Wanderlust

Our last stretch was a few days drive through Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. There was a lot to see on that drive - including a glimpse of southern living - lots of barbeque and confederate flags.

We stopped at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, but weren't really sure what the attraction was. Lots of stores and tourist traps - I think we must've missed something.

This was but one of the many Florida bridges we crossed, very pretty:

Naples was a nice town - pretty beach and a groovy place we stayed - and the beginning of the lizard sightings. They are everywhere now.

The Everglades are amazing - 1.5 million acres and we saw but a very small fraction of it on our way. The signs are funny and unlike other NPS signs I've seen. Our first sighting of a alligator in nature was here. Lots of birds - including vultures and pelicans and cranes, and this tree looks an awful lot like olives to me. We were on the north side of the park, and the visitor's centers weren't what I expected - they lacked from any other. Hopefully on the southeast side it will be better.

Miami is so big. Bays, harbor, beaches, city, ocean, everywhere. We were in the Biscayne Bay and the view was spectacular. South Beach was pretty, as promised. Drove by UM campus, who just announced the move away from the Orange Bowl, which is enciting all kinds of college football controversy down here.

Southern Florida is somewhat similar to Hawaii and California, in that it's pretty and expensive. However, there are stark contrasts I see too, just in the short time we've been here. The majority of beaches on the Keys are private - people live on the beach and their fenceline goes along it. You have to look for, travel to, and pay admission (generally) to a beach that you can actually go on. In fact, on the local channel, there is a segment called "Where's the Beach?", which is a damn good question. There is a lot of construction, which I could've guessed if I had actually thought about it a minute, especially now with all the news articles on the 15 year anniversary of Hurricane Andrew. However, there is a lack of road work signs. On a 45 mph road, a big bobcat will just pop out onto the street. Dangerous driving. The vast majority of people don't signal lane changes, and don't smile either. We were welcomed to the area with a $100 red light ticket on the first day. Made it 2600 miles, *then* get a ticket?!

The job site is near the Homestead-Miami Speedway and the parking area there is huge in itself!

The Turkey Point site has a picturesque entrance.

And this is the view from our rental, where we have a lovely lime tree, dozens of chameleons, amazing lightning views, and a spectacular sunrise: