Behind the Magic

Waking up with the sun, we arrived early back in Orlando.  Having already seen many sides of the city, oddly enough we had yet to see the one side that put the city on the map; Walt Disney World! But in order to properly enjoy Disney World and all the associated parks, you need at least a week, but in our case one jam packed day would have to do. Katie's friends Brenna and Rob both happen to be employed by this fine organization, and offered to get us in for free the next day bright and early as well as share with us some of their behind the scenes knowledge while serving as our pseudo tour guides.  Therefore we spent the rest of the day hanging out at their place and discussing our plan of action for the following day in order to get the most we could out of our free day at the parks.  At dinner time, Brenna and Rob took us to their favorite local barbecue joint, Yellow Dog Eats.  After adding our names to the graffiti filled tables and walls, and enjoying some spectacular food, we went back to the house to get a full nights sleep for our magical day tomorrow.   We all got up early and heading to the park first thing in the morning.  Brenna had the day off and was going to show us around all day while Rob had to work until the evening.  First stop of the day was

destined to be at the Animal Kingdom for a couple reasons.  Mainly, it was the only park that both Katie and I had never been to, but also it was where Brenna worked, so she could get us up close parking and give us some behind the scenes info on the park.  As we entered the Animal Kingdom, we were greeted by the Tree of Life, which ironically enough isn't a tree at all, but rather a 14-story tall, 50 ft wide hunk of metal, with all sorts of animal sculptures making its enormous trunk.  It is an amazing piece of art and the centerpiece of the park so that as you walk around, you get to

see all the different sides and intricate details of the animals.  Once we finished gawking at the tree, we headed to the back of the park for the Kilimanjaro Safari.  During her working days, Brenna leads a VIP tour through this attraction that allows visitors which basically lifts the vail on all the imagineers work.  She points out which trees are fake and what they are made of, trouble they have had with the animals and all sorts of fun facts. Though she wasn't able to give us our own private tour, we happily listened to the abridged version as we rode along with the rest of the paying customers.  The safari was awesome, and we got to see lots of animals in what appeared to be there natural habitat.  Still, this is no comparison for the real thing, and I am not willing to check "African Safari" off my bucket list.  Next we headed over to Asia to ride the Expedition Everest ride.  Though we couldn't get on right away and actually left the Animal Kingdom and came back before we rode it, this was hands down the best Disney thrill ride I have ever been on.  Which made it all more disheartening to hear from Rob that the ride is currently only a shadow of what it had been.  Apparently, the Yeti at the end of the ride, which now is barely visible, illuminated by a strobe light, and stationary, once used to jump

out at the moving car and swing a giant club above the riders heads as the plunged down a hill.  Rob told us the whole history of how the Yeti slowly broke down over time and instead of repairing it, the imagineers just chose to cheaply cover up the mistakes and now the Yeti is stuffed in a corner and only partially visible... regardless, it was the best ride of the day.  After Animal Kingdom, we headed for the MagicKingdom and spent the rest of our day basking in memories of our childhoods.  We visited all of the old time

favorites, Space and Slash Mountains, It's a Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Peter Pan's adventure.  I was sad to see that Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was gone and unfortunately the Haunted Mansion was closed that day, so we couldn't ride that one either.  We spent the day waiting in lines and going on rides.  Once night came we inadvertently got cut off and watched the Light Parade go by before making it in front of Cinderella's Castle to watch the nightly fireworks then we headed back to the house for the evening.  We got the

most we could out of the day, never stopping longer than to get our bearings and head to the next attraction.  We saw more than we could ask for, all for free, and with our own private tour guides.  After our busy day, it didn't take us long to pass out as soon as our heads hit the pillows, thankful for a bed to sleep in for the night.

Back in the Bay

Back in Orlando, while trying to figure out what our next few days were going to pan out to be, Katie got in touch with one of her friends who now lived there.  As it turned out she was busy for a few days which gave us some time to waste, hence the trip back to the east side of the state even though we knew we would be shortly heading back to Orlando.  When we

woke up that Tuesday morning, we had no idea what was in store for us, only that by the end of the day we had to had back toward Orlando.  The main reason for coming back to the East coast was to visit Fort De Soto Park at the mouth of the Tampa Bay.  My cousin Angela had recommended this place to us back in Michigan over Christmas and we were all too eager for an excuse to visit another beach, especially one that came so highly recommended and was previously voted best beach in America.  We reached the beach around 9 a.m. and found it to

be a virtually unspoiled oasis of natural beach. Before exploring the natural wonders of the park, we decided to stop off for a history lesson at the parks namesake, Fort De Soto, located on the southwestern tip of the peninsula.  To Katie's happiness, the fort was currently closed for restoration, so instead we headed to a nearby fishing pier where we watched fisherman of all ages and species go to work.  From elderly snowbirds and downtrodden Mexicans to energetic children and wild dolphins, everyone on the pier, and in the water for that matter, was cleaning up on fish of all kinds as we walked up and down.  All of the action and excitement made it hard to leave the pier, but eventually we moved on to find greener pastures and took the road north to the end of the key.  To get to the beach we had to walk

through a small line of trees that perfectly hid the water and sand making a grand entrance as the beauty of the natural scene unfolded.  Unlike most Florida beaches we had been to, this one was mostly deserted since the north end of the key was still mostly in its natural state leaving little room for spreading out your towel and sunbathing.  The more populous beaches were further to the south, leaving the untamed north alone for those who desired to experience it.  We did, and were not disappointed.  Along the sea-soaked beaches we found

everything from sharks teeth and sea shells to sand dollars and live conchs.  We even saw 2 different water snakes along an inland stream, one as we entered the beach and one as we exited.  After walking a couple miles along the beach, we hopped back into CJ in search of some nourishment.  After a lunch of peanut butter and granola, we headed back north along the eastern coast of Florida in search of Katie's Grandmothers old house in the small town of Treasure

Island.  Katie had not visited this house in over a decade, yet all of her memories of Florida stem from here and as we approached she recounted them with relish until we stood in front of the house.  Since she had no desire to knock on a stranger's door and ask to snoop around their property in search of memories, Katie contented herself with an outside view and we headed on.  We continued northward in search of a land based way to get around Old Tampa Bay, purely for the reason of not wanting to backtrack over the bridge back to the city.  This lead us through some of the most densely populated, small tourist towns we encountered on our whole trip.  The traffic was horrible because the roads were only 2 lanes

and it seemed like everyone from the north had converged on this small seaside town for the winter.  Once we got a little further north, the madness dissipated but did not disappear.  We decided to get off the road for a bit and found the perfect spot in the small downtown area of Dunedin.  By now, it will come as no surprise that it was at the Dunedin Brewery.  We shared some appetizers and some drinks, generally agreeing that if I were to start a brewery one day it would look very similar to this one.  Finding our northern land bridge back to Tampa, we made it back to the city with time to spare and spent a few hours on an outdoor patio at the Tampa Bay Brewing Co.  Satisfied with our night, we drove half way back towards Orlando, staying at our trusty halfway point rest stop once again.

Hunting for Sharks Teeth and Fishing for Gators

Having the previous night equipped with internet in our hotel room, Katie and I looked up the best beaches to hunt for sharks teeth and were prepared to leave early in the morning to see what the ocean had brought in during the night. From what we could find it sounded like Englewood Beach was our best bet.  When we arrived around 10 a.m. the beach was already full of people, though not near capacity, there was plenty of parking as well as room to stake out some prime beach reality.  We spent the better part of 4 hours walking up and down the beach, finding shark teeth with varying success as we tested and tried different methods of finding them.  By 2 p.m. though our bag was full of sharks teeth, our stomachs were nearly empty.  Also we were both feeling the sun, especially me since I didn't put on any sun block in the morning, so we headed back to CJ where we ate a hearty meal of peanut butter and granola as we headed north to try our luck at Venice beach, the self proclaimed Shark Tooth Capital of the World, about 15 miles to the north.  We spent roughly an hour in Venice and only found a handful of teeth.  It was amazing that only 15 miles of shoreline to the south we had such luck while here it was barren.  With the few hours of daylight we had left, we again headed south to Englewood where we searched for more sharks teeth while watching the sun set over the Gulf of Mexico while dolphins swam about 20 yards off shore.  It was a perfect end to a relaxing day.  Katie and I had both developed an affinity for collecting things while on the road...  from rocks, to coasters, beer glasses, and wild flowers, adding sharks teeth to the list seemed a natural progression and we were more than happy, in fact a little obsessed, at the prospect of finding more.  Once the night set in, we headed to Sarasota where we visited the Sarasota Brewing Co, a cozy, hole in the wall bar, filled mostly with locals whose mugs were hanging from the ceiling.  We had a great dinner and then set off to find a rest area to bed down at for the night.

Over the next week or so, we would play a fun game of back and forth between Orlando and the Tampa area, visiting Tampa / Sarasota 3 times and Orlando twice.  Both Katie and I had friends that lived in the Orlando area and because of varying schedules we had time to waste in between our visits and decided to explore the coast.  Anyway, when we woke in the morning on Friday we had no idea where the day would take us, so naturally we went back to Englewood beach to collect more sharks teeth while we thought things over.  We both dropped some calls in to our friends on the way to the beach and spent the morning waiting for some responses.  Finally we heard from Geoff, a friend of mine since high school, around noon and made plans to get together the following day.  After some driving, an evening spent at a Starbuck and the movies, we pulled over at a rest area for the night about 2 hrs outside of Orlando.  In the morning we picked up Geoff from his place and headed straight for the disc golf course.  After about 12 vicious holes of discing and 2o minutes under a pavilion waiting out a sudden downpour, we threw the discs in the van and headed for some food. Geoff took us to, hands down, the best BBQ joint I have ever been to, 4 Rivers Smokehouse.  When we got there, at around 2 p.m. the line was out the door and into the street.  Geoff told us it was like this every day, all the time... we would soon find out why.  I won't go into the details, but it was easily one of the most memorable meals of the whole trip and the first time I discovered the glorious creation known as "burnt ends."  After we stuffed our faces full of this delicious food, we headed back to Geoff's place where we hung out for a bit and worked off our food coma's.  Geoff showed us around downtown Orlando and took us to a couple bars while we waited for his girlfriend Christina to get off work.  At night we headed to a mini golf course in the middle of the giant tourist trap that is Orlando for a rousing game of putt putt.  We bought the 36 hole deal, but only had enough time to play 18 before the place closed for the night.  Though we probably shouldn't have eaten for another 48 hours, Geoff wanted to show off the finer parts of Orlando's cuisine, so we headed to an amazing Mexican restaurant to and finished off the night with some food and margaritas.  On Sunday morning, after Geoff took us out to a fine meal at the local Chick-fil-A where he knew 90% of the staff on a first name basis, we all went to finish up the other 18 holes of mini golf from the night before.  This time, we decided to fish for alligators after finishing up the round.  For only a couple bucks you can rent a stick with a plastic pin on it, which you attach hot dogs to and dangle them in front of baby alligators corralled at the front of the course.  A bit childish, maybe, but fun nonetheless.  Once the gators got the last of our dogs, we parted ways with Geoff and Christina and headed back toward Tampa.

 

 

After a few hours driving we were back on the East coast of Florida.  Daylight was already beginning to fade while our appetites were on the rise.  We again headed to Sarasota, where Geoff had recommended to us a place he had seen on one of those TV food shows - Munchies Cafe.  This being the most intriguing prospect on our plate we decided to make the trip and try out the food.  Though the place is known for their huge "fat sandwiches" in which they pile every type of deep fried food imaginable into a heaping sandwich, Katie and I couldn't even bring ourselves to split one.  We ordered appetizers instead and while we were waiting for our food to be ready, we walked around the small restaurant and noticed a large board of Polaroid photos with people covered in sauce, many crying, and others puking.  Then we noticed the guy from Man vs Food scattered amidst the photos and finally the connection hit.  We looked a little closer at the menu and found out the real reason the restaurant was famous, their Fire In Your Hole Challenge.  Since Katie is adverse to eating any meat off the bone, we generally just skip over the wing section and never even noticed the challenge.  My curiosity peaked, I asked the guy behind the counter if there was a way to order only a few wings just to try the sauce, it was a no go... He said the only way to try it was to take the challenge.  As our food was almost ready and I was nervous to take on such an endeavor, I decided to bow out of the challenge despite Katie's taunting.  After our meal, we spent the night blending in with the suburbanites of Sarasota by spending some time at a Starbucks before going to the movies, then regaining some of our vagabond street-cred, found an unassuming spot to park CJ for the night and crawled in the back to bed. 

Farewell to the Everglades

The woke on Wednesday morning unsure of where the day would take us, though we were sure of the direction... north.  We had a similar feeling when leaving Fairbanks Alaska, having reached the summit of our trip, there was no place for us to go but down.  Now once again we had reached a turning point and the only place for us to head this time was back north.  When we left Alaska, we had the excitement and unexplored territory of the West Coast to look forward to, but leaving Key West had a different feeling.  It felt to us like the end.  With every mile that ticked on CJ's odometer we were one step closer to home; closer to the end of our journey.  Though there were still several weeks of amazing times before us, we couldn't shake the underlying feeling that it was nearing the end.  Nonetheless, we washed these feelings from our minds simultaneously as we washed our faces in Walmart's fine facilities that morning.  We agreed to continue to live in the now and not worry about the future more than a day or two in front of us. With that we began to make our way to Florida's East coast with the intention of searching for shark teeth.  I had done this with my Mom and Russ as a kid and my obsession for collecting being what it is, couldn't pass up the opportunity to do it again.  As we left the outskirts of Miami, we headed one final time through the Everglades where and stopped off at the Shark Valley Visitor Center, officially making it to every stop in the park.  Here we had planned to do a 2 hour Tram Tour through the uplands known as the River of Grass.  This part of the park is known for its abundant wildlife and is the most likely part of the park that you will spot a genuine Florida Panther. Unfortunately, we underestimated the weekend draw of this particular section of the park and the Tram Tour was sold out for the next 2 hours.  We decided that we didn't want to waste 4 hours of our day and also $40 of our money, so we chose to skip the tram ride and decided to go on a 3 mile hike down the bike path, which goes along a portion of the Tram Tour as well.  The trail was of course teeming with alligators, anhinga's, and herons of every color and size, all of which was common place to us by now.  Even an alligator that was blocking our path entirely, sunbathing himself, didn't even inspire us to take a photo at this point.  We merely walked around, continuing our conversation as other guest to the park gawked, stared, and mockingly tempted fate, edging closer and closer to the alligator.  Katie and I got a thrill of our own about 1.5 miles down the trail.  Here there was not nearly as many tourists as there was closer to the visitor center as most were waiting for the next tram to board and didn't want to be left behind and thus didn't journey far.  But away from the crowds, we spotted our first baby alligator!  The first one we saw was more of an adolescent maybe about a foot and a half in length but as we kept getting farther down the trail and strained our eyes toward the opposite river bank, more and more baby alligators became apparent to us.  We literally saw hundreds of baby alligators no more than 6 inches long, all huddled around one another looking as though black tar had been thrown on the green foliage.  There were even a few adventurous ones that had swam out to their very own lily pad, soaking up the sun.  Not surprisingly, nearby we also saw many heron's in the areas, sneaking around looking for an easy lunch.  We agreed with the heron and decided we were due for a meal ourselves.  We headed back to the car and ate our staple of peanut butter and granola bars while we drove through the rest of the everglades.  We drove for hours until we reached the town of Punta Gorda... thats right... Punta Gorda.  By this time the sun had almost set and Katie and I were still worn out from our all day adventure the day before.  The van was hot and the sun was menacing and all I could think about was escaping to a quiet cool hotel room for the night, which is exactly what we did.  We ordered pizza for dinner, the last one we would have for 40 days as Lent was about to begin and Katie and I had both decided to give up cheese, and relaxed the night away contented to be indulging in such luxuries. 

The Air and Water Show!

Today we were signed up for an action packed day of fun in the sun!  The previous day we had signed our lives away, along with all our legal rights to sue, so that we could spend the day out on the water on a 65 ft. sailing catamaran!  This of course was only the tip of the iceberg, but we shall save all the details as the day unfolds.  We had to wake up relatively early because we had to be at the docks by 9:30 a.m. to check in.  By the time we tore down camp, both showered, and found a free parking spot to park the van for the day, we were all set for our day on the water... or so we thought.  Katie, in her ernest, forgot to grab her drivers license from the car, which was a good 15 minute walk away from the dock.  Of course she did not realize this until we were done filling out all of our paperwork and were preparing to board the ship.  Needless to say, she ran back to the car to grab it while I anxiously waited, hoping and praying she could find her way there and back without taking too many detours.  Right as the captain called for everyone to board the boat, Katie strolled up, panting a little, but license in hand.  We boarded the boat and set sail toward the Gulf of Mexico.  We had about an hour ride to our first destination.  During the time the crew served up a decent breakfast consisting mostly of things which normally fill up the lobby at the local Holiday Inn.  After about 45 minutes of soaking up the sun on the boats top deck, the captain began to brief us for our first activity: snorkeling.  We went through the usual motions about how to use your mask and a few emergency signals and before we knew it we were anchored and ready to get into the water.  Katie and I were the first ones to jump in out of the 83 guests on the boat that day and as it turned out we were the last to get back on.  Even before we jumped in, we could see from the side of the boat, schools of yellowtail snapper swimming under and around the boat.  This of course excited us and we could not wait to swim closer to the third largest reef in the world and see what it had to offer.  The reef structure has giant fingers of coral that jut out into the ocean.  In between the fingers the water is about 10 to 20 feet deep while on top of the coral it is only about 1 to 2 feet deep.  Because of this, the basic idea when navigating the coral for both our safety and the coral's is to swim up and down the edges where you can see all the wildlife but still have water underneath you to swim.  Katie and I being the first ones to get into the water had nothing but blue ocean in front of us as we headed for the reef.  The water was so intensely bright blue and the sand so white that until we got closer to the reef it felt and looked like we were floating in an endless blue abyss.  As we approached the coral, shapes started to appear out of the nothingness.  They were blue, almost undetectable except for the sheen that reflected from their silver sides, that and their large, dark eyes.  Katie and I had swam right into a school of barracuda!  Before I knew it, we were surrounded, not that the barracuda were moving, quite the opposite. Their stillness and camouflage had allowed us to swim amongst them without even realizing it.  Our eyes had been strained toward the elusive ocean floor trying to detect some kind of life, but now we had unexpectedly found it, and it was not at all what we were looking for.  Luckily Katie had no idea what kind of fish they were so she was not the least bit worried.  I on the other hand though outwardly keeping calm, suspecting correctly that Katie did not understand the situation, was freaking out in my head.  One of the last things the captain said before we got into the water was that we would see fish that bite, but as long as we didn't bite them, we would be fine.  Though at the time I took this for simple workday humor from our captain who did this everyday, now I did everything I could to keep my swimming from looking like an aggressive attack.  As I mentioned, we were literally surrounded, and narrowly escaped their nets, having to swim within a couple feet of them to get out.  With these predators behind us we could now see the reef ahead.  As we swam closer to the living structure we saw one exotic fish after another, the colors and species too bountiful and extraordinary to recount them all here.  It is not something that the mind can believe through the description of words but must be experienced first hand by the senses.  As we swam about in the paradise the barracuda were always looming on the outskirts of the reef and every once in a while when we would follow some fascinating fish a little too far, we would again see them on the edge of sight.  It was after one such encounter that as Katie and I were retreating from the realm of the barracuda back towards the reef that a 12 ft. shark swam right underneath us! We were both more excited by this newcomer than frightened by it.  It was swimming at a much faster pace than we were and within moments it was beyond our sight.  We popped up to the surface to talk about seeing the shark both extremely excited about the situation. On the top of the water we saw that many of the people snorkeling were merely wading on top of the water, not even looking under it.  The ladies near us who were spending their time away from their husbands gossiping in the water were more than a little flustered to overhear Katie and I talking about the shark we had just seen and quickly began to make their way back to the boat.  We spent the rest of our hour out in the water amid the splendors of the sea, though we did not see anything more exciting than the barracuda and the shark, we were more than content by the time the captain sounded the horn and we were forced to get back on the boat.  After all the excitement in the water and our beautiful morning out at sea, we both felt like we had gotten our money's worth, even though we weren't even halfway through the day.  Next on our mapped out agenda was another hour long boat ride back into the Atlantic Ocean where we would be spending the rest of our day.  Of course, along the way they again broke out the food and drink and served us lunch as we headed back.  The whole time we were in transit the speakers blared out island tunes making us truly appreciate the music the way it was meant to be enjoyed.  After another hour of sailing we pulled into our second, and last stop, a barge anchored out in the middle of the ocean, about 3 miles off shore from Key West.  Tied to the barge were 3 giant inflatable water toys: a trampoline, a rock climbing wall, and a huge ball with a ring around it appropriately called Saturn.  For the next 4 hours we not only got to play in the water with all these fun ocean novelties, but also had free reign of ocean kayak's, jet ski's,  parasailing, and lets not forget, an open bar.  By the luck of the draw, we were forced to explore the water toys first while we waited for the jet ski's and parasailing boats to free up.  We immediately jumped in the crystal clear water and swam toward the trampoline.  It was pretty hard to pull yourself up out of the water onto the trampoline and since the best part of having a trampoline in the middle of the ocean is jumping off, this proved to be a tiring process.  Katie especially was not a fan and soon we moved on to the rock wall, which of course, would prove no better for Katie.  After I climbed to the top a few times and jumped off, we headed back to the barge to wait on our parasailing boat.  One soon came and we hopped in a boat with about 10 people and before we knew it we were strapped in and ready to fly.  I had parasailed once before when my family took a cruise when I was younger, and I knew that it wasn't as scary as your own fears can make it, but Katie, having never done it before, was a little nervous.  I told the driver to be sure to dunk us in the water a few times, then the parachute was loosed and we were flung back off the boat.  We bobbed in and out of the water a few times and then suddenly took to the sky with considerable speed.  While serenely hanging in our lofty position, admiring the tropic paradise below us, I noticed that one of the anklets that Katie had made for me while we still lived in Chicago had broken and was only still on my leg because it was wrapped around a similar anklet.  Appreciating the good luck that is inherent with bracelets falling off of their own accord, I decided to take this opportunity to part with this charm and let if fall into the ocean.  Soon we were drawn in to the boat and our time in the sky was at its end.  Next on the agenda was the jet ski's.  I was more than comfortable on these since I grew up riding one at our cottage in Canada.  Again, it was a first for Katie, who was doubtful that I could be trusted in control of an object that I  could fling her into the water with at any moment.  It took a few minutes for Katie to be comfortable and lean with me into the turns but she got the hang of it quick enough.  Soon I was able to attempt 360's without much success and much to the dismay of Katie who would scream in my ear each time I tried.  Our 20 minutes of jet skiing was over before we knew it and we were back on the boat where the music was blaring loudly and drinks were being served free of charge as we headed slowly back to shore.  As we docked the crew filled our glasses to the brim, not a concern since Key West is yet another delightful city where you can drink on the streets.  After walking back to the car to change into our evening attire, we decided to grab a snack while we waited for our evening trip to begin.  Luckily, right near the dock, there was a restaurant with an amazing open air bar that suited our needs nicely.  While we dined on an appetizer an waited for our Sunset Cruise to commence, I took the opportunity to call some friends up north in Chicago and Detroit to tell them about our amazing day in the splendid sun of Key West while they simultaneously were enduring day 5 of continuous snowfall.  The time understandably flew by and before we knew it, it was time to board our ship again.  The drinks were still flowing like the water around us, dinner appetizers were now set at the table, and a live band had set up shop at the front of the boat.  We sailed for about a half hour as the sun steadily approached the horizon. Once we were far enough away from shore and the other boats, we dropped anchor and sat in the bay until the sun melted into the sea. The band stopped playing and everyone crowded on the bow of the boat to get a better view. The silence set the stage, and in true story book fashion, a sail boat crossed the path of the setting sun just as it hit the water; a perfect ending to a perfect day.  The sun now gone, the darkness of the night began to take over.  The band hit the stage with renewed energy and we dance for what seemed like hours out in the ocean.  Eventually we set sail again and headed into port.  Katie and I bid farewell to the captain and crew that had served us so well and stopped for a proper meal at a Thai restaurant on the way back to the van.  In the wee hours of the night we unceremoniously left key by key behind us as we headed back to the Florida mainland were we again spent the night under the comforting glow of the Homestead Walmart's buzzing sign.