Happy People Everywhere
What a week it was for Debbie and I. Quite honestly, our adventure actually began many years ago. Last week, we made the adventure
a reality.
Probably like you, Debbie and I have a “bucket list.” We crossed off two of those bucket list items last week. One was driving the entire length of the Florida Keys. The second was driving West across the Florida Everglades over to the Gulf of Mexico and then into Tampa.
Our trip began as we flew into Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We found the rental car and drove South to Homestead, Florida. After a long and busy day, we checked onto our hotel and quickly went off to la la land. It didn’t take long for things to change though. There we were sound asleep when all of a sudden I hear what appears to be a smoke alarm. Well, being a former firefighter, instantly I was out of bed, pulling the clothes on and getting ready to evacuate the hotel. I check the hallway. Totally quiet. I call the front desk. No problems in the hotel. I head back to the room and crawl back in bed thinking, was it all a dream? All of a sudden I hear the noise again. As I am walking toward the hotel door, I pass the bathroom door. Unbelievably, the noise appears to be emanating from the toilet area of the bathroom. Somehow our toilet, the only toilet in 300+ rooms would occasionally send out this high-pitched noise that sounded like a smoke detector. No kidding. Oh yes, and as luck would have it, the hotel was packed so changing rooms was out of the question. Somehow, we got through the night. In a very pleasant surprise the next morning, the hotel was so kind to comp our room. We packed up the rental car and hit U.S. 1 South to the paradise called Key West.
Quite surprisingly, the 111 mile trip from Key Largo to Key West was over before I knew it. I am sure someone will ask, what will I remember about our journey to the Keys? My answer will be happy people everywhere. Incredibly, no one seemed to be in a rush and everyone was in a good mood.
You may be wondering and the answer is yes. Key West was packed with tourists. With Winter here, who doesn’t want 80 and sunshine? Everyone and I mean everyone was extremely polite. Personally, the only thing that took my breath away was the price of a couple of hotel rooms. But the voice of reason sitting in the passenger seat, my Bride Debbie saying, just pay it. We are on vacation after all. Let me also confess that we took a big chance going to Key West and not making hotel reservations in advance. As luck would have it, we survived. I honestly thought we might have to spend the night in the car.
Just like the drive to Key West, the adventure across the Florida Everglades ended quickly. Before I knew it, we were being passed by
the Maseratis, Jaguars, Teslas and Lambos of Naples, Florida. Sunday we capped off our vacay by visiting Busch Gardens in Tampa. We were not the only ones with the same idea. The park was very busy. The highlight of the day was seeing Debbie feeding Cupid the giraffe during the Busch Gardens safari adventure. Debbie has a special way with God’s animal creatures. Sadly on Monday we flew back to reality.
I will cherish the memories forever. Happy people everywhere. A big Thank You to the Sunshine State.
