Let the road trip begin...

My dream comes true!
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'The home of the brave, and the land of the free!!' Or as I like to call it, 'the home of drive through banking, and the land of the all you can eat KFC buffet!' These are just two of the things I have fallen in love with so far on our road trip.

After picking up our black Kia Spectra from the not too friendly folks at Hertz Coral Gables, our next stop in Florida was Orlando. On the way we stopped into the Seminole tribe's alligator park in Big Cypress to fulfill one of my life long dreams (along with eating at the all you can eat KFC buffet, still to be fulfilled...) to take an airboat ride through the everglades! It was awesome! I want to get one when I get home (sorry ESSBEE) - it feels like a cross between a jet ski and a hover craft, very cool!

the home of drive through banking, and the land of the all you can eat KFC buffet...

Buffalo wings in the making
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Our airboat captain JR was also pretty cool, as well as a little weird - he kept on saying that he could smell waffles. Anyway he knew that the capital of Australia was Canberra, so bonus points for that. We saw lots of wildlife on the ride around the everglades including turtles, buffalo, wild pigs and gators of course, no sharks to Emma's relief! Also no Native Americans in the park which was a surprise considering that it's supposed to be a Seminole-run organisation!

Once we arrived in Orlando it was time to hit the amusement parks, but which one you ask? Orlando is sort of like the Gold Coast of the USA, or should it be the other way around? Anyway, after much indecision we decided to save Disneyworld for when the kids come along. Before our parents get too excited (or scared) I should add that we're not planning on going to Disneyworld for a while yet! So it was off to Universal Studios instead.

Cap'n JR
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Universal was great fun, Emma had been there before when she was younger but luckily a lot of the rides had been updated since then so it was a new experience for her as well. The stand out rides were probably 'The Revenge of the Mummy', 'Shrek 4-D' (which included getting sprayed with 'donkey snot'!), 'Twister' and of course the 'JAWS' experience which Emma plucked up the courage to brave, very impressive!

One of the things we noticed throughout the day was how all the Americans (WARNING! WARNING! MASSIVE GENERALISATION ABOUT TO FOLLOW!) just couldn't seem to follow instructions. It didn't matter what they were being told, whether it was to move all the way to the front or not to take flash photography, they just couldn't do what they were told. I guess that's what happens when you are in charge of the world! On the up side they are extremely polite and make great fast food!

Everglades
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After managing to get through a full day of rides without lunch, we were starving so we headed to the Hard Rock Café for a bite to eat. As anyone who has been to America knows, the meals here are enormous! Don't get me wrong, I love it, but there is a point where you think… who the hell would be able to eat all this?! Every meal is huge whether it is breakfast, lunch or dinner and don't get me started on desert! Emma and I must have been hungry though as this was the first time on the trip so far that we finished everything on our plates!

Alligator
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So that was Florida, next we head up north along the East Coast to Georgia, first stop Savannah for Emma to fulfill her dream of taking a trip on a paddleboat. Until then, we’ll be seeing ya’ll!