Miami or Bust (quite literally)

On Tuesday morning we left Georgia and headed down toward Miami.  Stopped in St. Augustine for a few hours that afternoon... it's apparently the oldest continuously occupied European-settled city in the US.  There was this beautiful fort, Castillo de San Marcos, which was built around 1672 after the Brits plundered the previous and pathetic Spanish fort.  It is now the oldest fort in the country.  Here's Anna standing inside the walls right before sunset... notice the stylish new look, courtesy Salon de Tom.

After St. Augustine, we forged onward but ran out of steam in Titusville, right near Cape Canaveral.  I was hoping they'd shoot off a rocket or something really cool, but it didn't happen.  I'd noticed the Jeep wasn't running so well.

Arrived in Miami around 1pm the following day... and let me say that driving in Miami is terrible.  I'd rank Miami drivers right up there with Jersey.  And it didn't help that the Jeep was running very hot - the oil pressure was low, and it varied widely with rpm.  Then we hit the traffic.  So I was a little stressed out from the traffic and from the day-long uneasy feeling that we might explode at any moment.

But we got there, and after a great lunch at a Cuban cafe, we hit South Beach to check out the Art-Deco architecture.  I didn't think Anna would like Miami, but she was in heaven exploring all the buildings.  And seeing the passed out drunk guy with a pet rabbit wearing a Christmas collar.

We spent most of the day in Miami so we figured we'd gotten the feel for the place... and since we didn't feel like getting wasted or doing any E, we took off for Everglades National Park.  Spent the night in Florida City, and the next morning I brought the poor Jeep to Vicar Auto to have it looked at.  Turns out the radiator was clogged, thus causing the extra-hot, low-pressure oil condition.  They were great... they unplugged it, flushed the system, and gave me some fresh 10w-40.

After lunch at a Mexican cafe we headed to the park, stopping along the way at a fruit stand called "Robert is here" (we never found Robert).  For some reason, they had a petting-zoo-ish-like facility out back.  I bought some delicious fresh squeezed orange juice (they're in season!), and Anna of course bought some seeds to feed the macaws, parrots and cockatiels.  She was this guy's new best friend.

I was off feeding some scraps to a couple of unruly goats when I heard some very strange guttural grunting coming from behind a shed to my right.  I figured it was a snoring goat or a lost pug.  It wasn't.  When I turned the corner, this is what I found... even the goat was shocked...

Sorry kids.  As you get older you'll learn that there are some things you just can't un-see.  And that lesson brings us to a good breaking point.  Stay tuned for the Everglades!