Florida

After every trip, I like to think back and have a quick re-cap.  While it all is happening so fast, it's hard to really soak in everything you've been able to do!  If you know me or have been following on my blog for a while, you are probably aware of my 5 places Resolution, which is where I try my best to go to five new places every year.  Usually they are small cities around the Carolinas, but sometimes I venture further out, to places like Miami!  This year, since I finally became a grown up and have a full-time job, it's become harder to find time to take off on new adventures, so I updated my resolution to "Do 10 Things I've Never Done Before".  But I feel like I managed that in one week on this trip, so hopefully I'll be able to knock even more things off my bucket list in 2013!  But to recap my latest trip, here goes my usual lists:

This was the first time that I'd:

-been to Miami
-held a parrot like a baby

-hand fed a stingray

-gambled at a casino

-eaten key lime pie

-tried dolphin

-fed a flamingo

-seen a killer whale

-been to a dolphin show
-ventured to the top of a lighthouse

Day 1:  travel day
Day 2:  beachside brunch at Latitudes, sun day at Halendale Beach, dinner at the Yard house, fancy margaritas in Fort Lauderdale
Day 3:  walk with Stuart, visit the ancient Spanish Monastery, dinner in Coconut Grove at Greene Street, and evening browsing through shops at Bayside
Day 4:  lunch on Hollywood Boulevard at Big Easy, day at Jungle Island, dinner at Bongos and night at the Hard Rock Casino
Day 5:  visit the Miami Lighthouse and the Miami Seaquarium, dinner by the intercoastal and one last walk down the boardwalk
Day 6:  travel day back home

So as a final farewell to my Florida vacation, here's a selection of my favorite Floridagrams!

South Carolina and Georgia

Mango Jalapeno Butter and Mango Coleslaw with Key Lime Tarter Sauce 

Buy One Get One Margaritas

Greene Street and my first slice of key lime pie!

Bongo's: Cuban Cuisine

Street Art and Stingrays 

Set in Stone

          We've always said one day we'd go to the caverns.  And I really couldn't think of a better time.  Just me and my dad got to go on a short father-daughter adventure, which is a cherished, rare occasion.  Of all the caverns in the area (5 or so to choose from) we decided on Luray Caverns since they seemed the most popular and largest around.  The brochure sold us.

          However the pictures couldn't even compare.  It was simply a breathtaking place.  It amazes me that nature just makes places like this underground, with dirt and water.  There were some places still shining with water dripping down the rock, meaning they are still active and growing formations. Though one cubic inch will take 120 years to form.  Walking through these stunning rock formations was experiencing nature doing it's finest work.

         In 1878, three men noticed a rush of cold air coming out of a sinkhole.  Taking a candle Andrew Campbell was the first to enter the caverns.  Walking through this amazing place, Dad and I couldn't help but thinking about 1878.  How unjust a 5 foot radius of candlelight would be to the grand sights. Never being able to see the caverns in their entirety. Continuing on that thought,  how glorifying that first time the electricity ran through the caverns lighting up the entire space must have been. I couldn't even imagine what those first witness must have experienced.  A this natural beauty, untouched, finally being able to be seen in its true form, must have been a humbling moment for anyone and a proud one for mother nature.

          To plan a trip of your own visit Luraycaverns.com

(click on any image to make it larger)

(Dream Lake is only about a foot and a half deep, but since the water runs so slowly, there is an exact reflection of the ceiling.  It is shown in the photo above and the three below)

                            

(Wishing Well where all proceeds go to charity)

(Sunny Side Up-We touched it...shhh!)

(Mud turned to rock)

          My dream job being a wine bottle label designer, I appreciated these bottles.  I really like the illustrative way the caverns are depicted.  They may now show the caverns grandeur but they do show their beauty.