Archiv der Kategorie: USA

Miscellaneous, Reisen, USA

Florida East Coast – Kennedy Space Center

Schreibe einen Kommentar

Floridas East Coast between Palm Beach and Cape Canaveral

The east coast, up north to the Kennedy Space Center was our plan for the second week traveling through the southern part of Florida. Because we already had spent a lot of money for hotels/motels in the more touristic areas Miami, Key West and Florida City, the ‚gate‘ to the Everglades NP, I decided to save some money by taking the route through the (kind of boring) inland roads to our destination Cape Canaveral and the beaches on the east coast.

I’ve had worse roads during my many drives through the country over the years, but my brother – who’s never been out of Europe before –  was not used to miles and miles of straight boring roads. Though I had warned him, after two hours of driving through flat land, nothing to see, no curves at all, he started to complain 😉 We stayed overnight in Clewiston, a small town at Lake Okeechobee, and drove around the lake the next day, without actually ever seeing the water, cause its hidden behind the 110mi long Herbert Hoover Dike. I’ve read that you actually can hike or bike along that dike surrounding the lake.

The siblings on a short hike in the sun :-)
The siblings on a short hike in the sun 🙂

We hit the coast at Fort Pierce and took highway A1A to Cocoa Beach, crossing all the islands and peninsulas off the coast. Though there are many private properties along that road, you always find access to the endless beaches and there are also some beautiful State parks and National  Wildlife Refuges. Florida 2015 379

For a crowd-avoiding traveler like me, this part of the east coast was perfect. Compared to the coastline between Miami and Palm Beach, it was quiet, lots of wildlife, beaches you partly had for yourself, many parks to hike, watch birds and other animals, and reasonable hotel prices.

The Kennedy Space Center

Visiting the Kennedy Space Center was on my list in the first place. I thought we would have a short look at the Rockets, the Apollo programm, the space shuttles, takes us maybe 3-4hrs and we are done. Well, in the end we spent more than seven hours there and didn’t have time to go to the gift shop – I’m sorry, no postcards, no shuttle, no shirt or cup 😉

It was fascinating to see all the space stuff, particularly the Saturn V/Apollo rocket, the launch pad we drove by on the bus tour and the Space Shuttle Atlantis. I also dived into the IMAX movie about the Hubble telescope.

And yes, it is very ‚US-American‘, lots of hero-talking and ‚pat on the back‘, but there is also acknowledgement for connecting nations all over the world  to join on a common space programm and finally working together in space on the ISS.

Miscellaneous, Reisen, USA

Florida – Everglades

1 Kommentar

This was my second time at the Everglades NP in Florida and I’ve seen so many more animals than on my first trip, which was in early November. Back then I had stayed on the campground and was nearly eaten alive by mosquitos.

Staying in a Motel in Florida City seemed a much better idea, though there are by far not as many mosquitos this time of the year – I got stung anyway.

We drove all the way through the Park to Flamingo and took a boat trip along the shore. We were very lucky and saw dolphins, the fins of a shark, white pelicans, ospreys flying above and in their nest, many different herons and again a pair of manatees. Really amazing.

On our way back to the Park entrance we stopped at any ‚lookout‘ and endet up at Royal Palm. It was already 4pm when we started the Anhinga trail, where all the alligators were lazily lying or swimming around. Vultures, blue herons, anhingas and ducks are everywhere. Seeing an owl, a turtle  and a stork was probably kind of luck too.

As the day was just too short to see everything, we came back the next morning for another few hours, before we left the Everglades to drive up north.

Miscellaneous, Reisen, USA

Florida – Miami and Key West

1 Kommentar

Since a few years my brother and I were talking about a trip to Florida. He’s never been to the US, and it was settled, that if he ever would travel to the States, it’d be with me.

It was clear that it’d be a challenge to travel together, and I confess, we have our times … not unexpected. But we manage and I really enjoy watching him being totally excited about all the things I – after many years of traveling through the US – take for granted.

We flew into Miami and stayed at a hotel close to the airport. For me it’s the most relaxing way to visit a city after a long flight. You just pick up the rental car at the airport, drive a few minutes and sleep in a nice, not too expensive hotel. On the next day take the free shuttle to the airport and public transportation downtown. A day pass for the Metrorail downtown Miami and the Metrobus to Miami Beach is $5.65, no stress driving, no stress finding a parking space.

We just had one day in Miami and spent most of that day at Miami Beach, Roland even went swimming.

On the second day we drove south to Key West. If you’ve ever been there or seen pictures, you know how beautiful the drive along the Florida Keys is. The Pelicans gliding over the surface of the ocean are such a majestic view. If it’s your first time it just takes your breath away. On the way back we made a short stop at the Bahia Honda State Park to go swimming in the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. 😉 We were very lucky to not just see (probably) a white headed sea eagle but also a Manatee.

In Key West we took bikes to ride around. It’s a great way to see as much of the island as possible in one day, and really worth the $10 rent! And yes, on the first evening we joined the crowd at the sunset party point, but the one on the eastern side the next evening was even better and the people on the planks made a nice motive.

Next stop will be Everglades NP.