soarin', which is a simulation of hang gliding above California, along with an additional olfactory component as part of the sensory experience – for example, the scent of oranges as you soar above groves. The other great feature of this park was the World Showcase, which presented pavilions for 12 countries of the world (they provided Canada and the UK, but not Australia). They also provide the guests with alcoholic drinks, so it is possible to go on a pub-crawl... around the world.
During our stay in Orlando we also visited Disney’s Magic Kingdom, which is similar in content to Disneyland in California. This is Colin’s favourite Disney park. While there we went on a ton of rides, including Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, Winnie the Pooh (a favourite), Small World, Carousal of Progress and Splash Mountain (Colin got quite wet). For lunch Melissa made reservations inside the park at Be Our Guest, inside Beauty and the Beasts new castle. This meal was actually quite nice and reasonable. It is amazing how long ago many people make reservations - sometimes as much as six months in advance (Melissa had checked online the day before and was fortunately able to pick up a reservation that someone had cancelled).
One night when we were preparing for bed, we heard quite a commotion outside and we opened our curtains and were surprised to see the most amazing fireworks display in the distance. This was on Thursday night for the opening of the Star Wars movie. We ended up seeing the movie on Saturday, which was lots of fun, and we enjoyed it very much. Apart from this, the week was spent lazily enjoying the sun, sitting by the pool or shopping in and around town.
Next Up: Car Ferry to Christmas Eve in New York City!
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