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I'm not known for my traveling exploits. I think it's a family trait. To the best of my knowledge I'm the only one in my immediate family with a passport and I'd only ever used it twice before this year, trips to Holland and Belgium, both for work as well. Anyway, off I went to Florida. It was the Tuesday after the October bank-holiday weekend and out first flight was 7 a.m. from Dublin airport. It meant I was up at 4 a.m. The trans-Atlantic was a long flight, having flown to Gatwick first, and I was glad to get off that plane. It was 7 p.m. local time when we got to our hotel. We went for something to eat and by the time we hit the sack that night, we had been up for over 25 hours. We had some work to do for the next few days and that went very well but we also had some time for 'play' as well. We found a nice bar on Ocean Drive that we frequented a couple of time and we got to spent a few hours in the Everglades, take a ride on an airboat, see a few alligators in the wild and then visit the small animal reserve as per the photos below. |
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Yes that is a 'wild cat', a panther to be precise. It's actually tamed and is like a giant pussycat. It plays with a tennis ball around its pen and it likes being petted. So that's Adrian and me in the pen with the 'big ole tabby'. |
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From the same nature park, a three-year old alligator. You may note that it's mouth is taped. It's the law. Apparently 'gators don't like salt and will spit you out after they've bitten a chunk out of you. Comforting.... |
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And the best for last. The bar where we spent many a
happy hour, Mango's on Ocean Drive. The very friendly bar staff liked
to dance when they got a chance and the band liked to play lively
salsa music which gave them plenty of opportunity.
And before you ask, it was all quite respectable. Anyway I'd recommend this spot if you're ever in Miami. |
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So it was with great sadness we had our last beer before boarding our plane. The t-shirt drew a few comments from the Virgin Atlantic staff who all knew the bar very well. |
