To get to Boca Raton, we first got the greyhound to west palm beach then waited there, enjoying the views for an hour then got the tri-rail past Fort Lauderdale to Boca Raton. We had decided to stay here for two reasons: 1. It was a lot cheaper accommodation than Fort Lauderdale and 2. It was much closer to the Irish pub Danny's aunt and uncle owned- who we were planning to visit. It was quite a trek in boiling heat from the tri-rail station to the hotel but once we made it, it turned out to be quite a nice hotel. We checked in then messaged Lisa Walsh (Danny's aunt) to see if they were at the pub. It was going to take us a while to get there and we wanted to look at the beach so we left straight away. The bus never turned up so we started walking, then a huge thunder storm was getting closer to us and the sky went black. Just at the perfect time Lisa pumped her horn and pulled up next to us to pick us up. We didn't go to the beach as the weather was so bad. Instead we spent the whole evening and into the morning at the pub. We had amazing home cooked food- I had cottage pie followed by chocolate covered strawberries, harry had sausage roll followed by fish and chips. The food and drinks were amazing, we really appreciated Noel and Lisa treating us. One of the girls who worked there kindly dropped us back at the hotel. In the morning we went for a wonder, had a quick dip in the pool then went back to the tri-rail station. As the taxi we ordered never came, a kind girl from the petrol station dropped us there, which we really appreciated. Next stop... Miami beach!!

As it hadn't cost much on the tri-rail we didn't think it would take long to reach miami... oh how we were wrong!! It took ages, luckily it was a nice journey to look out the window and the train had two floors so we sat on the top one to get a better view. When we eventually arrived at Miami we couldn't go straight to the airport to then catch our bus to Miami beach, we had to wait first for another bus to take us there. All in all the time it took to get to our miami beach hostel was about double what we were expecting. When we arrived we were pleasantly surprised as the hostel was pretty clean, had a large kitchen and sociable outside area. We checked into a room of eight people but there was only one other person in our room which was great and remained that way the whole time we were there. As it got closer to dinner time we asked the hostel guys where we should go for dinner, I fancied Mexican. We walked up the road a few blocks to the restaurant they had suggested. It was really cheap as it was a Monday and the Miami heats game was on which meant it was even cheaper! We ordered two tacos, a chicken quesadilla and a burrito to share between us. It was more than enough, particularly as they gave us nachos and salsa to start - I even took my taco home to have for lunch the next day!! We had the free bagel breakfast in the morning which came with lots of spreads to choose from.
Our first day in Miami beach was not quite how we wanted it to be! I was checking us in for our flight the next day, when the airline told us we were not booked on the flight and it would cost over three times as much to get us on that same flight. This meant we spent the entire morning sorting out how we were going to get to New Orleans. Luckily mums friend Susie had offered us to stay at hers which was a short drive to the other side of Florida near Naples. This rapidly became the new plan! Late afternoon, when everything was pretty much sorted we made it down to the beach. We had a look in a few shops, took some photos of the beach, unusual sixties style buildings and ocean drive. On the way back we picked up a few bits from the supermarket to make chicken dippers Caesar salad for dinner. The evening was spent playing pool in the hostel and just chilling with the other people staying there. On Wednesday morning we had another late start. This time we walked left out if the hostel, away from south beach and towards an area where we could look out over Miami city. After taking some photos we went to beach, complete with packed lunch. We had had a few busy days so just chilled and went in water a bit. At 4ish we went for massive happy hour cocktails (i had a raspberry based one and harry had mango) we also got some free shots (although they were American "shots" so were more like half a glass of spirit). Harry of course was hungry so had a mini pizza. I realised after going to the toilet that I'd caught the sun a little bit. On the way back to the hostel we went to the supermarket to buy pasta and sauce to add the rest of the chicken to to make Harry's famous dish! When we got back to the hostel we started cooking. Shortly after we started I fainted in the kitchen, which caused a bit of drama. I had definitely spent a bit too much time in the sun and needed to drink water and eat. After dinner I felt fine so we socialised again in the hostel, playing pool with others staying there. In the morning when I woke up, I realised I was pretty badly burnt. I put lots of after sun on but decided I felt too ill to leave the hostel. I spent all day in bed trying to drink mineral drinks and eat. I felt slightly better by the evening so we went out to buy pizza and have a short stroll on the beach. We popped into a couple souvenir shops while we were down there and each bought a miami beach top. The pizza was huge and tasted really nice, just what I needed after a day in bed! I was still in quite a bit of pain when it got to Friday, but we needed to leave to get the greyhound to see Susie and mike in Naples. Harry kindly carried bag big backpack as I couldn't get it on my back. I carried his smaller one, it took us just over an hour to get to the station then we were waiting there for just over an hour before the bus actually left. We tried to sleep most of the way. The scenery on this journey was very different to the scenery we had been used to across America, mainly because we were travelling through the Everglades. This is a national park in America and is full of swamps. When we arrived in Naples, Susie was there to meet us.

We hopped in the car with her for a short drive to where their holiday house was in Bonita Springs, on Palmira golf course. Susie's house was amazing. She showed us to our room, which had the biggest bed I've ever seen, a huge ensuite bathroom and views over the golf course. After we'd put our bags down and looked around the house, we got on the bikes for a tour of the golf centre. Mike showed us the way to get to the gym, the pool and tennis courts. They also collected our guest passes meaning we could use all the facilities whenever we liked. We spent the rest of the afternoon just relaxing by the pool at their house. At dinner time Susie made us a fantastic BBQ including all the meats you could imagine, with potatoes, salad and pasta. We spent the rest of the evening outside by pool with some glasses of wine.

Harry and I had quite a late start to Saturday morning as the king size bed we were in was just too comfy to get out of and a million times nicer than the hostel beds we'd been sleeping in!! When we did get up we had a lovely healthy breakfast, then got on the bikes and cycled down to the pitch and putt area of the golf course with Mike. After a lesson from him I was hitting the balls vaguely near the holes! We moved onto the putting green where we had a bit of practice then had a competition with best of three balls between harry and I on a short downhill putt. With some great coaching from mike I beat harry on the last putt - getting a hole in one!!! When we got back to the house Susie had already prepared lunch for us, which we ate out in the conservatory area watching other golfers. That afternoon Susie had booked for the four of us to have a stand up paddle boarding lesson with a lady called Carol Ellis. Neither mike, harry or I had done it before, but we realised after a few minutes that Susie was already a pro and took naturally to it! We paddled out to an island you could only get to by swimming or paddle boarding, the photo backgrounds were perfect. We paddled around the bay for a couple of hours, stopping at dog beach (a beach just for dogs) for a beer before carrying on to the other side of the bridge. On the way back to the beach where we started harry saw a manatee but he disappeared by the time I'd turned around. It was a real work out paddle boarding and we really enjoyed doing it with Susie and mike! When we got back we were pretty tired so relaxed by their pool for the remainder of the afternoon. Susie and Mike took us to the golf club restaurant that evening, so we dressed up nicely. Susie ordered edcamine beans for a starter which we shared, they were delicious, as was the sauce accompanying them. I had a really tasty salad for my main course and shared a bottle of white wine with mike, while harry had a cocktail and Susie had an "extra strong martini"!! After a lovely dinner we sat by the fire pit and had coffees. As it went dark we drove back to Susie and mikes and went to bed. On Sunday harry and I managed to get up slightly earlier and cycled down to the sports area. I went in the gym for a couple of hours while harry lay by the pool. After relaxing on the deck hairs by the pool for a bit, we shared a chicken quesadilla and some sweet potato fries. After lunch we relaxed in the shade for a bit then went for a swim. Later in the evening Susie made an amazing fish and pasta dish for dinner. It was really tasty and we had some ice cream for pudding. There were huge thunder storms that evening so we sat watching, the whole sky lit up and the noise was terrific! On Monday morning Harry played golf with mike, while Susie and I chilled by pool. we saw the pair of them hit the hole outside the house which was nice then I floated around on the lilo in the pool. That evening we went to a relaxed restaurant on a lake, which was the perfect opportunity for us to treat Susie and mike for the meal to say thank you. Susie and I had their signature dish- maki tacos which were really nice particularly as we'd had the fish blackend. A week later than we were originally meant to, the next morning we left for New Orleans. Mike kindly took us to Fort Myers airport, ready to catch the 6am flight to New Orleans. We had to change flights in Atlanta, but still got to New Orleans for 10am, taking into account the time change.