It's been a VERY long time between blog entries... Finally ended the school year in June and started summer vacation. Elizabeth and I went to Florida for her graduation trip. Landing in Orlando I was surprised to see so many bodies of water, ponds, lakes, ditches, and other places full of water. Liz kept saying that they probably had alligators in them. Hmm, a clue to her fears!
DisneyWorld was our first stop and we spent 5 days there. One downfall was the heat. Kept hearing it was unusual for that time of the year for it to be so hot. Seems that when Liz and I go to the east coast together that suddenly, the weather turns hot. Not sure if that's good karma or bad. Had an amazing, but tiring time at DW. Much to Liz's surprise, Liz was able to get me in the pool often. Another highlight was I met a friend that I hadn't seen in almost 45 years and had a nice visit.
From DW we drove to Key West and were able to see Florida via the turnpike and roadways. It was awesome driving from the mainland and then hopping from island to island until we got to Key West. To be able to stand and view both the Gulf and the Atlantic Ocean was inspiring. We saw many spots of interest, such as, Hemingway's house and favorite bar, the point that is 90 miles from Cuba, and the coral reef to name a few. Also indulged in many drinks to ward off the heat...hehhe! Surprising was the beach. Even though it was beautiful, it was full of rocks and coral, so getting into the water was difficult. Perhaps I'm spoiled with sandy beaches, since I live in Paradise. Upon leaving Key West, Liz was pulled over and given a ticket for speeding...Ooops!
Last leg of our journey was to Miami, again, we island hopped back to the mainland and Liz got to experience driving in a violent thunder storm. What an adventure! Mother Nature is...can not think of a word to explain her magnificence. Finally, we arrived in Miami Beach and was pleasantly surprised by our hotel. Liz had gone online and booked it at a great price. Our room had 2 full walls of glass overlooking Miami. Awesome sight and Mother Nature performed for us each night with lightning! We had our own light show. Our hotel had bth a pool and beach access to the Atlantic so of course, we jumped from one to the other. We stayed in Miami for 4 days and by that point we were exhausted. Miami was okay, but I wouldn't go there again.
While in Miami we went to the Everglades. Must remember to never take Liz to the wilderness. We stopped at a ranger station to get sovereigns and info about the park. The ranger told us about an alligator nest that was just off the pathway we were going to walk. I took that was as "that's cool!", but Liz took it as a warning. After walking about a half mile and seeing some wildlife, I saw a baby alligator swimming about 30 feet away in a pond. Well, Liz just knew that the mother was behind it and we were going to be eaten. She grabbed my arm and said, "We're leaving!" Since she held the car keys, I had no choice. Then, we decided to stop for lunch, the first place had a sign that said alligator, frog legs, and catfish. Well, after exited the parking lot rather quickly Liz just wrinkled her nose and exclaimed, "Yuck!" The next place we stopped, thank goodness, didn't have a sign advertising the menu. I DID order alligator nuggets! We sat next to a window that looked out upon a pond of water that was connected to where the airboats went on tours of the Everglades. It was full of lilypads and an alligator swam by close to our seats. Liz said she wasn't leaving the restaurant. Suddenly, two rangers, who were eating lunch announced they had to go to make sure the alligator got across the road okay. Liz quickly got to the car and we were on our way back to Miami!
Our adventure home is another story for another day. Moral of the story is never go into the wildness with Liz!!! Now, I need to go back to the Everglades with someone who has an adventurous heart.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
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