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We are finally here in Miami, though my bag is still somewhere between JFK and Miami International.
I filled out all the necessary forms and should reiceive the bag tomorrow morning.
But at least now I don't have to worry about what I'm going to wear tomorrow.
First morning going along nicely, it's 9.30am.
I got my suitcase back, it's back there in our 8-seater Toyota Sienna.
First we are going to make a quick stop at Walmart after which we are heading towards Everglades to see -
alligators and other wild animals.
Later we are going to Key West and get a glimpse of the presidential election -
maybe have a couple of mojitos in Hemingway's honor.
Bud Light is a big thing here in the US. As a fan of long drinks and ciders I must say that -
this is is most accurately described as mineral water with a slight taste of malt.
Beer lovers back in Finland wouldn't probably be too impressed by this.
If Lapin Kulta (brand of Finnish beer) is flavourless slop, then this really is just mineral water with a hint of malt in it.
Then we have Bud Light Lime, which is basically the closest thing to a flavoured sparkling water there is.
We are now on our way to Fort Myers. Yesterday we managed to drive all the way to Sunrise from Key West.
We booked the hotel using McDonald's WiFi and went straight to the front desk and got the keys to our room.
After the boat trip and all the driving it wasn't hard to fall asleep.
This morning we went to Sawgrass Mills and after 4 hours of shopping we left with -
lots of bags from stores like Hilfiger and Armani.
We have about 40 miles of dead straight Alligator Alley still ahead of us before we reach Fort Myers -
where we'll try to get in some true American action on a shooting range.
This one is for Räikkönen's victory. Lost the championship but got a win.
We decided to eat at Mel's Diner tonight.
The decoration seems to have been influenced by the sixties or the seventies.
Bud Light costs about $1.70 on the draft, so not that expensive.
The food is bound to be delicious and unhealthy. I'm getting pizza and those two will get burgers.
This daredevil is only relying on liquid sustenance.
We absolutely recommend going to these small places, not always playing safe with McDonald's or Burger King.
Wel'll see what kind of food we'll get, and we'll go from there.
Quite the exercise being on vacation. We have been moving for an hour and it isn't even 8am yet.
We are heading towards Tampa from Fort Myers. Today's main event is Busch Gardens.
We got a hotel from downtown Tampa. It's a bit more expensive than hotels so far, but the location is sure to be worth it.
We'll stay there until sunday and then we're going to an NFL-game.
But now we are off to Busch Garden's to get some thrills.
Oh Baby! Now my wallet is wet for sure, there's no doubt about it.
Oh ***.
Feelings? Well. We're still soaked. The rides have been great, gotta admit that.
What about the lines?
- Yeah we couldn't have picked a better time of year. Not once have we had to wait for more than ten minutes.
We decided to wash some clothes yesterday, and they didn't quite dry out for today.
But luckily there is a good solution for that. Every hotel is equipped with tools for ironing.
It's good to iron underwear sometimes. They will be really soft and nice to wear.
Hotels are not too expensive here, this place was about $60 per night for 4 icluding "high quality" breakfast.
Background voice: Truly high quality. - Yes, you can decide yourself how good it actually is.
Breakfast here mainly includes toast, juice, coffee from an automatic coffee maker or from a coffee pot.
Some weird jelly or marmalade to put on the toast.
Today we even had and yoghurt and fruits, but they're not really comparable to a proper hotel breakfast.
But I'll continue ironing. Soon we'll see how a whale swims through a tube in a pool.
Whoa this is awesome! - Yeah!
That was that. FTS.
In the US, atleast in Florida, you don't have to wear a crash helmet when riding a motorcycle.
But it's still good to carry it with you, because you can always put it on after you crash.
USA is the home of double standards. Drinking alcohol at a public place is strictly forbidden.
You might get a fine or even get arrested.
But as it is in every contry with double standards, there is an easy solution to the problem here as well.
If you can't see it, it doesn't exist.
A really good solution is this can cooler. Just put the can inside and if any member -
of authority asks what's inside, there's Sprite. Or in fact, it's not even his business.
This way you can drink at a public place to your heart's content.
Paper bag is another, what has become a legendary way to do it.
But, we'll continue tossing the hand-egg and have some more of this Sprite.
So... it seems to be raining here in Florida.
We're heading for Kennedy Space Center and fortunately it's mostly built inside, so we don't have to get wet.
And most important thing is that our Toyota Sienna almost has more than 1mm of groove -
left on it's tyres and the tarmac is as smooth as a baby's bottom.
Luckily the road is dead straight.
We'll see how long this kind of shower lasts here.
We might have screwed up this time.
There's only about 1h and 10mins until the pits close. We have pit passes and we planned to go there.
We have spent almost 90 minutes on this route that usually takes 45 minutes.
So we made a small error of judgement here.
But we'll rise and fall together. We'll see if we make it to the pits in time.
Yesterday we decided to skip the pits because we would have had to leave too early -
and there wouldn't have been much happening there anyway.
But... let's not worry. Atleast we'll see the race. I hope.
Even though you're not allowed to drink alcohol at a public place in the States, -
in sports events they almost push you to buy light beer at every corner.
A small surprise was that you're allowed to take one soft-sided cooler -
to the race with you, which can hold a six pack in it.
That's something Finland could learn from the States.
No one is really wasted here and the prices are reasonable.
A half a litre can costs you $6, which is bit under 5 euros.
Nothing more to add... lets watch some more NASCAR and drink some beer.
Gas prices have doubled in the States during the last 4 years, but it's still not that expensive
One gallon costs about $3.30 by the cheapest. It's 3,8 litres, so it makes about 0,70€ per litre.
Now I'm sitting back on a balcony at Miami Beach and it's the final evening of the trip.
So its a good chance to sum up the trip.
First thing that comes to mind is that I want to come back here some day.
Maybe not to Florida, but somewhere in the States for sure.
As a Finn it struck me as a surprise how social and open minded people here are.
Yet it's something so admirable.
Especially in smaller places when people notice that we are not locals -
they'll come and say hello and ask how we're doing.
They'll ask if we have liked our stay and give us hints about the places we should see.
And just have a random chat about the differences between our countries.
That is something I'd like to have in Finland.
But as I mentioned - as a Finn, I'm not particularly good at talking to strangers.
But here it's easy when locals make the first move and break the ice.
Other thing in my opinion, especially about Miami and maybe Key west as well was -
that they were maybe a bit too centered around tourism.
If you dont wan't to just lay on the beach, but to get new experiences and get to know -
the local way of living, these places may not be for you.
I got my best experiences from places like Fort Myers and Daytona Beach -
maybe also Tampa, where you can't see much tourism, even though it's the third biggest city in Florida.
Places where you can't see much foreigners are the places where you can experience -
the most authentic american way of life.
Final thing that I wanted to mention was the American driving culture and on how bad level it is.
Turn signal wasn't really used, trucks were passing us going over 70mph -
and stop signs seemed to be nothing but a mere suggestion.
But... this was it. I hope you enjoyed.
I hope that at least one of you got the spark to do their own trip to the land of hope and glory.
Thank you for watching, and see you soon!