Everglades and alligators

Written by Nadine Zangerle on 07 October 2012. Posted in USA

The Everglades are a must in Florida. The Everglades is a unique ecosystem and a subtropical wetland. And wet it is.

Driving through the hot and humid park, ready with strong mosquito repellent we decided to go on a boat trip.

With a funny ranger we drove throught the mangrove channels and where lucky that he didn’t got lost. Well way to hot for the crocs we could see only baby alligators.

Later on the Ahinga track we could catch a glimpse at some bigger alligators. After several layers of mosquito repellant Micha and Dieter got still bitten. Maddening creatures. So better to see the Everglades in winter time when you have the dry season.

Miami Beach

Written by Nadine Zangerle on 06 October 2012. Posted in USA

Arriving at Miami Beach we got overwhelmed with crowds of people. Even the art-deco architecture of the buildings couldn’t convince us.

Following the Ocean Drive we had to flee from the pathway with the restaurants. Each of them fighting for customers and trying to convince us why we should have lunch at their place. So we changed sides.

At the beach it felt like in an ant hill and I just want to mention, it is not even high season. Well, this is definitely nothing for us.

But for watching people, Miami Beach is the place to be. Especially women showed off with barely wearing anything. Net tops without the bikini. If they just forgot to put it on?

Glad to be back at the nice, remote campground, we relaxed in the pool and hot tub before we went to bad. We are definitely spoiled with beautiful, paradise like beaches.

Rocket Launch at Kennedy Space Center

Written by Nadine Zangerle on 04 October 2012. Posted in USA

Finally we made it into the Kennedy Space Center. Like little kids we were getting ready for this crazy experience about out of space. Since they had the 50^th anniversary we paid a special price of $ 55 for an annual pass (free parking, 10 % discount in the shop, 20 % discount on food and beverages). A daily pass is $ 50 and you pay $ 10 for the parking.

Now we are officially members of the Commander’s Club of the Kennedy Space Center for a whole year, yes! And as a giveaway we got a 50^th Anniversary Medal for free. This was made out of material which flew on the Apollo missions. Isn’t that cool?

So, let the show begin. And it began… We started with the NASA tour to experience the journey of the pioneers of space exploration. Especially the story about the Apollo Mission was fascinating.

Not only the old launch pads were on display, suddenly the lunar transportation and an astronaut landed in front of us and via 3D we got the feeling landing on the moon ourselves. It was just amazing.

We had so much fun, so we decided to go for another day. Sometimes you are just lucky to be at the right time at the right spot. So we could witness a launch of the Delta IV Rocket on the 4^th October at 8:10am. The NASA launched the rocket with a GPS system for the military in outer space. This was not only for the eyes but also for the ears.

It was really special. Better than any museum or amusement park we had ever experienced. We can really recommend spending at least two days there. Next year they plan to launch a manned space shuttle, so we might be there!

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