Adventures in the USA: South Florida

Back in Fort Lauderdale, we made our way to Miami.  We had learned some lessons from our trek from Miami to Fort Lauderdale, and so this time there were fewer steps.  However, we still managed to have the trip take far too long and be far too hot, as we had asked Enterprise (the company that "picks you up") to pick us up at the Tri-Rail station.  Somehow this took something like two hours, because they could not figure out where the Tri-Rail station was.    

Enterprise is one of my favorite companies of any sort, and the only rental car company I deal with, but I'm sorry to say that on this particular occasion they really dropped the ball.  In any case, by early afternoon we were in a rental car and heading back to the get-what-you-pay-for Runway Inn (where we were greeted by a friendly lizard outside).

That evening we made our way up to Miami's suburb called Sunrise to watch the Montreal Canadiens play the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center.  The BB&T Center is a) probably the most beautiful hockey arena I have ever seen and b) typically quite empty.  Tonight, however, vehicles with Quebec license plates filled the parking lots surrounding the arena, and it was entirely packed.  

Our seats were way up and behind the net, but all the better to see all the Habs fans.

And I could still make out the number "1" on the back of Luongo's jersey, only I had to squint.

The game started slow, but got exciting in the third when, just as the Habs fans had begun chanting "ole," Florida scored to tie it.  The game went to a shoot out eventually, and the Habs won.

The next morning we checked out of the Runway Inn and drove to Little Havana, for coffees and Cubano sandwiches.

Then it was off to Homestead, about an hour south of Miami, where we had arranged to pick up camping gear at Walmart.  We bought a tent, two sleeping bags, two pillows, two sleeping mats, and some groceries, all for about $100.  From Homestead we drove about another hour, into the Everglades National Park and to the Flamingo Campground on the Florida Bay.

It was New Year's Eve, and the campground was pretty full, but we were actually given a bit of a nicer spot than we had reserved.

We set up the tent and quickly realized that "no-see-ums" were far worse than massive northern Alberta mosquitoes.  We are horrified at how quickly and persistently we were getting bitten.  

So we jumped back in the car to drive rather than walk to watch the sun set over the bay and a nearby pond.

Needless to say, the sunset was gorgeous, and we got to enjoy it along with jumping fish and flitting water fowl.

We had a hot, hot night, and plenty of bites when we woke up, but the morning was tremendous, and we returned to the pond from the night before on our way out of the campground.

Then we stopped at what would be the highlight of our Everglades visit, the Anhinga Trail.  This trail is relatively short, and mostly consists of boardwalk over what looks like a swamp but is actually called a river.  

We saw many different kinds of fish (which were not photogenic); birds; 

and best of all, over a dozen alligators.  

After a long time enjoying all the animals at the Anhinga Trail, we drove northward to the Big Cypress National Preserve.  We had not been able to reserve additional nights in the Everglades, so we camped our next two nights in Big Cypress.

Big Cypress was somewhat closer to Miami than the Everglades, but still about an hour or so, depending on where in Miami we were trying to get to.

Late in the afternoon of January 1, after setting up camp, we drove into Fort Lauderdale to watch a movie at the Thunderbird Drive-In.  The drive-in is part of an enormous complex including a flea market and who knows what else.  Apparently this place is the second-biggest attraction in all of south Florida, or so their website claims.

On Friday we had our last full day in Florida, and we made the most of it.

We began our day at the YMCA in Miami, where we were able to have a bit of a workout and most importantly a lovely shower (our campground was not equipped with running water).  Then in the afternoon we were in Hialeah, another Miami suburb, at Gulfstream Park, the thoroughbred race track, where we lost a few bucks.  Later that afternoon we headed west to see Cirque du Soleil perform Amaluna in a tent beside Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens.  We finished our evening with dinner at a Peruvian restaurant.

Our cruise was scheduled to leave at 16:00 from Miami on Saturday, so we got up relatively early and hurried into Miami for breakfast and another visit to the YMCA.  

Then we had to figure out how best to get rid of our camping gear.  We had actually figured out a way to pack the tent, which we liked enough to still want, but we had to abandon the sleeping gear.  We did a bit of a dumpster drive-by; hopefully someone in need of a sleeping bag will have found them.

We dropped the car off at Enterprise, and they did us a solid by giving us a ride to the airport, where there's an Enterprise shuttle to the port.  This was quite convenient and saved us taxi fare.  

So that was our time in Florida, as now we were en route to the port, and our ship, the Carnival Glory.