Road Trip

The day finally arrives, where class is dismissed and the sweet sense of freedom blankets me like a winter coat, much to the continuous heat of Florida's dismay. My four days of exploration, sleeping in and my own choices has blessed me, at a cost! Hiring a car, is not as cheap as everyone makes it out to be, UNLESS, now take points, you plan in ADVANCE, are over 25 (underage fees) and have a credit card, also, if you become a USAA member there are great benefits. My South African Accent, being, quote, sexy, waived my underage fee, but the lack of insurance policies made my conscious curl and collapse at paying an all insurance fee. Not to mention my lack of planning skills, which at last minute namely, day of, escalates fees by 50-70%. The plan is to drive down to Miami, making a pit stop in Orlando to meet up with a friend of a friend, plans failing, I mapped out my trip that I would bite the bullet and drive as far as Fort Lauderdale for the night. I used my trusty USA book for information on the attractions and sights, jotted down a few addresses to plug into the GPS and was happy with my decision of stopping if I see a road sign, no restrictions. I packed myself a turkey sandwich and a peach, threw my bags into my little red Kia accent and headed for the St John's River ferry in which Tracey's mom kindly couponed me on.

 My first stop is St Augustine, the Castillo De San Marcos, the Spanish Fort, that stood from English attacks during the American Revolution. The fort was made from limestone and sea shells, elements so natural to protect it from the selfishness and evil of humanity - a bitter contrast. The rooms were simple, the layout realistic, you could feel the sense of history radiating off the walls.

 Back onto the I-95 I head South along the coast on route to Daytona, where the Daytona pier would be my next attraction. Stopping at various Marshall's on the way for retail therapy, was definitely a success in handbags and summer dresses. One thing I've noticed about each of the beach locations, even in Texas, are those tacky kitsch beach/surf shops with all the area names plastered across lumo coloured shirts, I guess its what the people want ! Anyway, I arrive at the Daytona pier, slot a couple quarters into the meter and amply walk to the pier, the rumble of thunder and in a matter of minutes, the scorching sunshine turns to rampaging rain!

I snapped a few shots, purchased my magnet for my collection and scuttled back to my car. Meh, I'd seen enough, Ferris wheels and go-cart courses, cars on the beach (one of the perks) girls running around in bikinis and muscle heads in tank tops, pretty much covers the stereotype. Let's floor it to Fort Lauderdale...