Mike n' Lisa's quest blog: Grandpa Got a New Computer: Part I Florida

Been a little difficult to Post since the Theft debacle in Salt Lake City last March. Just a little frustrating with a smart phone and these monster Brats I call my fingers. Buuuuut a lot has transpired this past six weeks. We have been crisscrossing this Country top to bottom and left to right. And then flat out leaving it for a spell to take a two week sojourn across the Atlantic.

First of all, we left (and lost) our sweet, sweet two week on two week off gig in Texas on account Haliburton decided to send the boys we'd been following to Louisiana. So without a specific deadline to be back, we left our last location (about 75 miles South of San Antonio) on the 16th of march to return to Idaho. Having a lot on our plate, Lisa set about gathering her resources to get a tankless water heater installed in her house in Twin Falls. Whilst I set out on a fifteen hour drive to transport Danny to Yuma,

Arizona for the purpose of getting him acquainted with the Dentists just across the border in Los Algadones.

The Pan above shows a little of the wide openness of the area we come from.

The above picture was taken just outside the Border crossing into Mexico. In a parking lot run by an area reservation (forgive me I can't recall the name.) Mid March and it was only about 90 degrees. First time that I have been here when there was a crowd. Probably took about two hours to get past the long line of folks waiting to get back into the US. Fortunately, my Daughter loaned us her Hyundai, which gets about a zillion miles per gallon of petrol. (Actually more like 40 but whatever).

Finally, on April 1st we left for Vacation. First flying to Fort Lauderdale. About five days before the boat leaves.

Really don't have a map and prolly would not care to give exact directions anywhoo, but located about five miles from the Fort Lauderdale Airport is a sweet section of Beach loaded with low price motels called the Dania Beach area in Hollywood Fl. Actually the whole area is called Dania, but the Beach area is no secret and very easy to find. During the week rooms run between sixty to eighty bucks. Weekends more depending upon your wants Originally trying to find a place to stay and perusing our options of motels with Airport shuttles and faced with the proposition of paying anywhere's from one fitty upwards, we elected to rent a car and go with the cheaper ones. We weren't disappointed. I would certainly avoid this area during spring break though.

Ooops

No this isn't a pic from Amsterdam. It is actually in a storefront window outside a coffee shop in Fort Lauderdale. My hasn't fashion come a ways.

For the price, I expected the Motels to be fleabags. I was pleasantly disappointed. Ours was spotlessly clean. We stayed in this area for two days. Unfortunately, as we were checking out I misstepped coming down some steep cement stairs. For my nearly sixty year old bones the impact was alarming. But after a few minutes of self examination, I thought I was OK. About an hour later I could barely walk, my right knee ( the "good one") was swollen, popping with every step and hugely painful. This remained a constant throughout the trip and has only partially healed. At least I can walk about a mile now without resting which is substantially better than the fifty yards the first week of the injury.

The temps were balmy and the water was lovely blue and clear, but few folks actually went swimming. Probably the rip currents. For my part I couldn't get those news clips of the occasional stories of hundreds of sharks being filmed a few feet offshore.

Florida is truly a multi ethnic state. There are Canadians wherever one turns., Kidding aside this seriously seems to be the main population of tourists, (everywhere) although the area is made up of many nationalities. Mostly reflected in the diversity of the beach side restaurants. Both affordable and excellent. OK I thought amazing. We talked with the local merchants, and as one young Coffee shop owner, a young girl in her early twenties told us the small restaurants are family businesses and in the cramped kitchens located in the back of the small buildings are mothers and grandmothers doing the cooking. Little wonder awesome food. I am guessing from the Caribbean and Baltic coutnries.

Day three we headed towards the Florida Keys. A drive of about 160 miles give or take from Fort Lauderdale. Mostly on a two lane highway that gets pretty crowded on the weekend. So too do the hotel prices which rocket into the stratosphere. It is the fishing which is touted most but there is also scuba and snorkeling. For the most part, we get by on a beer budget. K, cheap wine budget and forgo tours, expensive restaurants etc. However one bright spot is that while motels and hotels seem out of site, RV prices seemreasonable for the location. Couple of hundred a week.

Most of the highway connecting the Keys are man made islands and bridges crossing more marshy areas than one would expect. A new highway was built to replace the ancient narrow one in several spots I suspect because they were washed out by Hurricanes. In some spots those have been turned into fishing piers. Sea doo kept popping up in my mind. What an awesome spot.

Key Largo is the first of the Keys and about a hundred miles later lies Key West. A small tourist town boasting locals in strange costumes, original New England looking homes, small town feel. Did I mention that chickens running in the streets is a Key West thing. One of the elaborate costumes was a dude riding a four wheel two seated bike that mechanically had a skeleton sitting on a seat behind him. Mechanically, the skeleton seemed to be pedalling the bicycle as well.