Out & about in Florida

Lynn & Mike ..around the world
Mike Drinkrow & Lynn v/d Hoven
Wed 17 Feb 2010 17:01
Bonita Springs, Florida
 

We had a wonderful time skiing in Breckenridge - with no major wipe-outs and no injuries! Mike skied well as usual, and I managed to keep up. It was very interesting living at this very high altitude, with very dry air. You get used to being out of breath, the odd nosebleed and needing an extra 2 or 3 hours sleep.  

 

And then we headed back to Florida.

This is a month of high sporting activity for Florida. First there was the NFL Superbowl (national football championship) in Miami, which was very exciting to watch on TV. The whole game with all the breaks, adverts, rock bands, festivities etc, takes the whole day...the famous...Supebowl Sunday. The game was won by the underdogs - The Saints, from New Orleans. This city has still not recovered from the devastating Hurricane Katrina. The supporters were very emotional about the importance to the community of their team winning. It was easy to get swept up into the feeling, reminding me of South Africa during the Rugby World Cup in 1995.

 

The next big event, which we attended, was the Miami Boat Show - WOW!  It is huge, with lots and lots of amazing boats, things for boats, etc etc. My person favourite was the superyacht on sale for US$ 36 999 000.00.

Mike and I had now left Fort Pierce and were driving around southern Florida, saying in various (sometimes dodgy) hotels.

 

We then drove across Florida on Alligator Alley to the gulf coast of Florida.. This amazing road, virtually dead straight from Ft Lauderdale to Naples, crosses what is in essence swampland There is water everywhere with lots of beautiful birds and quite a few alligators to be seen.  We were heading to our friend Tom, who lives in Bonita Springs.  With Tom we have been spoilt with lots of home cooking and warm hospitality ..and a bit more sport. We watched the Daytona 500 (Nascar racing) - which was also very exciting - how the drivers are not killed, in the spectacular crashes, remains a mystery. This race must be one of the biggest sporting events, with over 150 000 people watching.

 

And then of course ... there is the Winter Olympics on TV .... so now, instead of being sailors, Mike and I are becoming experts on American sports.

 

An update on Indigo - we need to re-do the bottom paint and then the new props should be delivered after the 10th of March. This will allowing us to hopefully leave Florida for the Bahamas by 15 March .. hopefully with Willy & Frauke on board.  We will keep you posted!

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