forest camping
forest camping
  • New photos uploaded
    • 01/09/2012
town hallgatormy paperbutterflyswamp
  • Roadtrip: Florida
    • 01/09/2012
Having gone cabin crazy enough and with the forecast clearing, i decided to rent a car and drive around the state for a few days, and come back to the south when sunshine was garuanteed.
So i headed up in the direction of Cape Canaveral, to ultimately check out the Kennedy Space Centre.
However i meandered slowly up there, stopping off at interesting looking things on the way
First up general impressions of rural Florida - lots of trailer parks.
I pulled over at a "scenic drive", a 7 mile gravel track into a national park. Excited by the prospect of seeing alligators, i gunned my little rental car over the bumpy gravel and through ominous sized puddles (it was a Toyota Yaris sized Chevy - actually brand new, 300 miles on the clock - didn't look new afterwards!)
So i saw lots of nice butterflys and wading birds, and then suddenly a dramatic movement right next to the road - a 6 foot plus alligator powerfully swished off the roadside into the lake. I hadn't seen it until it moved and it was scary big. A few hundred metres back i'd been out of the car taking photos of butterflys. From then on i stayed in the car. Didn't see any more alligators though!
Wildlife count also included a raccoon, manatees and jumping eagle rays

Moving on i arrived in a town that really stood out to me from the map - the city of Stuart!!
Everything here was entertaining for me, all the business signs declaring Stuart's Hospital, Stuart's Lawyers, Stuart's Coffee House etc, i felt like a king! All this, named in my honour!
I was tempted to stay, but i wanted to wake up close to the Kennedy Space Centre and get a full day there, so i continued north.

I've rented cars and slept in them everywhere i've been in the states, and it's always been fun - but here it was not.
I had not reckoned on the humid, oppressive heat down here in the south. The car became a sweat box, and outside were hordes of mosquitos and bitey things, so leaving open windows not a good option either.
So very glad to be back in a bed tonight after three uncomfortable, fitful nights.


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