FLASHBACK #52: Floridian Adventure (Part 1)

Introduction

Imagine you've just spent a long cold winter in Finland (my third, actually) with temperatures of around -20ºC. You're exploring your options for a break in the Spring. Clearly, somewhere warm is preferable, but not in Europe and preferably not the Canary Islands, undoubtedly the only warm place in Europe in April. What's wrong with the Canary Islands? Nothing except a) I have been there more than ten times and b) it's not as cheap an option as it used to be.

To date, Bree and I have visited Europe, travelling through fourteen countries in fourteen days, a weekend in London (to him, something I knew about), a Christmas weekend in Rovaniemi (for him to show me where Santa lived) and a New Year's break in Amsterdam. But this trip would be different…it had to be; the winter had gotten to us this year and, quite frankly, I was starting to get sick of the non-stop endless bitterly cold winds with nothing but alcohol to restore my warmth on those weekend nights out.

We considered Italy, but it would be busy there. We considered the Canary Islands, but the prices were too high from Finland. We thought about Greece, but the temperatures were an unusual 4ºC in February and, quite frankly, if that was the option I would rather stay at home. Then our thoughts turned further…. we thought of the States and where other than Florida – The Sunshine State - could we be guaranteed good weather with lots to do? So, we booked up!

Day 1 – April 8th – On Our Way

First, we had to travel from Helsinki to London Heathrow to catch our connection flight to Miami. On-board a British Airways Airbus A310 aircraft, we read the morning papers and ate a breakfast served to us by a very friendly hostess in her late 30's.

At one point, I made conversation with the same hostess while waiting for the toilet at the back of the place. I explained that we were on our way to London to catch a flight to Miami and weren't looking forward to the long flight. When I came from the toilet, she had prepared a plastic bag full of goodies, a 'long-haul survival pack' she called it. It contained a litre bottle of water, four mini-bottles of bacardi, four mini-bottles of whisky, countless cans of coca-cola and plastic cups. I thanked her again and again, genuinely grateful for this thoughtfulness so early in the morning! Well, the advertising of the 80's was: British Airways, The Worlds Favourite Airline! And at this particular moment, it was my favourite airline.

When we arrived at Heathrow Terminal 1, I landed with a mission. I wanted to send a very special package to my family to let them know that I was thinking of them at Easter, even though I had chosen to spend it on the other side of the world. In Finland, they sell these very charming eggs at Easter time, their equivalent to the Cadbury's Creme Egg, containing solid, rich praline chocolate. Known as Fazer Mignon (Fazer being the manufacturer), rich chocolate is melted and real egg shells are then filled with the chocolate to create a very novel, unique way of enjoying chocolate at Easter time. Fazer has been creating these since 1896 and the eggs were a favourite choice of the Russian Royal family. Anyway, that's enough about the package. On with the story!

So, we had landed at Terminal 1… I needed to get to Terminal 2 to post the package so we agreed to split up and meet later. I walked to Terminal 2 air-side, then vacated Departures so as to get to the Post Office.

To cut a long story short, after a lot of faffing about and being fed inaccurate information, they wouldn't let me back in through Terminal 2 because my flight was departing from Terminal 3. When I got to Terminal 3, my flight ticket was deemed void so I had to queue up at the American Airlines desk and get my ticket renewed for some reason. By this time, there was no time to queue through the huge long queue for international departures so, starting to panic, I requested to be expressed through the airport.

I had a public announcement put out for Bree because I had told him to meet me back at Terminal 1 since I thought I would be able to get back to Terminal 1 via Terminal 2, but you can imagine the frustration. Anyway, the woman escorted me towards the Gates, but I begged her to let me stop and grab a duty-free bottle of Bacardi; I had come from Finland with some pounds sterling and was deflated by the thought of not being able to spend any after hanging onto it for so long since my last visit to the UK at Christmas. She explained that it was her job, under the current circumstances, to ensure that I got on the flight, but would gladly escort me to the duty-free shop then straight onto the plane. A bit dictatorial, I thought, but she didn't want me to miss my flight and I respected her for that.

Anyway, we got the Bacardi then I met Bree at the Gate. I was sweating…. I had been in three terminals, argued with countless staff, even had to beg to buy some duty free and all because I wanted to send some eggs to my family to let them know I was thinking of them at Easter. I just hoped they were bloody grateful for them! It was worth the effort in the end, because they loved them!

After a very thorough security process involving the hand searching of passengers' hand luggages and the removal of passenger footware, we boarded the huge American Airlines Boeing 777-200 aircraft, capable of seating 245 passengers while cruising at 555mph.

When we found our seats, it was a relief to find our lives for the next 8 hours would be spacious and the entertainment more than adequate with seat-back displays offering a choice of channels ranging from movies to comedies to documentaries; there was even a music jukebox to while away the time with. I lulled in and out of sleep. The food was surprisingly good, but it was shocking to be charged €6 / £4 for two small bottles of wine since I had become accustomed to travelling with Finnair and British Airways (who only offer scheduled services – and therefore free alcohol! - between the UK and Finland) for the last two years!

We landed late in the afternoon and the temperature registered at 31ºC. What a contrast; Helsink had been -3ºC when we had left! Clearing immigration was a slow process and collecting our car – a brand new silver coloured Jeep Cherokee - was a bit of an ordeal too, but it wasn't long before we were travelling over the Julia Tuttle Causeway over Biscayne Bay, granting us our first view of Miami Beach.

We arrived at our hotel, the Richmond Hotel on Collins Avenue, before 6pm. Parking was near impossible so we opted for Valet parking at a rate of $18/day. A bit extravagant perhaps, but it left us free to dump our bags in our room and go for a walk along South Beach.

After a long, cold winter in Finland, I couldn't believe it: WE WERE ON SOUTH BEACH AND I WAS WEARING SHORTS AND SANDALS! It was windy and a bit grey, but who cared?!

We headed back to the hotel and I had a lovely steamy hot shower that I truly needed! I enjoyed one of the Bacardi's that had been so thoughtfully offered to us by the lovely hostess on the BA flight. While Bree showered, I consulted my Lonely Planet Guide to Florida.

I found information about Jerry's Famous Deli, a diner-like establishment in an art-deco building on Collins Avenue. Enticed, we headed there and I washed downed a ½lb burger, onion rings and a plate of fries smothered in ketchup, with Coca-Cola! How American!
Jetlag was looming and Bree could feel it too. It was now 10pm and we had been awake for over 23 hours! It was off to bed for me! I woke up at 1am, then again at 7am, the jetlag playing with my mind.

Day 2 – April 9th – Miami - 79ºF Humid/Hazy

After waking up at 7am, my body wouldn't let me sleep again. I looked at the window, smiling… I could see the sunshine struggling to infiltrate the room through the thin curtains. Within minutes, Bree had woken and we agreed to head out into the sun, fearing that it would run away like it tends to do in Helsinki.

After a quick wash, I threw on a vest, some shorts, sandals and sunglasses, determined to blend in with the locals down the beach. We walked along the beach and found ourselves on Ocean Drive, a sea-facing road where people cruised around in sports cars, fit people roller-bladed, played volleyball and where art-deco buildings stood at their most impressive. We saw a place where people were reading newspapers while they ate and decided to breakfast there.

A friendly waiter came by, handing us menus and greeting us in the annoying lazy-speaking kind of way that only American's excel at; many times, we had to ask him to repeat what he said. I am often amazed how the English language has taken on so many forms, dialects and accents. You don't need to leave the UK to witness this; just visit Scotland or even Manchester.

I opted for a healthy breakfast of Fruit Salad and Yoghurt with freshly squeezed orange juice; after the long flight, I was feeling a bit bloated and was determined not to put on another 7 kilos like I did during my last holiday! The food was of high quality and worth every cent.

After breakfast, we headed back to the hotel, grabbed our swimming stuff and headed down to the pool. I continued to read my Lonely Planet guide, keeping myself informed on the things we could do during our stay… We occasionally chatted, listened to music and just enjoyed the sun, so overwhelmingly grateful that the sun hadn't chosen to be a bitch and pay a visit to Helsinki on this particular day!

About 3pm, it started to cloud over so we requested the car from reception and drove to the Holocaust Memorial, the 2nd most popular visitor attraction in Miami from a list of the Top 7 according to Lonely Planet. Having visited the Jewish Museum in Berlin and the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, this was a fitting tribute.

After the Holocaust Memorial, we visited the tourist office just across the road in search of some more up-to-date and local information. We got back into the car and headed towards South Pointe park, the southernmost tip of South Beach. The traffic was getting busier now and it occured to me that it was rush hour on Good Friday so we dumped the car and took our time as we walked around the park.

Huge cruise liners sat in Miami Port across the causeway and the park contained a number of sky-scraper-like structures housing what looked like individual apartments; we wondered what it must cost to live here and what the views must be like. Further along, there was a boardwalk which took you all the way along South Pointe Park towards South Beach. Our hotel – which we couldn't see – was somewhere up there.

I felt raindrops on my head and knew that, in this part of the world, when it rains, it doesn't just rain, it pisses down! I suggested we head back to the car. We drove down Ocean Drive and, hitting 6pm, was surprised how lively the area was on this Thursday night after work; bars were filling up and Samba music was pouring out onto the streets.

I looked to the right where the beach was and noticed a sign that pointed out that this was where we should come if we ever required evacuation as a result from an incoming hurricane. Hmmmm! Try not to worry, I thought to myself. Still, it's not the kind of sign you see everyday and I thought it worthy to take a photo of it!

We passed a bar that was playing the kind of addictive Latin music that gets your hips gyrating in your seat! Now and then, a car would overtake playing it's own music so loudly that it would drown out that emenating from the bars!

It made you question how much attitude can co-exist in one place, but when you think about it, this is the playground of the rich and famous and so-called body beautifuls and all the materialism and superficiality that comes with it. And since we had entered their territory, I suppose we had to accept that.

We drove to the end of Ocean Drive and were back on Collin's Avenue. We dumped the car at the hotel, had a drink in the hotel room and then headed back to Ocean Drive - on foot – with the intention of having dinner.

We sat down at an outdoor restaurant and I ordered a Strawberry Margerita and a large Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad. Yummy! Feeling the humidity and the dinner in my tummy, we embarked on a walk towards Lincoln Road, the pedestrian-only part of town which was heaving. Before we got there, we witnessed a small police-escorted parade promoting Haitian culture.

On Lincoln Road, people filled the streets; families, couples and friends filled food courts dined, enjoying their time. There were street entertainers amusing the youngsters. Later that evening, we went to a bar and got ourselves a couple of drinks… we noticed how different the music was here in the States, much more drum-like, not the digitally-created sounds that run rife around Europe. Here, your ear-drums are bombarded with bass-splitting booms!

We left the bar at 1am. I have to admit I remember feeling really tired on this particular night, but nothing could stop me going into a huge supermarket – still open at this hour – for an ice cream! Well, I AM on holiday, I told myself. In the queue ahead of us, I noticed that people were buying hairdryers, toothpaste, even deodorant! Who buys a hairdryer at 1am in the morning?, I thought to myself. Downright weird, really! We walked back to the hotel, downing our ice creams on the way. And straight into bed!

Day 3 – April 10th – Miami - 79ºF - Humid/Hazy

I woke up at 9am and, eventually, we ended up on the Hotel veranda for breakfast al fresco! At $9 per person (plus the sales tax, don't forget!), on offer was a buffet of bagels, cereals, fresh fruit salad, muffins etc. Mmmm! After a filling breakfast, a walk on the beach was in order. By the time we got back to the hotel at 11am, the sun was out and in full force!

Out came the Hawaiian Tropic Sun Tan Oil and the next few hours were devoted to enjoying the heat and the pool, complete with an outdoor jacuzzi. Quite conveniently, our hotel had a rear security gate allowing direct access to South Beach. About 2pm, I went to the packed beach for a quick dip in the clear sea.

By 3pm, I was done! I took a break, showered and relaxed before heading out at 5pm for a stroll down Lincoln Road. We ate at an outdoor eatery and made the predictable order of a double patty burger with fries and a mangorita for refreshment! It was sooo filling that even I wasn't able to stomach the last of the fries!

It was twilight by this time and, at 8pm, I felt surprisingly tired. So much so that I went back to the hotel and slept until 7am! So much for the plan to hit the bars! Perhaps the jetlag had finally caught up with me? Or perhaps the sun had deceivingly knackerred me out? Or had I overdosed on carbs?

Day 4 – April 11th – (Easter Sunday) Miami → Ft. Lauderdale → Cocoa Beach85ºF – Humid turning Unsettled and Stormy

It's interesting to witness America's – or at least Florida's – obsession with health and nutrition. Everywhere you look, there are references to how healthy certain products are. If products were that healthy, would there be that many fat people? Almost a contradiction, isn't it? As I am studying Marketing at the moment, it was interesting – and sometimes hilarious – to see how Americans market their products, sometimes in the most unethical ways.

Take a look at the picture below, an advert that I noticed on top of a taxi. Now, remember the last time you drank a beer? Were you worried about the number of carbs – carbohydrates – you were consuming? Most likely not. American advertising – at least the examples I noticed – always target things that people know least about. People know nothing about carbs, but they trust the Miller Lite brand so they trust the 'message' that the Miller drink is healthy since it claims to be less filling than Bud Light. Shocking, isn't it?

Anyway, today was Easter Sunday, the day we would leave Miami and kick off our tour of Florida. The apartment was in a mess so we packed before heading down to the veranda for Sunday brunch. Greedily, I washed down bagels with ham, sausages, bacon, cereal and muffins, with tea. Well, it will give me energy to get through the day! Don't judge me!

Before we left the hotel, we took one last walk on the beach, this time heading north. After about half an hour, we decided that it all looked the same so we came off the beach – where early morning joggers dotted the coastline – and onto the boardwalk. Nearby, we could hear a gospel choir and after focusing our vision, could see that we were walking towards them on our way back to the hotel. What uplifting music on this Easter Sunday morning, I thought to myself. As we walked away, the hearty sound of the gospel receded into the distance.

We checked out of the hotel at 10.30am and – by car – took in Ocean Drive one last time. We purposefully stopped at Casa Casuarina, the home of the late Gianni Versace, the famous international fashion designer. In 1997, as Versace was unlocking the gates, he was shot and killed; his murderer has never been bought to justice.

We reached the end of Ocean Drive, then hooked up to Collins Avenue, also known as Route A1A. We passed North Beach and SurfSide, which gave way to Ocean Boulevard. Gradually, as we drove further and further away from South Beach, the landscape changed; tourism gave way to mordern high-rise residences, an Archers Fish & Chip Shop and The Kings Head British Pub!

Within an hour after leaving Miami, we had arrived at Fort Lauderdale. We saw a sign for Fort Lauderdale Beach and decided to check it out. We pulled off the A1A and, with reference to the maps in the Lonely Planet guide, I directed us across a huge bridge on East Las Olas Boulevard. Huge cruiseliners flanked the bridge, docked at the nearby Port Everglades.

A bit further on, we came to a sudden halt, stuck in traffic. Suddenly realising it was Easter Sunday, we considered that it might be mobbed. We did a U-turn, agreeing to head North using Route A1A / Interstate 95 because it was faster. At 1.30pm, we arrived at Palm Beach and headed towards West Palm Beach. Having taken the Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard exit from the I95, we headed towards Royal Park Bridge onto Palm Beach itself, an island reachable via two causeways.

On the Island, we headed down Royal Palm Way towards the beach where the Atlantic ocean awaited us. The first thing that struck me were the neatly planned roads lined with palms and white-washed plantation-like buildings. We drove along South Ocean Boulevard and looked for a space to park the car; there were many restrictions requiring parking permits, but eventually we found a space by the sea-front where parking was allowed for an hour.

The sea was clear and, while the waves were not as calm as Miami Beach, the water was really warm! There was no flinching as I tried to enter the sea today! We left the beach about 3pm and took a quick tour of the island before heading 'back to the states' via the Flagler Memorial Bridge so called in tribute to Henry Flagler, one of Florida's leading pioneers who decided to develop this very area that would become known as West Palm Beach.

With reference to my maps in my Lonely Planet guide, I directed us to Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard and, from there, we left the area the same way we had come. Back on the I-95, we continued to head North and, within minutes, we had entered a storm. The highway was heavy with rain with visibility severely reduced. Ten minutes later, it was sunny again! Just after 7pm, we took exit 180 to Melbourne, 13 miles south of Cocoa Beach; the place was vast, littered with deserted retail estates, movie-plexes etc. This was a sprawling community, one where having a car was a must.

We passed what looked like a huge military base that went on for miles and miles. Eventually, a sign told us that the base was known as Patrick Air Force Base. I kind of expected some kind of military presence since Cape Canaveral wasn't that far away and, of course, you would expect some security to be backing up the nation's Space Operations.

On the road to Cocoa beach, there was a sudden influx of international hotel chains, a 7-11, SubWay, McDonalds, KFC and Burger King all vying for hungry customers. Shortly before our arrival in the area, a streak of lightning lit up the sky, signifying the start of a severe storm that would last most of the night.

We checked out three hotels and settled for the Hampton Inn; $109 for both of us, including breakfast. Not cheap, but the cheapest we could find was $79.95 and that didn't include breakfast nor did it look all that.

We quickly checked into our 7th Floor room with a sea view. It was great! We dumped our bags, but left quite quickly, this time heading for the SubWay and 7-11 for a supply of sandwiches, ice cream and soda! We returned to the hotel room and sat on the balcony, downing our chicken subs with an ice cold Bacardi and Coke! As darkness approached, never-ending lightning lit up the whole sky. About 10pm, the cable TV failed and the rain just came! A storm of the most tropical kind had arrived in the region. There didn't seem anything obvious in terms of nightlife in the area and we didn't even attempt to try and find any. In bed by 11pm!