Florida 2011

Katie and I decided to go to Florida to spend some time with my parents and to enjoy the beautiful weather - and we were not disappointed on either count! We arrived on Saturday the 12th and were immediately impressed with the warm weather and sunny skies which continued for our entire stay!

During the first part of our trip we stayed at my parents' house in St. Augustine. One of the first things we did was stop at a running store, Jacksonville Running Company, for me to reboot my running career after the debilitating achilles debacle of last Fall. They did a video analysis of my stride and diagnosed me with overpronation and recommended the Asics GT-2160 which so far has worked wonders. I was able to run several times in Florida and roughly three times a week since. No more outlet mall running shoes for me!

Other highlights of the trip include bowling at Latitude 30, watching DVDs from my Dad's extensive collection, checking out the Sensus (my employer) water meter technology in my parents' neighborhood, walking around downtown St. Augustine, and visiting the Alligator Farm. The Alligator Farm was outstanding and is much more than just alligators, it is more like a zoo with a focus on alligators and crocodiles. It features every single alligator and crocodile species on the planet, a very impressive rookery, tortoises and other reptiles, birds, and even other animals like tapirs. They even have a zipline which I'd like to try some day. The frenzied alligator feeding was definitely the highlight of our visit!

On Thursday we drove down to Sunrise where we stayed for the south Florida part of our trip. On Friday we went to a Spring Training game in Jupiter where the Marlins played the Astros. I hadn't been to a Spring Training game since 1990 and I was reminded that it really is a great way to watch professional baseball! The game was great, albeit one-sided (the Astros totally dominated). It was an afternoon game and all of us got a little sunburn, in my case despite the fact that I used sunblock. I could definitely tell the difference between the Florida sun and the Idaho sun on this trip! After the game we drove through Palm Beach and stopped at the Flagler Museum, a converted estate. Sadly we couldn't visit because we arrived right as it was closing. However the view from outside was impressive enough!

Saturday we visited the other Miami (not the one in Manitoba). We were hoping to walk around South Beach but the area was totally packed and congested - it must have been the Spring Break crowds? After struggling to find somewhere to park, we instead we went over the main part of Miami and stopped at the Bayside for lunch and a walk along the waterfront. Bayside is right near the cruise terminal and was clearly a tourist shopping area. Once we checked everything out, we headed down to Key Biscayne to visit Cape Florida State Park. The causeway leading over there is beautiful as was the beach and historic lighthouse in the state park at the south end of Key Biscayne. The beach was super popular and for good reason! From there we headed back to Sunrise and a dinner at Scruby's was our final meal of the vacation.

Despite not wanting to leave, on Sunday the 20th we flew out of Ft. Lauderdale and returned to Boise with its 40 degree temperatures and rain. Boo!

Florida Vacation Pictures!