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We arrived into Miami Airport very early in the morning, and passing over all the skyscrapers and seeing all of the traffic and lights made me realise that we really were back in the Western world now.We picked up our black Dodge Charger, as unfortunately the Mustang we wanted was not in, and spent over an hour trying to find a Walmart store.Ironically we wanted to go there to buy a GPS, as it was a lot cheaper than hiring one, plus we can sell it afterwards - so if anyone wants to buy a USA/Canada GPS......?!
We had a nice tour of the Miami Lakes and Carol City area and eventually found a Walmart.We then headed down Collins Avenue, along the peninsula to Miami Beach.When I looked at the map I was thinking that this peninsula would be a small dusty scenic road, with views of the ocean on both sides.I had obviously got jet lag and forgotten that we were in America now, so it was not a small dusty road and there were no views of the ocean, as this was obstructed by the huge multi storey hotel complexes.We drove past the Art Deco buildings and eventually found street parking after driving around a few times, and headed to the beach.The beach was beautiful, with white sand and clear blue water, but it was packed and noisy!It was the complete opposite to what we had left behind in Fiji, but it's nice to have a change.After a quick swim, I fell asleep underneath an umbrella for a couple of hours, whilst Graham went off to explore the Art Deco area.
In the afternoon, we drove to Plantation to meet the people who we would be staying with for the next 3 nights, through the couchsurfing website.Karen and Barry were fantastic and made us feel so welcome from the start.We had so much in common that it was freaky, and they made our first couchsurfing experience so good that we want to do a lot more.For those of you who have no idea what couchsurfing is, it is a website where travellers can find people who have a spare room/sofa and are happy to let you stay (surf) with them.Also, you can sign up as a host, and offer a place for others to come and stay.It's a great way to keep costs down when you are travelling, as well as meeting new people and getting local knowledge and info about where you are staying.It's such fun - we definitely recommend it.
As it was our first proper night in USA we thought we should have steak, so we got some and Barry cooked for us all - staying with a chef was definitely a good idea!He is also training to be a pastry chef, so we got to be guinea pigs for some of his cakes and sweets - you can imagine Graham's delight!They also have a Huka pipe, so Graham got to try this for the first time, and a huge HD TV, you really can imagine Graham's delight now!
The next day we drove to Fort Lauderdale and went for a walk down Las Olas, browsing in the expensive shop windows and then heading to the canals to look enviously at the big houses and yachts along the canal side.In the afternoon we went to the beach at Fort Lauderdale - again this was busy, but a little quieter than Miami, and equally as beautiful.
On our final day we went to Billie Swamp's Safari, as Graham wanted to see some alligators.One thing that has really surprised me about Florida is how much it rains here.So many Brits holiday here every August, but no-one ever says how much it rains, and rain is common for this time of the year.It's obviously different form rain at home, as the atmosphere is still really warm and the rain is in heavy spurts, but yesterday it rained nearly all day.We were lucky that when we arrived at Billy Swamp's the rain had stopped, so we went straight on an airboat ride.This was great fun, and we saw ostriches, wild pigs, water buffalo, Scottish red deer, turtles, etc, as well as lots of alligators.As we then started to look around the park at the other animals, the rain came down again, so we sheltered at the snake house, and then went to see the reptile show.This was also pretty good as the guy told us a bit about various snakes and then we got to hold a baby alligator if we wanted to (see photos).
For our final evening with Karen and Barry I cooked my Cottage Pie.Those of you who know me will know this is one of the only things I can cook, and will have probably have eaten it yourselves on several occasions. Those of you who may be reading this as potential couchsurfing hosts, now you know what I can offer as a surfer, and Graham can do a good chilli!
So, we sadly said goodbye to Karen and Barry, and are currently on the Interstate 75, with another 136 miles before we head off this long, straight road.
Maggie x
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