Florida Road Trip: Part 2

We left Miami Beach around noon, stopped at a fantastic Cuban restaurant, “Havana Harry’s” in Coral Gables and headed out to the Florida Keys. Our final destination was Key West, the southern most point in the United States.

Beside the requisite photo next to the buoy, everyone who visits Key West flocks to Mallory Square for the sunset. It didn’t disappoint.

The sunset isn’t the only entertainment. There was a man who had trained cats to do a variety of tricks, musicians, and a fire eater.

Little did we know, but Fantasy Fest had just begun in Key West. Costumes, and various states of undress were common as you walked down Duvall Street. The folks in costume were more than happy to pose for you. We’d never experienced anything quite like it, and our understanding is that the closer you got to Halloween, the “better it got.”

Although we drove through Everglades National Park on our way to Tampa, there wasn’t a lot to see from the road. I was glad we stopped at the Visitor’s Center and took the time to take a walk with one of the rangers.

Our last planned stop was a visit with our friends, Carole and Gordon, in Charlotte, NC. They wanted to take us to Asheville, NC to visit the Biltmore Estate.

I knew it was supposed to be spectacular, but I wasn’t prepared for how immense it is. If you are used to European medieval castles, it probably doesn’t look as amazing, but it’s the largest private residence in the United States. Built by George Vanderbilt in the early 1900’s, it was a marvel of engineering and construction. We took the additional butler’s tour, and our guide was right out of Downton Abbey. We got to see the servant’s side of the mansion, as well as the amazing heating, plumbing, and communication devices that were state of the art in the early 1900’s. It was fascinating. 

They were decorating for Christmas while we were there. Some of the rooms had as many as five totally decorated Christmas trees. No photos are allowed in the house, but the beautiful decorations put me in the holiday mood. I’d love to go back in the springtime to see the extensive gardens. All the landscaping was done by Fredrick Law Olmstead, the landscape architect of Central Park and many other public spaces in the United States. 

On our way home, we drove a bit of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Unlike the Adirondacks in September, the Blue Ridge was past it’s autumnal peak, but we enjoyed the slow pace of the parkway before getting on the interstate to head home.

As much as we’ve enjoyed and appreciate all the travel we’ve been able to do this year, we’re grateful to be home for awhile.