Friends and Food

 

Our next day was spent touring the small Florida towns between St Augustine and Melbourne. Sunshine and I visited with one of her oldest friends. There they fixed us a great breakfast and provided Sunshine with some gifts. Who knew we would go on vacation and fill up the car with makeup. 

Regardless, after a great time of fellowship, fruit and vegetable picking and food, we headed down the coast to another set of long lost friends. We enjoyed discussing with them the dinner things in life such as food. We loaded up and visited this great little restaurant in Melbourne. All precautions were in place, the staff was great and I recommend the scallops. 

Next stop, hometown friends on vacation too. We drive a few more miles and low and behold members of our circle of friends from VA were visiting family at the same time. 

Coordinating vacations is never easy. We handled it like bosses. Showing up with food, and recently acquired fresh vegetables and make up for the ladies. We picked up a passenger and headed to Orlando. 

These are the road trips you will remember for a lifetime. Thanks to all who this day very special for my Sunshine. 

Keep reading for the next stop. 

Next Stop: Florida

 Our Journey continued down I95, which lead us directly to Florida. Still ahead of our hosts, we stopped at the Florida welcome center. You could imagine Disney was a big part. There were several area of the center with information for the world renowned park. Florida offers many different activities which are not related to Disney and you can get all that information here at the center. 

Sunshine and I have already laid out our trip, but it was good to look around.  Some other activities include visiting the First Coast, Space coast, and even Key West. Miami is a big draw, and other parts are good for fishing. If you like to golf, there is the world golf hall of fame. 

The day is getting long, and we are getting weary of the road. Additionally I just ate at Paula Dean’s and I think I could use a nap. Our first leg of the trip is almost over, we have one more side stop and then it is off to our timeshare. 

Thanks for stopping by and reading. 

Air Boat Rides!!!!

If you are on a trip to south Florida, the Everglades are place to stop.  The landscape is majestic and different from just about anything you can see anywhere else in the world.  There are wetlands everywhere, but the Everglades are awesome.  In the tradition of things to do when you are on vacation, an airboat should be on that list. I had the opportunity to visit the Florida Everglades in Coopertown, FL.

We woke up early on Saturday and hit the road heading south on I75.  Florida uses lanes that have tolls without toll booths.  I believe they called them "Hot Lanes"  Apparently they take photos of your license plate and send you a bill if you do not have an EZPASS device.

Regardless, we arrived at the airboat ride establishment at a good hour.  They had been open for about an hour, but there was no traffic.  Our group was big enough for a small boat.  (The boat could hold 8 and there were 5 of us)  They have larger boats for bigger groups, however, our was a good size.  The driver/boat captain was very knowledgable and gave a great tour.  Even though the everglades water level was low, he was able to run the boat at a high rate of speed, take us to some sandbar type locations and pointed out several large gators.  Apparently, some people have been releasing pythons into the everglades which is causing problems.  However, we did not see a single snake.

Check out this guy.  He seemed awfully interested in our passing.  Alas, no one was hurt and he could not give us directions back to the dock.

A great experience and everyone should add an airboat ride to their bucket list.