I finally set foot in Florida.

Amanda was interviewing for optometry school and invited mom, dad, and I to come along. Plane tickets were booked on Spirit Airlines and I tried not to listen to news reports of doors flying off planes mid-flight.

We spent the night at the airport hotel at John Glenn in Columbus so we could leave our car parked there for the four days we would be gone #lifehack. The flight was really smooth and I had the window seat so I watched the sunrise over the Appalachians.

When we landed and got out of the crazy busy Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airport, the air was warm and humid. There were palm trees and coconut trees everywhere! It was super flat and I’d seen the Everglades from the plane so I was ready to get exploring.

After we got our rental car (for some reason it’s always the most painful part of travel), we hit the road for Biscayne National Park. We quickly encountered the traffic jams we would find so common in this massive metropolitan area. Upon arriving at the park sign, some people offered to take our photo. I was wearing my Ouachitas shirt and the guy said he grew up in Arkansas and knew exactly where Mena, Arkansas was!

We headed to the Dante Fascell Visitor’s Center and there was a lot more to see here than I’d thought. Most of the park is water so you’re really supposed to snorkel or kayak to some islands to get the full experience. We did the boardwalk trail and saw a lot of lizards and even a bright orange iguana here! I know they’re an invasive species, but they’re pretty cool. The visitor’s center itself was cool.

After this, we were going to drive down to the Keys, but the road was closed. We changed our plans and went to the Royal Palm area of Everglades National Park instead. There was a panther crossing sign on the road! What?! How often are they seen?

We took pictures with the sign and I fell getting off but didn’t break any bones. We did the Anhinga Trail and saw our first Florida gator! Some woman who seemed to be a volunteer was standing by the gator with a song playing on her phone. It was weird. We saw plenty of Anhingas on this trail as well as some other water birds. We then did the Gumbo-Limbo Trail which was basically a walk through the jungle.

By this point it was time for supper so we headed back to our Air Bnb and were thwarted at every turn by traffic. Be forewarned if you go to the Miami area: traffic is not good.

The next day was Amanda’s interview so mom, dad, and I headed to downtown Fort Lauderdale and boarded the Carrie B for a scenic cruise. I’d highly recommend this tour as you are taken past billionaire’s homes and the guide will tell you about who lives there and local lore as well. We also entered Port Everglades and saw four massive cruise ships docked.

We came back to our AirBnb to find…sewage spewed on the sidewalk. We decided to go to Flamingo Gardens instead of downtown Miami because a 15 mile drive was going to take us an hour. Flamingo Gardens was a good choice. There were animals which I enjoyed, a tram tour with a quirky guide, and plants the likes of which these lifelong midwesterners have never seen. I was hugely impressed by plants that are mere houseplants here being massive bushes growing outside as if they owned the place. We saw a couple more huge orange iguanas and there was a very lumpy 30 year old black bear to view.

After the gardens, we went to a nursery that was across the road. It was again interesting to see what can grow there versus here. We looked at citrus trees of all varieties. I enjoyed seeing the super expensive bonsai tree area as well.

Our final adventure of the trip was a tram ride through Shark Valley back in Everglades National Park. In the back of my mind I’ve always been prepared for the day when I would get burned by the line at a National Park entrance station, and this was that day. The line was not moving. We turned around, parked on the road, and walked into the park. We missed our tram but thankfully they just gave us tickets on the next tour and we were set. There was a short boardwalk we did, then saw an alligator close to the path. The tram tour was pretty long but was interesting. We saw a lot of alligators and even an American crocodile! That was the highlight for me. I never expected to see one, especially in this area of the park.

After a fun day, we headed off to church in a ritzy part of the city then spent the rest of our night preparing for the flight home and relaxing.

Florida was unlike the rest of the south I’ve been to, which is mostly a good thing. I didn’t like the traffic nor the fact that they don’t really have any rural areas – because you’re either in the city, or you’re in the Everglades. I’d be interested to check out some other areas of Florida to see how they compare.