FLORIDA!!!

It was time to get away from the cold weather and catch some rays at the beach.  We had free plane tickets and decided to hit the east coast for a change.  Our destination:  Florida!  And WOW, I was soooo impressed!!!  No offense to you Californians, but I thought California was THE place to live, until I went to Florida!

Top 10 reasons we LOVE Florida!

1.  Everything is amazingly GREEN

2.  There are palm trees everywhere, even along the beach to provide a nice shady spot for my hubby, and they can grow naturally in Florida 

   

3.  The weather was FANTASTIC!  It was sunny eight out of nine days and often rained a little in the evening but even the rain was warm.

4.  The humidity:  I didn't have to wear nearly as much chapstick, didn't even need lotion, I was always having a good hair day, and it was curly

5.  The beaches are clean and you can walk a long ways down them

6.  The Atlantic ocean is warmer than the Pacific and it's more clear and some places are sea green.  (I had always wondered how they came up with that name)

7.  I didn't get out of breath during my four mile run (probably partially because there are no hills which is Florida's only disadvantage, okay maybe the hurricanes also)

8.  There is soooooo much to do!

9.  You can cross the entire state in about two hours and see a whole new ocean, the Gulf of Mexico

10.  The drivers were mostly polite and drove fast

Day 1:  Ft. Lauderdale to Florida City-  We flew into Ft. Lauderdale and stayed at a Travelodge in Florida City. We had dinner at Denny's- I had apple crisp with ice cream!

The first sip of lemonade is sour and makes me scrunch up my face like a chipmunk which Chris finds endlessly amusing.  

Day 2:  Key West- We drove along the beautiful highway to Key West!  We went to the beach and walked around, went to the southern most part of the contiguous U.S., went to the Navy base, tried to watch the sunset, and went on a wonderful shopping trip including Ron Jon Surf Shop (where they gave me free perfume) and to Jake (Life is Good store).  AWESOME day!  I love Florida!

Day 3:  Key West to Ft. Lauderdale- I went for wonderful but SUPER windy run on the path along the ocean.  What beautiful scenery!  Then we went to the beach for a while before heading to Key Largo for lunch at the Pilot's House.  YUMMY!!!  I had a Mahi Mahi sandwich and Chris had a tuna wrap.  We arrived at Mizner Place to find our amazing hotel room!  I LOVE my hair here!  It's so curly and always looks great!  :o)

The living room of our hotel suite.  We had our own bedroom with a jacuzzi, a huge bathroom, and a kitchen.

Day 4:  John U. Lloyde Beach State Park- Today we went for a lovely walk along the beach!  I was quite impressed, Chris took his shirt off.  I'm hoping he won't have such an obvious biker's tan this year.  We stopped for lunch along our way to Miami at a delicious deli along a canal in Hollywood, FL.  I had a salmon wrap and it was delicious!  

Never trust a guy to apply sunscreen.

Day 5:  The Jungle Queen- Chris made a delicious BACON and egg breakfast!  We then went on the Jungle Queen which was about a two and a half hour trip through the canals of Ft. Lauderdale.  We saw the amazing mansions and then went to their "island" and watched the aligator show and saw other animals.

Day 6:  Holiday Park Everglades Safari- We took a fun airboat ride through the Everglades and saw two alligators!  The lily pads were so cool!  We then drove along Alligator Alley to the lovely town of Naples on the Gulf of Mexico coast!  It was an awesome beach!  The sand was perfect for a run on the sand if I would've had my stuff.  The beaches weren't very busy at all!  We walked for about two and a half hours.  It was wonderful!  Have I mentioned how I LOVE Florida!!!  On the way back to the hotel we ate at an Irish place that was pretty good.  I tried the Shepard's Pie but it gave me bad indigestion.  The bread was fantastic though!

Day 7:  Lion Country Safari-  I must admit, Lion Country Safari was not the highlight of our trip.  The lamest part was that the lions were locked up in fences and everything else was free.  The monkeys, rhinoceroses, and giraffes were cool though.  Afterwards we went to Deerfield Beach which was where we were supposed to stay.  It was beautiful!  We laid on the beach for about 45 minutes.  Today was the only cloudy day but it was still warm and perfect!  :o)

We had no idea how incredibly ugly storks are!  We certainly hope one of these doesn't delivery our baby!

Day 8:  Birch State Park- We spent a while just laying out by the beach.  Then we went canoeing down a canal.  It was a bit shorter than we had expected but it was fun and a great upper body workout!  We then drove through Ft. Lauderdale and did some geocaching in the evening.

Day 9:  How sad that it was our last day.  I went for a lovely four mile run along the sidewalk by the beach in Ft. Lauderdale which was wonderful!  It was super crowded though.  Chris was taking a nap during that time.  I laid on the beach absorbing the sun's rays, wonderful sound of the waves crashing, and the smell of the fresh, clean Atlantic Ocean.  We came home to freezing cold and snow.  :-(  Bummer!  I LOVE FLORIDA!!!!

Chris was so incredibly sweet during the whole trip.  Really, the whole thing was for me.  He knew how much I love the ocean and we went there everyday except one.  It was so nice to just get away from everything and step away from work and reality for a bit.  And now I'm nice and refreshed and ready for a fun filled spring and summer (if it ever stops snowing)!  Sorry this was so long, I was just so excited about our trip, and I'm hoping that at least our mothers will be interested in every little detail of our trip.  ;-)