Florida!

 The mistake I made in 2023 (and probably the year before) is that I didn't blog about things right when they happened. I waited, thinking I would remember what to say or how I felt or what we did. And then...forgot.

I'm at risk of already doing that this year as we went to Florida over a week ago. But I am trying really hard to turn over a new leaf with writing and blogging, so here goes!

My boss, Dr. Free informed me that he was taking a trip to Hawaii in January. As usual, I jumped on the chance to also be gone when he is gone.  We didn't really know what we wanted to do and since we are in the middle of a giant remodel, we did know that we didn't want to spend a fortune. So tropical was basically out (though we looked!). We decided we'd like to be in a warmer place so we ended up choosing South Florida. I had never been and it's been a super long time for Frank.

We flew into Miami after taking a red-eye. We knew we'd be tired but since you can't check into a hotel in the morning we made plans for some activities. We planned to do the coral castle which is near Miami and then go to the Everglades. Turned out he Coral Castle is closed on Wednesdays! DOH!

So we went straight to an airboat ride in the Everglades.

We knew the weather would be mild but not like super warm/beach weather. I had planned to bring a light jacket and leave my winter coat in the car. I forgot to leave my winter coat in the car and I also forgot to pack a light jacket. Anyway, we arrived at the airboat place and it was about 63 degrees with a stiff wind. I was SO GLAD I had my winter coat! There were people there in shorts and t-shirts and they were in full on regret. Once we were on a boat going fast, I was super glad to have that coat. There was a lady in front of us trying to stay warm behind her backpack...

Next we went to our hotel which actually had a 1:00 checkin which we were so happy about!  Once we had taken a nap, we looked up places to eat and went to a local place call "Chef's on the Run" since it had really good reviews. We each had very yummy burgers and I also had mac n cheese (I've been on a mac n cheese kick lately). It was actually chipotle mac n cheese so a bit spicy for me but Frank also enjoyed some. We realized we were right next door to a theatre so we ran over and saw a movie that was just starting.  

  

*I swear I was having fun. Frank caught me off guard and I do have RBF

Day 2-We decided to spend most the day day in the Everglades and then we'd drive down to our airbnb which was in the keys. The original plan was to arrive at the airbnb around 4. Frank had a meeting he had to do at 5:00. We bought a  driving tour of the Everglades which was good. We always enjoy a good driving tour. It basically took us all through Everglades National Park. We forgot our national park pass but we thought it was close to expiring so we bought a new yearly pass. I still haven't checked to see when the other one expires because I don't want to know if we did a dumb thing. LOL

We saw lots of cool birds and several alligators in the park. We did a couple of short hikes. The highlight was an alligator that started growling (for lack of a better word) when a bunch of loud tourists were right by him. It was super loud (we weren't that close) but then when he started growling it sort of set off a bunch of other gators who joined in! We couldn't see them but realized there were lots all around. It was so cool and I was glad I wasn't right by him when he started that! We made it to the end of the park and had lunch in a little restaurant there. Frank walked to the beach but the mosquitoes were too much for me.

We ended up stopped at a random parking lot for Frank's meeting because we were WAY behind schedule. We ended up arriving at the airbnb around 8 or 9 I think. 

Day 3- Our airbnb was on Cudjoe key. The airbnb was very cute and in a little neighborhood where every house sits on the edge of a canal leading to the ocean. Many neighbors have boats and went out fishing each day. I sat on the back deck to eat breakfast and enjoy the nice weather each morning.

We spent the majority of the day walking around Key West and seeing the old downtown. We went to the lighthouse as well. We saw lots of cool old buildings as well as the "Little White House" where presidents have spent time in the Keys. It was a lot of walking for my foot but it was a lovely day overall. I don't think we took many pictures unfortunately.

Day 4- We had breakfast a local diner and it was yummy! We then went to a local beach thinking that we would spend some time just enjoying the beach and water but it was quite windy so we just walked around mostly. We really enjoyed seeing part of the original 7 mile bridge and learning about how it was made. 

We went to a small pond that had a little hike around it. It's supposed to be a place where people often see deer and sometimes an alligator or two (two live in the pond apparently). As we went to the viewing area there was one of the alligators just swimming along right nearby. They look quite graceful when swimming!

Our next activity that day was an afternoon sailing adventure with kayaking and snorkeling and sunset sail at the end. Since it was so windy, they were able to sail us out without using the motor and it was quite fun and the crew enjoyed being able to sail. They provided drinks and snacks. The kayaking was through a bunch of mangroves and I enjoyed it a lot as well. Since it was windy, I wasn't terribly excited about snorkeling as I knew I would be cold! The snorkeling was in a sponge bed rather than a reef. I will say that Frank and I are a bit spoiled and we've been to some really amazing snorkeling...so this was not too impressive. Very silty and I only saw 2 fish total. There were some cool sponges which was kind of fun to see. But we didn't snorkel long and I was super glad when the crew offered me a blanket!  I ate my weight in tortilla chips as we sailed back. hah

Day 5- Breakfast at the same breakfast place which was again delicious. We had to drive back to Miami today so that we can catch a very early flight. As we were driving we saw a long expanse of the original 7 mile bridge with people walking on it. It seemed to go to a little island. So we decided to stop. The bridge length was 2 miles ending at Pidgeon Key, a small island that was where the workers lived as they were building the original bridge. I love historic stuff like that!

We ended up walking the whole way, which was a long way for my foot. The wind was at our back and there were lots of birds flying by taking advantage of the wind. I enjoyed watching that!

We took a tour of the island and its old buildings. In theory you can swim but it was too cold for that.

We continued our drive up to Miami and decided to stop at the Coral Castle, which was now open!  It was a weird little stop. The guy that built it was clearly a recluse and a bit strange but also made some cool and difficult sculptures. They really have no idea how he made that place.

Our trip came to an end with a 6 am flight back to Utah where Dion picked us up. I was super glad to have that whole day off to just unpack and get organized for the week ahead. 

It was a nice trip and I'm glad we went. It felt very fast and we missed seeing some things so I hope to go back to that part of the world another day!