A Record of a Lifetime of Wanderlust
Fort Lauderdale, Florida Few feelings in travel are as romantic as sailing away from a port to begin a new journey. Passengers on the vessel usually wave at anyone who will wave back, while people on shore and in other vessels will enthusiastically wave in return. As a passenger, it is the moment that it…
Lauderhill, Florida We were driving down Commercial Boulevard to our hotel, and I saw something extraordinary: a Popeyes beside a Popeyes. Popeyes has excellent chicken, but there had to be some mistake, and the two franchises should not be neighbors. This Google Maps link shows what we saw. At first, the two Popeyes beside each…
Miami, Florida Featured in 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, I’ve wanted to go to Villa Vizcaya for years. The house seemed intriguing enough, with wealth and opulence on display in Miami. Credit goes to the former owner, James Deering, a Vice President with International Harvester, who decided to build his mansion in a…
Homestead, Florida Leave it to a fruit stand on the way to the Everglades to combine two of my favorite desserts, key lime pie, and milkshakes, to provide a memorable travel stop. Robert is Here started when Robert Moehling was six years old, sitting on the side of the road, selling produce. Robert has grown…
Everglades National Park, Florida I have always been intrigued by the manatee, a gentle, playful mammal that calls Florida home. These creatures live in the natural waters throughout the state and overwinter in areas with natural springs and waters that stay warm throughout the winter. Florida is the furthest north where Manatees will spend the…
Everglades National Park, Florida Which of the following seems out of place in the Everglades? A. Alligators, B. Birds, C. Crocodiles, or D. Missiles. If you selected missiles, you might be surprised to find a missile battery in the middle of the Everglades. The HM-69 missile site was built to protect South Florida from any…
Homestead, Florida It’s amazing what the foresight of one person can do to preserve a great wilderness. Sir Lancelot Jones was that person for Biscayne National Park. Before our recent trip to Biscayne National Park, we had never been exposed to the wonderful story of the Jones family and how they were able to assist…
Jacksonville, Florida In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, people worldwide became enamored with a Netflix series focused on a crazy Oklahoma guy profiting from breeding and training tigers. Everyone could see the problems with breeding these cats in captivity, but what happens with these animals as they mature? Some big cats can find…
Fernandina Beach, Florida Hard as it may be to believe, Florida was once one of the poorest and least populated states in the United States. The state was perpetually hot, muggy, and home to numerous mosquitoes. Federal troops that served in forts such as Fort Clinch often referred to how miserable it was to serve…
Celebrity Edge, off the coast of Cuba New Year’s Day usually gives people hope, holding a promise of a new year. As I sat on the fourteenth deck gazing across the ocean, I could not help but think about the country that was only just beyond my eyesight, the island nation of Cuba. Cuba is…