February 25-26 Highlands Hammock SP to Delray Beach
The day after the shuttle launch, we spent the morning enjoying Highlands Hammock State Park in Sebring, Florida. Unfortunately, our calm primitive campsite was invaded by some guys ready for a party weekend. They drank and talked until the wee hours of the night and kept Fabien from getting his needed beauty sleep. Friday morning, we decided to pack up camp and reserve a 3rd night in the luxurious Motel 6. But we did spend the morning in the park following the well-groomed nature trails. We saw a couple of armadillos, a snake and (unfortunately) just missed a mama black bear with her cub. I never knew that we had bears in Florida, but acording to a very excited older man from Quebec, we do. We also visited a museum about the Civilian Conservation Corps, an organization created by Franklin Roosevelt to put men back to work during the Great Depression. It’s thanks to this program that many of our national and state parks have the fantastic facilities that we still enjoy today.
From Sebring, we took the long, rural road that takes us past the Okeechobee River before joining Highway 95. Friday night traffic was crazy, and we finally got to Pompano Beach, where our hotel was around 8. It probably wasn’t a good idea to arrive after dark because the hotel had a seedy feeling and made us feel a little uneasy at first about the safety of our car and our belongings. Fabien was bothered by tthe sign on the door that told us to use the deadbolt for our own safety- I tried to comfort him by telling him that they put that notice in all hotels in the States. Luckily, it was much friendlier in the daylight.
After a good night’s sleep (thanks to a real bed and some newly purchased ear plugs), we awoke on Saturday morning, ready and refreshed for a day at the Delray Beach Tennis Tournament. We had tickets (my birthday present to Fabien) for all of the semi-finals matches. It was a beautiful, hot , sunny day in South Florida and we got to see some great tennis. The highlight of the day was seeing Del Potro from Argentina play Mardy Fish from the States. DelPotro won, but Fish put a up a good fight.
During the break between the afternoon and evening matches, Fabien and I visited Delray Beach. We walked along the Intercoastal waterway with a pretty, landscaped riverwalk and then went down and hung out at the beach for a while. The Art Deco district and main street were pretty cool, definitely a place for artists, the rich and retired, though.
Tags: BIG TRIP 2011, Florida, In English 2005-2006
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