Day 1 -- Portland to Tampa
We leave rainy Portland behind.
Marion had been after me to see a musical called "Spring Awakenings" since she saw it in New York. For various reasons it never worked out, so finally, for Christmas, she bought me tickets to the show in Clearwater, Florida in March. And on my birthday to boot. So as long as we were going, why not go for a week and enjoy some sunshine after a long winter in Oregon.
We talked about various ways to do it, like flying to Miami and driving out to the Keys, then up to Tampa but in the end, we decided to fly to Tampa, drive down to the Everglades and back up the western side of Florida to Clearwater. We ended up probably 40 miles from Miami but oh well. If you're unfamiliar with Florida, here's a map to help orient you.
I had been out of town so didn't have much time to pack. I got everything I wanted into the suitcase and a few bags of electronics and carry on stuff. But didn't realize until the morning how heavy everything was. But it was too late to do anything about it at that point. Luckily we didn't have to lug anything too far. But definitely going to have to work on the packing skills for when we go to Africa.
By the way, when you check out the photos, the ones with the pink borders are the ones Marion took.
Day 2 -- Tampa to Homestead
We see our first gators.
Day 3 -- The Everglades
Gators and turtles and herons oh my!
Day 4 -- The Everglades to Ft Myers Beach
Goodbye Monkey Jungle, hello spring break.
Day 5 -- Ft. Meyers Beach
We contemplate wintering in Florida.
Day 6 -- Ft. Meyers Beach to Dunedin
We experience more Florida traffic.
Day 7 -- Caladesi Island and Spring Awakenings
We collect shells at Caladesi Island and spend an evening at the theater.
Day 8-- Dunedin
We take a bike ride to Clearwater.
Day 9-- Tampa to Portland
We bid a fond farewell and start planning for the next trip.