South Florida - Days 1 & 2

 Believe it or not, Florida was plan B. A very last-minute plan B. Like most of 2020, our original plan did not happen as expected...

Plan A was an all-inclusive resort in Jamaica for the week. We got a screaming deal back at the beginning of November and decided what the heck. But the night before we were supposed to fly out, a message popped up that we now needed a negative Covid test in order to enter the country. With wait times in the 3 hour range and results in the 3-4 day range, it wasn't going to happen. So we cancelled everything and started thinking about what to do, if anything, instead.

Our hearts were sort of set on sunny and warm. And with travel outside the country out of the question, it didn't leave us with many options. So Fort Lauderdale, Florida won out thanks to cheap flights and reasonable hotels.

With such a big change of plans, we gave ourselves an extra day to get ready and left at o'dark-thirty for SeaTac. Right away, we had one of those "thank You, Jesus" moments. Just minutes after we crossed the bridge in Mt. Vernon, the entire interstate was shut down in both directions thanks to a tanker truck accident. Whew!

But the rest of the trip east was relatively uneventful, even if it was a very long day! After getting checked into our room, we went and got some delicious food at the Bohemian Latin Grill down the street! They were so sweet and friendly and even threw in a piece of tres leches cake for dessert! Yum! 

We got a good night's sleep and hit the ground running for our first day in the Sunshine State. 

First stop: Everglades Holiday Park. Because nothing says Florida like an airboat tour through the everglades.

It was a very interesting tour. We learned some interesting facts about the everglades, such as it is a prairie and not a swap and stay away from widow's apple trees, and saw several alligators despite the wind and cooler weather. They are pretty tricky to find. We also saw some other members of the local wildlife on our excursion...

Didn't expect to see a dam in the everglades

or our first alligator sunning himself in front of it

vultures on the aptly named Vulture Island

Turns out they let iguanas live on the island, too

more vultures

sometimes spotting an alligator is like a game of Where's Waldo

there's a "Waldo"

Turns out there were Waldos everywhere!

After the tour, we had an alligator show to teach us even more about alligators. Did you know they have a very strong bite but can't open their mouth if it is held shut? 

All of the gators in the show are rescues. This means they were saved from being put down because they were a "nuisance." In other words, people fed them and so they became a problem and then have to be put down. 

Just before leaving we got our picture taken with a baby alligator and had it made into a magnet. We didn't get a digital copy of it, so you'll have to come over if you want to see it... :) 

After our tour we stopped at the Swap Shop swap meet at the local drive-in. It wasn't what we were hoping for but we did get to visit their free Ferrari museum...

 After all that, it was time to get cleaned up and get some supper. Fort Lauderdale is called "the Venice of America" because of all the canals lined with mansions and boats. So for dinner we chose to get all dressed up for waterfront dining at Rendezvous. There was just a smidge of color in the sky to enjoy while we ate deep-fried conch and crab-stuffed lobster. Wow!

And just because we hadn't done enough on our first day, we went back to the Thunderbird drive-in for a movie: The Good Thief with Liam Neeson. It was a good show and fun to be at a drive-in again.