On the road: Florida road trip

Beautiful Islamorada in the Keys.

Here’s a simple question: Why Florida?

Answer: We take too many trips to Hawaii.

This isn’t entirely the reason — but it’s certainly part of it. S and I were talking about taking a late-fall vacation. I was convinced that it would be New Mexico, but I was uninspired by the book I bought, so we made a snap decision to try Florida. And what better place to fly in the winter than south, towards the sun?

To be sure, I wasn't convinced that Florida was worth that much time, but as we researched more and more, it seemed like there were enough options to get us to the Sunshine State. We wanted to think beyond the mouse, so we created a nice loop of central and southern Florida, with Orlando at the start and end of the journey.

I was nervous heading into this trip because it was the longest trip we would have taken since The Shakeup (I don't have a better name for the turbulence of this year yet so I'm just testing different labels out until I find the right one). I'm getting better at setting more realistic travel expectations for myself and not becoming so disappointed with a slower pace. 

Of course, when you look at the highlights here, it seems like we did a lot. And we did. And we loved it.

St. Pete Beach and Tampa

This was the last destination that we added to our itinerary. When we looked into Florida attractions, we were both excited by the Big Cat Rescue in Tampa (as well as the Tampa Zoo, which I had read about in the book Zoo Story). We’re animal people, as Sergio has said. Our Christmas tree proves it. 

S on our balcony.

TradeWinds Resort at St. Pete Beach

Thanks to my brother’s recommendation, we choose St. Pete Beach over Tampa proper. Florida beach towns are so different than the beach towns of our childhoods (in Oregon and Mexico, respectively) -- nothing like bright Florida colors and 1960s-1980s architecture! We stayed at a huge resort called the TradeWinds (when we were there we were sharing the hotel with a huge conference on autism -- so interesting!) which was right on the Gulf. I had to include a gratuitous beach photo -- gratuitous because this was pretty much our one trip to the beach, and it was on our way back to the car after we had checked out. We're just not beach people, we've learned. 

I do like breathing in the sea air, though. 

The highlights of this part of the trip were the zoo and the cat rescue. Our first stop was the Lowry Park Zoo -- a mid-size zoo, it was easy to navigate and was relatively empty on the day we visited it (Thursday). Whenever I visit a zoo, I'm always excited to find out what is unique or interesting. In true Florida style, this zoo had a manatee hospital, and we spent some time watching the gentle giants suck lettuce into their mouths. They had a large open elephant exhibit with two calves (so cute!) and several impressive bird aviaries. 

One of the aviaries. 

A taste of Australia in Florida.

What made the Lowry Park Zoo a must-see for me was reading the book written about it. Though the zoo in Tampa is the focus of the book, more than anything it was an interesting commentary on the state of zoos and animal conservation in America and the oft-misguided ways we try to save animals. As a lifelong animal lover, I'm always trying to figure out the best ways to help our animal friends, and it can often be a messy process to find a solution that is respectful to animals while preserving species for further generations (if this interests you, I'd also recommend Wild Ones as another good read about animal conservation and extinction).

I'll step down off of my soapbox now.

The experience at the Big Cat Rescue was a little bit different. Unlike the zoo, their main mission is to rescue exotic big cats from bad situations and offer them a forever home. They don't breed their animals because they don't want to introduce more animals into a life of captivity. 

We wove in-between many large enclosures on the two-hour tour, viewing tigers, lions, cougars, caracals, servals, and even a glimpse of a few domestic kitties -- they are kept on hand so interns and staff can get some cat time, as none of these cats are "handled" to keep them as wild as possible. The stories were completely heartbreaking -- it amazed us to learn how many people still buy large cats to keep in their homes as pets. We also learned about some of the sketchy breeding and animal husbandry practices still used today, such as inbreeding tigers to get the (genetic mutation of a) white tiger. It was impossible not to be moved by the tour. I cried when we got to the car.

But there were ways to give back too. Both of us adopted one of the sanctuary cats -- I chose Canyon, a sand cat. If you want to have a major "Awwwww" moment, you can watch a short video of him here.  If you are looking for one more place to put your dollars at the end of the year, you can donate, sponsor cats, or shop for products that benefit the sanctuary here. Better yet, take the time to tour the sanctuary the next time you're in Florida. You'll never forget it.

Getting inspired on our tour.

Sand cats are the smallest wild cats at Big Cat Rescue. 

We had to hit the road south for a long drive to the Keys. Even though I knew Florida was big, I don't think I really realized how big Florida was, or how boring it would be to drive hour after hour through scrubby landscape and miles with nothing but the occasional truck stop. We did find a few stops on the drive from Tampa to the Keys so we stopped for a few photo ops. 

We loved seeing all of the pelicans! 

He put a ring on it.
Oh wait -- I put a ring on it.
At Fort DeSoto.

Florida humidity = wild hair

The Keys

We ended up arriving in the Keys later than expected -- it had been awhile since we had spent an entire day in the car, so we had to stop to take many stretch breaks. I can't recommend the Cheeca Lodge and Spa enough -- not only did our room come with a large soaking tub on the balcony and the world's largest shower, it had a beautiful waterfront location, a long dock to walk back and forth along, and nothing but peace and quiet without a child in sight. It almost felt like a bit of the Aloha spirit, though without the warmth of the Aloha spirit -- or the leis. 

I've never been anywhere like the Keys. It's such an odd feeling to drive along a road with the water in view on either side. It was such a juxtaposition of dive bars, tourist photo ops, locals fishing on the side of the road, and a parade of rental cars on the Seven-Mile Bridge.

I think we're being watched...

The real highlight of the keys for us was the Dolphin Research Center and our afternoon swim there.  After we checked in, we walked around and looked at all of the dolphins in their pools. As the name suggests, DRC is focused on research 

We were going to get into one of the pools with three dolphins -- Merina, her one-year-old calf, Windley, and Tursi. The two adult females were incredibly chatty -- the trainer told us that if we weren't applauding them enough, they'd start whistling and chirping and applauding for themselves (Entirely true -- our ears hurt after our session. If you want the full Tursi experience, here's a short video that sums it up. She's the only dolphin at the DRC who vocalizes when she jumps out of the water). With lifejackets on, we braved the water and stood on a semi-submerged platform and swam with, kissed, hugged, touched, and interacted with the dolphins. 

There are many places now that allow you to interact or swim with dolphins, but what excited me about DRC was their methods of research and interaction. Everything is voluntary on the part of the dolphins. When we had first arrived, there were two male dolphins who were uninterested in working on behaviors with a trainer, so she simply walked off and let them have their space. They also continue to work with dolphins to test the limits of what they can understand, both in their constructs and our own. 

I could go and on about it. We're animal people. I've just accepted it. 

The other big part of our trip was a visit to Key West -- what an interesting place. We both had the fortune of getting sick that day and it seemed to be fitting considering all of the public urination and vomiting that was generally taking place. Key West seemed to be the perfect example of what can go wrong in a perfectly beautiful place when you make it a jumping-off point for cruises. We did enjoy our tour of the Hemmingway House (the cats didn't hurt). And we made time for the classic photo op in South Key West (below). 

S with his new hat at the Hemmingway House

This sums up Key West -- natural beauty and a glut of tourists (out of frame). 

We were kicking ourselves a little bit, but our time in the Keys was a little short for our liking. But we had another long day ahead of ourselves on the Florida Turnpike for a trek up to Orlando for the final part of our vacation. 

Orlando

If you ask any West Coaster what comes to mind when you say Florida, I can guarantee the answer is “Disneyworld!" Growing up, we West-Coast kids had to be satisfied with the much closer (and much smaller) Disneyland, so this other, larger Disney park seemed too good to be true. Surprisingly it was very cold and wet on our drive from the Keys -- so cold that there were warnings on the radio to cover and protect your citrus plants. 

We chose to stay at the Contemporary Resort because of the direct monorail access and the easy walk to the Magic Kingdom, our first day stop. 

Finally got my pina colada at the Contemporary Resort.

I have to give a lot of props to Disney for all of the updates they have made in the past few years. Their customizable MagicBands meant that wherever you went in the parks, you were able to track your FastPasses, charge anything to your credit card, and unlock your hotel room. The further removed you are from cash, the easier it is to spend, let me promise you. 

Neither of us had a pleasant previous visit to Disneyworld. Rather than avoid it, we were going to claim and erase our bad memories. That meant trying out some of the brand-new rides in Fantasyland, seeing some of the shows (I can't get "the tiki-tiki-tiki-tiki-tiki-room!" out of my head), and taking full advantage of our Photopass. 

S in Liberty Square.

Making my wish. 

Space Mountain! 

Life happens and, as Sergio says, every moment we have has gotten us to where we are, together. That means we have to live it up and appreciate every moment.

This is inevitably the time in any vacation when I start to get tired and long for my memory-foam mattress, my fur blanket with a cat beside me, and the peace and quiet of home. We spent our final two days taking it easy at Epcot and the Animal Kingdom with plenty of stops for food and photos. The weather had improved just enough to make it perfect -- not too warm, not too cold. 

Epcot pano. 

China in the Epcot World Showcase. 

Japan, our favorite country in the Epcot World Showcase. 

It was a good trip, all and all -- just enough of a taste of Florida to feel satisfied, and just enough to make us miss home. Really, the more that we travel, the more we know that we're in the right place. I feel blessed to have Sergio as a partner both home and away and there is no one else I'd rather spend my time with. 

Equipo S! 

Thanks for reliving the memories with us. You can check out additional photos in Sergio's G+ album (he shares with circles only, so add him to see the rest of the beautiful photos from our trip). We're already starting to dream about next year's trips -- including three weeks in Mexico! -- and always welcome your ideas for where we should go next. 

Because wherever we go, there we are :)

xo,
Sarah