Florida - The Sunshine State

We entered the Sunshine State under the cover of darkness and stopped in the welcome centre/rest area for the night. We went into the centre the following morning, took advantage of the free wi-fi and got loads of leaflets for Florida activities. Nearly all of them had one thing in common - everything was really expensive. With funds running low we would have to choose wisely as we wanted to keep as much money for South America as possible. Orlando was a fair distance away so we decided to take it easy for the afternoon and head to the beach. We looked at the map and the name of Daytona Beach jumped out at us so we headed there. We put it into the Sat Nav and rejoined the interstate and drove through the heat to the beach. We had to do a bit of circling when we arrived to find some parking (which was free) but we managed after a while and after some lunch we headed down to the beach.

The weather was inconsistent as we drove down the coast but the clouds cleared as we headed down to the beach which was nice. We lay down on the white sand and relaxed for a while, the tide was miles out so we went for a throw on the hard, flat, wet section of sand but it was just too windy to enjoy it so we lay down again. A thunderstorm started moving in over the ocean so we packed up after a couple of hours so we could get moving before the storm reached us. As we were leaving Daytona (past the famous speedway track) the national weather service was issuing a severe thunderstorm warning for where we were heading that was going south. As it was quite windy where we were we decided to get out of the RV so went into Burger King and took advantage of their soda fountain and waited the storm out. We passed some isolated downpours on the way to and from Burger King - one so isolated that when we were sitting at the traffic lights the 3rd car in front of us was getting soaked but we were bone dry. We continued towards Orlando again after a while and stopped at another rest area for the evening.

After another free nights sleep (rest area's are amazing - nobody bothers you and there are facilities right beside where you park.....and of course they are free) we were woken by the stifiling heat in the RV nice and early so we headed into Orlando. We had amassed quite a collection of momentos and stuff that we want to keep but certainly do not want to carry around South America for the next 3 months or so so we went to Staples to get a box to send them home. We found one big enough to take the Pearl Jam LP set I got in San Francisco and all the other stuff we got which I was happy about. We couldn't stand the heat in the RV so we parked by some camera shops as we hoped to get an underwater case for Emer's camera to take pictures when snorkelling in the Galapagos. The main one we wanted to check didn't open until 6 so we headed across the road to the worlds largest McDonalds where we had some ice-cream and relaxed in the A/C for a while. We then went to play some crazy golf at Crazy Congo. It was good craic but it was soooooooooooo hot that we were wrecked after it. We fed the gators which is the main attraction for the golf place and then headed back to McDonalds for another ice-crream and some more A/C. People always told me about the heat and humidity in Florida but I didn't expect it to be so bad.

By the time we left McDonalds it had cooled down considerably which was very welcome. We checked the last camera shop but were unsuccessful there as well so we drove to a Walgreen's to get a disposable underwater camera. We chose Walgreen's as Mike Debnar (Emer's cousin in Chicago) gave us one of his employee discount cards which entitles us to 15% off so we stocked up on drugs for South America as well. They had a big car park out back so we stayed here for the evening. Emer cooked dinner while I packed up the big box to send home. It was nice to be able to relax in the RV for the evening and not be completely uncomfortable with the heat. The plan for the next day was to go to Wet N' Wild so when it got dark we drove close to it to try and find a place to park for free the following day. We found a place with potential but it had a night club so we needed to find a different place for the night. We ended up behind TGI Friday's which worked out pretty well.

Unfortunately the clouds rolled in with the humidity during the night so we both had terrible sleeps but it was fine as we were going to Wet N' Wild which I was extremely excited about. Wet N' Wild is a big water park with loads and loads of slides - the last time I was in one would have been on a family holiday in Majorca in my very early teens so this was going to be great!! We got there as the gates were opening along with a load of other people too. They let you bring your own food in unlike nearly every other theme park in the States so there were loads of families bringing in coolers with them. We got a locker for our bag and then headed on the slides. First up was Brain Wash which you need a floating ring for. We queued up for this for a few minutes and got one fairly easily. They hold up to 4 but we went on it with just the two of us. It's a really good slide - you go down and around in pitch black and then there's a steep drop into a big open section but still enclosed where you go up and down like on a half pipe and then splash out. Great craic.

Next I went on Bomb Bay which is a really high steep slide much like the Free Fall in the Fun Factory when that was around. The only difference here is that you get into a small capsule and when you are locked in the floor opens from below and you fall into the slide and plummet the 8 or so stories before it turns out flat where you slow down skimming along the water. Soooooo good - Emer was afraid and didn't go on it. We then went on Mach 5 which was grand - you go headfirst on a mat but nowhere near as good as some of the others. After that we went on another floating ring slide - Black Hole. This one is for two people and it's pitch black again with the odd light that plays tricks on you so you never know which was you are going. Another really fun one as was Disco H20 which was another floating ring ride for up to 4 people. Loads of disco music plays as you go down on the ring but you can see this time. There is a really steep descent into a big enclosed circular chamber where you go around a couple of times before sliding out the middle and out into the exit area. We headed over to "Storm" which was a really good ride. Your standard fly down on your back ride which starts out really steeply so you build up speed before entering the flusher. Here you are constantly sprayed with loads of mist so you can't see and as you go around and around you lose elevation so you plummet through the middle into the exit which is about 3 metres deep. You come out of the water totally disorientated and don't know which way to go but it is great fun. We then went on the last slide before lunch which was called Surge- a mutli-person floating ring ride that was nothing too hectic. Storm clouds were moving in so we got our bag from the locker and caught shelter to have lunch before everyone else. It was a shrewd move as the clouds contained thunder and lightning as well as a downpour so all the rides closed down and people were told to seek shelter. We got a table and chairs just in time which was nice.

It was one of the infamous Florida thunderstorms I had heard so much about. The day had been glorious up to that with bright blue skies from the moment we woke up. The thunder passed after about an hour but the clouds never really shifted. We went on Brain Wash again, I persuaded Emer to go on Bomb Bay and as we were queueing to go on Black Hole again more thunder started erupting so all the slides closed down again. We took this as our cue to leave so we grabbed showers and got dry and waited for a break in the rain to walk back to the RV. We got one but it didn't last long as it started up again as we were walking back so we got a bit wet during the walk. When we got back to the RV we saw that we had left the windows and vents open that morning as it was so hot so there were some wet patches on the ground and under the windows. We dried it up as best we could and then hit the road east out of Florida. The plan was to go to the Kennedy Space Centre on Cape Canavrel the following day so we found a 24-hour Wal-Mart and stayed there for the night with another RV and a big truck.

The previous days thunderstorms really cleared the air and the humidity so we both got a decent nights sleep which was nice. We continued east to the Space Centre after breakfast - Emer saw some dolphins in the water along the way so she was delighted. I really enjoyed the Space Centre and I think Emer secretely did too. I had my photo taken with an astronaut, went to the launch pad viewing area and then onto the mission control for Apollo 8 which is the first mission they launched the Saturn V rocket which ultimately brought man to the moon. When we arrived here we were brought into the actual mission control area and we experinced the last three minutes of a rocket launch which was done really well. As each person did their checks and announced good to go their seat would light up and then at lift off the windows behind us where the rocket would have taken off from started rattling and lit up as the rocket made it's way up out of the atmosphere. After this we went into the hanger where they had an actual Saturn V rocket seperated into it's various phases to show each stage for take off. It's unbelievably big - over 120 metres and still to this day is the most powerful rocket ever built. After this we headed back to the main area where we went to the IMAX cinema.

Here we watched a 3-D film produced and narrated by Tom Hanks about the moon - from the past missions to what is planned in the future and to what is possible. It was quite enjoyable and cool to see an IMAX film in 3-D. After this we strolled around the rocket garden, walked the gantry that the astronauts walked to board Apollo 11 and land on the moon. After a little more looking around and messing about on the various exhibits we headed down the road to the Astronauts Hall of Fame. I didn't really look at anything here, we just joined the queue for the G-Force Simulator. We got our chance after about 30 minutes and we got into the closed capsules, buckled ourselves in and when the doors closed it started spinning. In front of us was a screen mimicking the cockpit of a fighter jet and as the capsules spun it mimicked the G-forces experienced as the jet performed manouveres on the screen. It was really good and really well done - we were told it gets up to 3 and a half G in places which is a good bit. We both came out and were quite dizzy as we walked out of the room, a really funny feeling. We went over to the simulator which had space for us straight away. We got on which probably wasn't the best idea - it was a fun ride where you are on a flying transporter and the machine moves as the screen shows you going around corners and stuff. Not as extreme as the G-Force Simulator but done straight after had us feeling a little queasy. We both went straight for the outdoors when that was done to relieve our headaches and when we felt a bit better we continued south towards Miami and our last RV park before trying to sell Ita.

As per previous trips south on I-95 we found a rest area close to our destination and stayed there for the night. It was right by trees which were full of tree frogs and bull frogs which are extremely loud. When we arrived it was really annoying and we thought we would get no sleep but thankfully they all shut up after an hour or so. The following morning we picked up some supplies and sent the box of stuff home before heading to the final RV park of our road trip. It turned out to be right beside a safari and we weren't even parked there half an hour and we were hearing lions roar sending flocks of birds in the trees flying. We spent most of our time at the park getting the RV tidy, packing our rucksacks and getting onto dealers and salvage yards in the Florida and Miami area to see if anyone would take it off our hands for some cash. Also, we had been saving our cardboard and bottles and stuff to recycle but the lady at reception informed us that there is no recycling in Florida which we were quite disappointed about. Talk about lazy.....

The following morning we made a few more calls and packed and tidied before hitting the road around lunchtime. We had some more errands to run (another small box of stuff was filled with things neither of us wanted to throw out so we had to post that home too) and then went to Wal-Mart in the late afternoon. Here we brought back safety baseball bat which we bought in Seattle to use as a self defence last resort incase we were broken into but thankfully it was only needed to smash open the pinada at Bonnaroo. We got store credit so we bought a couple of things. We got back to the RV and cooked dinner and after that we ended up staying there as we wanted to have a few miles to drive before trying to sell the RV the following day so that the house batteries would have some juice in them to show that most of the things were working.

The next morning we woke and rejoined I-95 south towards Miami. From making the calls and checking online we had a couple of places to go but one seemed to be the best chance of getting some cash. I had been talking to someone in Campout Inc. the previous day who told us they buy RV's for cash but we would have to bring it in so they could see it. We had the address and were heading there when one of the back tyres blew out on the interstate. Thankfully we were in the inside lane and could safely pull over straight away so we weren't in any danger. Also thankfully, our insurance policy provided free roadside assistance so all we had to do was make a call and someone would come and replace the tyre for us. Or so that is how it is supposed to work in theory. I walked about a mile to find a payphone and they said a crew would be out in about half an hour. An hour and a half later nobody had turned up so I went back and made another call. I was told that they couldn't find me so they just left. The next crew they sent out was someone in a car who could only change light duty tyres - our vehicle was too heavy and he didn't have the tools needed. He called the insurance company who sent out a heavy duty crew who were supposed to arrive within half an hour. Over an hour later with nobody showing up I went to walk back to the payphone to find out what the craic was. I was nearly there and Emer phoned me to tell me they had shown up. They had the heavy duty jack necessary to lift the RV and did so for us. Something that was supposed to take half an hour ended up taking over 4 hours but we were back on the road again.

We made it to the dealer on the south side of Miami after 4. We went into the office and asked for Greg Scott who were told to ask for by a couple of people. We were brought outside and were introduced to a chap with long grey wavey hair in a pair of long jean shorts and no shirt. Not who I expected to meet at all but he was really genuine and talked honestly with us. He came into the RV, saw how clean it was and after a quick chat offered us $800 for it in cash and a free lift to te airport on Saturday (it being Thursday at this stage). That was twice what the insurance company valued it at and he knew about the roof so I was delighted with the offer but didn't let him know that. It was gas - he didn't want to take it for a test drive, didn't want to check anything (he asked us if the generator worked - we told him no) and just had a quick look on the roof to see the holes and that was enough for him. We "chatted" about it for a few minutes when he headed back into the office and accepted his offer. With that we continued south over the many bridges linking the islands off the south coast of Florida called the Florida Keys.

The Florida Keys, as I mentioned, are a series of islands off the southernmost tip of Florida and are connected by a series of long bridges or sea highways as they are known. If you drive for 100 miles you reach Key West which is quite famous for the ecclectic mix of people that call it home. During our chat with Greg he recommended that we only go a bit of the way out to see what they are like as it's not really worth going the whole way and theat we would struggle with the RV. We took his advice and stopped about 40 miles along the highway. They are a strange place dominated by places selling boats. Alot of the small islands are very thin so there are houses on either side of the road with water and road frontage which I am sure are worth quite a bit of money. We pulled into an area used to launch and collect small motor boats and jet skis and the like where we relaxed for the evening and had some dinner. We decided to stay here for the night and then head back up to see Miami Beach the following day. Unfortunately, during the night the local sergeant woke us up to inform us we couldn't park there for the night so we headed a bit further south and found a small parking lot with a tree overhanging it so we stayed there and weren't bothered any further.

Woke up on our last full day in the States and hit the road north again after breakfast. The plan was to have a brief stop at the Evergalades National Park before heading to the city of Miami Beach and the world famous South Beach. As usual, we stuck our destination into the Sat Nav and headed on our merry ways. Along the way we saw loads of alligators right by the roadside, some not even seperated from the road by a fence. We continued on towards the Everglades and along the way were astonished by the change in scenery once you leave the main highway. Built up areas lead into farmland and palm tree nurseries almost instantly and it is really nice and refreshing to see farmland and open areas so close to built up downtown areas. We made it to the entrance and unfortunately it was closed as it was out of season (the season being December to April). I am sure there were other entrances that were open but we decided against it as we wanted to see the beach. We rejoined the highway, and the developement that goes with it, and headed through downtown Miami and over the bridge to Miami Beach.

Miami Beach is considered a seperate city to Miami and is similar ro Manhattan in taht it is an island joined to the mainland by roadway. It's east of Miami and has some incredibly large houses on the water and massive yachts and boats to go with them. We drove aorund a bit and got lucky with a parking spot big enough for us and still close-ish to the beach. We strolled down to the beach and we were both amazed at how nice it actually was. Most of the big name beaches we have been to have been slightly disappointing - the sand was soft, clean and white and the sea was immaculate. Crystal clear blue and actually warm when you got in which was amazing. We lay down for a while, I had a bit of a swim and before we were getting ready to leave this group of Irish lads sat down beside us. We got chatting to them and found out that they were over on J1 visas doing promotions for a local nightclub. Tonight Brooke Hogan (Hulk's daughter) was having her album launch so the lads gave us wristbands to get in cheaper ($20 each!!!) and we left them our beach rug thing that we were going to throw out anyway. We said we would go if we could find a place to park the RV for the night for free but they didn't know of any places around. We strolled around the art deco area on our way back to the RV where we passed the Versace mansion right on South Beach which was quite impressive. We headed back towards Campout Inc. to a place I had spotted on the way in which had loads of space to park right by the freewat so it would be realtively safe.

All along our route people were telling us how dangerous Miami is and to be really careful. Granted we didn't go downtown but neither of us felt unconfortable or threatened in any way. I reckon it is like any city that has it's bad areas but because of the heavy influx of foreigners (especially Cubans) it is getting a bad rep. Or I could be totally wrong. Either way the place I spotted was perfect, we spent our last night in the States there and had an uninterupted sleep which is always nice. The following morning we did our final pack and tidy before hitting the road to Campout Inc. We arrived there befoer noon and stayed in the office with the A/C a bit to cool down. Greg was out sick with the "man-flu" according to his wife but the sale happened nonetheless. Our driver to the airport arrived a bit later and we loaded our things into the Ford F-350, a real proper hillbilly truck. While we were waiting we had a look at the massive class A motorcoaches and we were both blown away by how amazing they are. They are effectively coaches with a house inside of them. They have leather coaches, flat screen TV's with surround sound and a full kitchen complete with dish washer. Unbelievable!!!

Will, our driver to the airport, was a true redneck. From Alabama he had a dislike of anything liberal including Lincoln. He was a really nice guy but it was funny to talk to someone as deeply conservative as he was. The journey to the airport was relatively short and I had no intention of getting into a debate with him so we entertained him and had a good olde chat along the way. It made such a difference getting a free lift with the big bags and all and when we got out of the car we were able to check in straight away out on the footpath where they took our heavy bags and gave us our boarding cards. We found a place with Wi-Fi in the airport and waited for our flight to to take us on the next part of our adventure.