Our time in Florida

Amanda took this photo of me while going through one of those canals on our boat tour of Winter Park. Hard to believe that tomorrow we will be flying back home to Calgary. What a week it has been. Once you know your north-south-east-west you are pretty much ready to go in the way of driving on the US interstates. We had to do some U-turns, or take the next exit just to turn around to take the proper one - the driving experience for me has been good. Of course, those huge downpours of rain I could have done without (was grateful for those overpasses for cover). No hurricanes hit us while we visited Florida, October is still a part of their "rainy season" so for visiting, November is probably the best time to come exploring. If you come before the US Thanksgiving, it would be quieter and would have more sunny and humid days.

Amanda and I both agree, Orlando is for the kids really - the theme parks, the rides, Disney parks, SeaWorld. Fort Lauderdale was great starting point for things - is about 30-40 minutes from Miami. It takes about 4 hours in each directions to just drive the Keys - so maybe overnight somewhere so you don't feel rushed. Naples would be a nice day trip too - about 2-3 hours west of Ft Lauderdale - the ride is nice especially on I-75 which is easily compariable to the drive from the Manitoba border to Winnipeg - 2 lane divided highway with trees on either side of it. The locals call this stretch Alligator Alley as you drive through the Everglades so the wired fences are quite high to make sure you don't have a gator crossed the highway.

I must see when you stay in Orlando and you are not into rides (like Amanda and I) is the JFK Space Centre. It is definitely worth your $$$. For the two of us, it cost us $121 US for our entry fee, and luncheon with an astronaunt. Even if you are not into space - we found it interesting hearing the background of our astronaunt - Jerry Carr. You can tell he enjoyed what he did and has done throughout his career. The ticket actually serves as a two-day pass. Due to the downpour of rain we couldn't do much of the outdoor things, but we made do. They have a 2-3 hour bus tour to take you further into the Space Centre grounds which we didn't go due to the rain.