Florida 2014

 In January 2014 Norbert and I took our first winter vacation to Florida. It turned out to be a wonderful idea and one we continued for several years.

A number of photos have disappeared but there are enough to give you an idea of it.

We flew to Miami and spent the night in a hotel near the airport. The next day we drove south to Homestead, and then on the Everglades! 

To be honest -- we liked it but no more than that. I know that the Everglades are technically not a swamp but a "river landscape". We had just visited the Okefenokee Swamp the May before, and had fallen in love with it.

Anyway, we love to see nature in all its variations. This was our first time to see mangroves, and how fantastic they are! 

We spent the night in Homestead and the next morning drove down to the Keys. Our first stop was the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo. We had hoped to take the glass bottom boat tour, but the first one was one cancelled and we didn't want to wait 2.5 hours for the next one. So on we went.

This trip was so long ago that I really can't recall everything we saw or did, or when, so this will be more of a "highlights" report.

We stayed at the Sea Shell Motel in either Marathon or Islamorada, I don't remember, directly on the ocean. We had a waterfront "apartment", three small rooms, and an absolutely wonder patio where we spent a lot of time. Perfect for morning coffee and evening drinks. Unfortunately it was later damaged by a hurricane, and then later by another that was bad enough that it had to be torn down.

One day we drove down to Key West. So chic, so in, so quirky -- so NOT our thing! But frequently amusing. 

This bar happened to be next to the Hemingway House, which I had to visit. (Norbert skipped it.) But mainly to see the kitties! 

After the Keys, we headed back to Homestead for a night. On the way, we stopped at the Everglades Alligator Farm, where we took an airboat ride (not really worth it), and admired all the alligators.

We then continued north, spending the night somewhere along the way. Our next and final destination was Cocoa Beach, where we stayed at the Sea Aire Motel. It was an old-fashioned place, like we used to stay at in the Outer Banks in the early to mid 1960s -- two double beds, a kitchenette, and chairs and a table. Loved it!

It is still there but all modern and updated as the Salt Aire Oceanfront Inn. No doubt still very nice, but no longer has the charm for me.

One day we visited the Jungle Adventure Park in Christmas, Florida. Lots of fun! 

The highlight of our tine there was the Kennedy Space Center. We had last been there in 1999 with Lucas, and not suprisingly, it had changed massively in 15 years. The bus trip through the grounds, the space shuttle film and exhibit, the moon landing experience and exhibit -- fantastic!

We opted to also visit the VAB, or Vehicle Assembly Building. Good thing we did, as it was closed to tours very shortly thereafter. A gigantic building, where they literally assemble the space ships! It is basically empty inside, and one whole side of the building opens to let them roll it out on train tracks. For us it was a fascinating look at the technical aspects.

We loved this visit and in fact returned to KSC several times in the years to come.

We drove to Orlando, probably spent the night there, and then flew home, happy with our nex experiences,