Avocado Diaries: FLORIDA -Part 3: Miami + Kennedy Space Center

To get from Fort Myers to Miami we had to drive across the entire state and then further north to reach Cape Canaveral where the Kennedy Space Center is located. This trip takes 3 whole days because of the distances though it's worth it, if you're not planning on visiting Florida every year.
My memories of Miami aren't that nice, but I'll explain this in a minute...

After we had parked the two cars in a parking garage we went over to the boardwalk. A road with many hotels and restaurants runs parallel to it and there's a part famous for the building's Art Deco facades.

As you can see there's alot of traffic: besides "average" cars we see a few Ferraris, Mustangs and Oldtimer crusing along the road.

The display next to the visitors center informs us that we've missed the hottest day this year about 4 days ago, but I'm not sorry for that. In my opinion 35,5 degrees Celsius are a little to hot to be the perfect temperature for a sightseeing tour.

There's also a small fitness area along the boardwalk so that you can show off your amazing body even before reaching the beach ;)

The sandy beach is as beautiful as shown in the movies and really broad. Some workers are building up a framework for a pavilion behind us as I take these pictures.

It's quite windy that day though this is not the only reason for the quite uncrowded beach...

...dozens of dead jelly fish lay around and if I am not forsaken it's the poisonous Portoguese man-of-war or bluebottle.

In contrast to this visually appealing areas, there are other not so nice spots like the dingy side streets around our parking garage: I wouldn't dare to walk these streets at night. O.o (<-emoticon)

Unfortunately, my bad impression of the city gets worse as we get back to the cars. One has been broken up at the driver's door to pull the trunk's hand gear to steal our navigation system we tried to hid there.

We must have been observed by the criminal, because our luggage is untouched, but the security guard can't find someone suspicious on the monitoring system which doesn't cover every spot. So we just go to the police station and spend the next 3 hours there to report the crime, so that our car insurance pays the damage.

Then we have to get a new rental from the airport and it's close to midnight as we can look for a accommodation. We are all very tired and check into a really dirty motel along our route. I cleaned our WC and sink with my private cleaning supplies and stayed totally dressed while sleeping in the bed and of course, I didn't use this shower. (Please click on it to zoom in)

My tip: Choose a motel or hotel which belongs to a company like Super 8 or Holiday Inn and view the room before you definitively check-in.

At least we could count on a delicious breakfast at IHOP (the International House of Pancakes) the following morning. Denny's is also recommendable.

The secound day of our trip was mostly spend on the highway though we made a short stop at Fort Lauderdale, another famous beach especially for Spring Break.

We spend the next night at Cape Canaveral's Best Western (hotel) which costs about 30 Euros extra per room but is much cleaner and more comfortable. You have your own coffee machine (please use bottled water, otherwise chlor-flavoured drink) and you can skip through the room's bible before going to bed.

Our visit at the Kennedy Space Center was very interesting: The focus was not on the scientific aspects of space flights like expected. It entertains with many vids on monitors, exhibitioned objects and a special rollercoaster-like ride called the "Shuttle Launch experience". In addition specials like meeting an astronaut can be booked.