Florida - The Plastic State
December 28 - January 6, 2005/2006 (United States)
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| Another alligator swimming around in the water looking silly. While we saw lots of birds and other strange animals I could not possibly name, the reason why I am only displaying alligators is that they are BIG and easy to take pictures of. | While the Everglades constitutes a gigantic body of water, the ever-growing population of Florida is quickly drinking and wasting all the water in it, so visit while you can. The Kennedy Space Center, however, is likely to be around for much longer. |
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| In the 1960s and 1970s, NASA was busy sending people to the moon. I am not quite sure what has occupied them since then, but I recall them sending a couple of vacuum cleaners to Mars a few years ago. After NASA got bored of the moon, the original control room used in the original moon launch was made into a museum. At least, so I was told. Since I know absolutely nothing about space travel, I am still on the fence regarding the moon & cheese theory. | After some very gentle intellectual stimulation at the Kennedy Center, we visited yet another idiot park: Universal Studios. In contrast to the Disney Epcot Center, which pretentious scam is that it is trying to educate (the target group appears to be retarded goldfish on drugs), the Universal parks treat their customers for what they are: idiots. This is a good thing, as anyone spending $40 to visit an amusement park does not do so to learn. For learning, we have books, which generally are free if stolen from a library. |
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| History in Florida? It seems like a joke, and pretty much is one (at least on any relative scale), but Florida actually has a few things to offer if you go looking. The city of St Augustine is the longest continually occupied European settlement in the continental United States, and made for an interesting trip after several days of brainless Florida amusement. | The city is today very popular for its architecture, and tourism seems to be the only industry for the about 12,000 people living there. While there is not an awful lot to see, we enjoyed visiting the a couple of interesting historical museums. Obviously there are many more interesting cities to visit in Europe, but in Florida this town can truly be considered a pearl in a pile of plastic crap. |
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| While St. Augustine can not compete with Key West in terms of original characters, this aging couple and their dogs made plenty of tourists stop to take pictures. At sunset, St. Augustine takes on a a romantic charm seldom experienced anywhere else in Florida. | Looking back on the Florida trip, we all agreed that we should have done more of the Everglades and less of dumb amusement parks. Overall, we had a great time in Florida, and it certainly is an interesting place to visit once. However, visiting twice would be a waste. For other observations on Florida, make sure to check out my blog entries for the January period. |