Florida, Summer of 2004

Our Trip to Florida, Summer (11-24 July) 2004

This two week trip was very nice and relaxing for us, more so for me than Anton, as he had a four day security conference and meetings to attend to in Palm Beach at the Breakers Hotel which was our first stop in Florida. The conference was very good for Anton and he did actually enjoy it as well as he was able to make some contacts, and as the company paid for the hotel and his flight, it was definitely worth for us to make a holiday of it. This gave us a good chance to see a bit of Florida as well, as under normal circumstances we probably would not have gone…unless you have children which makes a fun trip for Disneyland. But we are getting there soon.

Anyway, our arrival time was in the morning at Miami Airport (unfortunately we did not have time to see Miami- maybe next visit), which gave us enough time to get to north Palm Beach, this actually took us longer than expected, a four hour drive. Luckily we got picked up via limousine from the airport, so we actually arrived at the hotel relaxed and with fitting style. The hotel is one of the oldest in the state of Florida (since 1896) and especially one of the most famous in the world. Even I heard of it, although I am not an American. The hotel entertained regularly guests like the Rockefellers, Roosevelts, and the Vanderbilt’s, just to name a couple. If you want to find out more, here is the link to the hotel (www.thebreakers.com) – very fancy!

For all the foreigners, Palm Beach and Miami are on the east coast of Florida, where we spent all the time we had available in the state. After registering and settling into the room, Anton was off to register with the conference, where he also had drinks and dinner. I made myself comfortable in the room, picked something up to eat from the shop downstairs and relaxed in front of the TV and took a nice hot bath. The next day after we had breakfast, with a fantastic smoked ham and some pork sausages with eggs and biscuits (we “porked” on the pork during our stay, since we can not get it back home in the middle east). It tasted fantastic; naturally the quality of the food at the Breakers is excellent. Enough of food. After breakfast Anton went to his conference and I went to explore the grounds of the hotel.

The hotel has a huge18 whole golf course with beautiful ponds covered in water lilies, beautiful gardens with manzanita trees, wild parrots, iguana’s and other crawly things. For lunch I went to the beach bar and afterwards took a stroll down the beach. During our stay at the hotel Anton and I spent very little time together, which I did not really mind, just thought worth mentioning if you do not see the name Anton appear too often in the events of that week. The second day, after breakfast I went down to the beach with a book and did what everybody else seemed to be doing at the Breakers, which was to veg and read. In the afternoon I explored the spa rooms and the treated myself to a massage treatment. Unfortunately I must say, it was not very good, which surprised me at such a hotel and especially for those prices. Maybe I am just spoiled being so near to the Asian countries, we do have a lot better masseuses in Doha. Anton got in an afternoon dive on this day and the next, which you can see photos of elsewhere on the web site under “cyberguard", he even got some shots underwater of a turtle.” The afternoon I spent in the small café courtyard of the hotel where I kept reading my book and enjoyed the fountain splashing.

Later on in the evening, when Anton arrived from his conference day, we took a taxi downtown to one of the hip areas of Palm Beach where we went for a walk and for dinner in a nice restaurant opposite a Jazz bar, which was great as we did enjoy the music during dinner and afterwards. On the third day I got up early with Anton and after a quick breakfast I ventured to the fancy downtown area of Palm Beach, with loads of expensive boutiques, small galleries and pretty little yards, I even found a cheap café hidden (for the workers) in one of the back alleys. So I did not have to fork out a fortune for something to eat and a drink of water. As you can see from the photos, I spent most of the day walking around the pretty but very expensive shopping area of Palm Beach. Finally back at the hotel, all I could do in the late afternoon was to through myself onto the bed, watch telly and to take another relaxing bath, as the shopping area is normally reached via car,…if you drive. As I do not possess a drivers licence, I had to walk that distance, which is not necessarily that far (about 1 ½ hours), but being in the middle of July in Florida, it was a bit of a strain. The morning of day four I spent relaxing again and reading, in the afternoon I got invited by the conference organisers to take part in some of their beach activities and met some nice people. In the evening we were all invited to go to dinner to the Italian restaurant of the hotel. The food was very nice and so was the table conversation. Afterwards everybody went to the bar and by 11 pm. I decided to go to bed, as I was beat. I am not sure when Anton came back to the room, but it was definitely a bit later than me.In the morning we took our time to pack up and to check out of the room, as we had all day to drive down to the south of Florida, to the Everglades, our next stop for the following three days. The drive down was quite pleasant and new for both of us. After we arrived in the evening and checked into our motel room, we decided to go next door and give the local sports bar a try, where we had some cheap and really great burgers for dinner. Anton and I talked about how to organise the next day, as he had booked himself for a couple of dives in the Florida Keys, since we were already there, that was a must for him understandably. He would drop me off at the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in the morning as soon as they opened and he would drive to a dive shop a little further down the keys. They dove on a an old World War II era . . shipwreck. . . (The Ben Wood) and then on a reef with some friendly nurse sharks (sorry no pics, camera was empty!)

The next morning was done as planned after a hearty breakfast next door at a true American pancake restaurant, yummy! After Anton dropped me off, I signed myself up for the first morning glass boat tour, as I did not want to be out on the water in the middle of the day’s heat. The tour was really fun and I finally got as close as I will ever be to Anton’s experience of the under water world. I prefer to stay above the water levels, even though it was very pretty! After the boat tour the morning was already almost gone and I bought some lunch at the park shop, where I decided to sit near the water to enjoy my food and drink. After lunch I rummaged through the shop’s memorabilia and actually bough two pretty tile fridge magnets with sea pictures painted on them and a bookmark in the shape of a manatee (a very tranquil sea cow that calls the Florida waters its home). In the early afternoon Anton came back to pick me up and we went further into the Pennekamp Park, where we went for a stroll on a couple of nice nature trails (Mangrove Trail and the Wild Tamarind Trail, where we saw snakes and different types of lizards). We even took a walk later on before heading back and it was beautiful. By the time we got back to the hotel it was pretty late and after dinner we just went straight to bed.

On day two after breakfast we sat out to the Everglades, not the best timing I must admit, as it is wet season in the Everglades in July, which means thousands of mosquito’s, and I do not mean the little European kind. They are huge and eat you alive! So most of the time we decided to stay in the car and drive through the park, which thank goodness is possible.

We got out of the car on a couple of occasions though where there were not as many mosquitos and we took a very nice walk in the very empty Everglades, due to the season, there were barely any tourists. We saw snakes, cormorants, alligators, crocodiles, turtles, falcons and all kinds of different creepy crawly animals, including some very large and stripped locusts, Yuk! In the afternoon we went on the hunt for Anton’s and Chris’s (our neighbor) diving gear, things that they needed but could not get in Qatar. We basically went shopping and explored the town of Homestead. On the third day we drove down the keys all the way to Key Largo, where Anton had some parts ordered, again guess for what…..diving. We picked the parts up and went sight seeing around the keys. After getting back to the hotel we went early to bed, as we had to get an early start for the next day’s drive all the way to Orlando, Disney World. The drive to Disneyland was a long one, took us all day! But we finally arrived in the evening, just in time to get something food into our stomachs just before we went to bed. We stayed at the Riverside rooms of the Port Orleans Resort, which is pretty much centred in between all of the park areas. The next four days were spent in Disneyland, at least for me; Anton had to leave for one day for business in Washington, DC.

The first day after breakfast we went and explored Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Each of these Parks is large enough to spend a whole day just in one of them (besides the Disney Downtown area and the MGM Studios). Animal Kingdom is my personal favourite of all the Parks, where we watched a bird show with parrots, eagles and owls and went on a small “safari ride” amongst elephants, lions and rhino’s. The whole park layout is beautifully done with lots of room for the animals to rummage around and explore, very nice. In the evening we went on to the Magic Kingdom where they have every night a large light parade and fireworks, which we watched. Very nicely done, but do not want to know how much energy they use every night. July is naturally high season for Disneyland, as we discovered, due to school vacation. I can only advise people not come during the summer break, worst timing, especially with kids since you as an adult can barely move around in all that commotion.

The second day after our breakfast, which made me feel nauseous, since as we discovered on our return back to Doha, I was already two months pregnant. No wonder I was running to the loo all the time and that the smell of fried foods and oil made me feel sick. Anyway, we went on to the Magic Kingdom and explored the different areas, like adventure land, where we went on “the Pirates of the Caribbean” boat ride, which was fun and went on taking our circular tour of the Kingdom, which passed us by “Liberty Square”, where we went onto see a good old marching band and saw the “Hall of Presidents” which explained the making of the United States and the signing of the Declaration of Independence, including some very nice quotes made by famous Americans including John Steinbeck, Thomas Wolfe and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. If you want to have a read of some of the quotes, you can find them at the end of this page. We finished our tour off in tomorrow land, where we went on a small ride called the Astro Orbiter, just to get off our feet for a while; this was a long but very nice day. In the evening we had booked ourselves two tickets, before our arrival luckily, for the new “Cirque Du Soleil” performance “La Nouba” in Downtown Disney, which is an area of night parties for the adults, full of bars, café’s, restaurants and some shops. Before the performance we went to one of the Jazz bars for something to eat and drink for dinner. Listening to great jazz music while eating some nice southern style food over cocktails with a Florida-summer evening sky is nice... The show afterwards was fantastic, as expected. I saw “Cirque Du Soleil” many years previously and was amazed by the performance of the artists and this time around it was just the same! We both loved it and if anybody has a chance to see them live, or even on TV, do not miss it!

The third day Anton went to Washington while I stayed in Disneyland and went to explore MGM Studios, which is a small park and mainly packed with food stands and shops. For dinner we stayed at our resort after Anton’s return and had a pretty good and light dinner. In the morning of our fourth day Anton and I went back to MGM Studios, where we saw “The Great Movie Ride”, where you got those strange 3D glasses handed out and were able to see the figures on the screen coming towards you, involving the spectator even more with added smells and water splashes, which were catapulted towards you from the front seats. This was definitely a different type of movie experience and worth the fun. After MGM Studios we went to the Epcot Centre, and went on to see the Underwater World, which was especially fun for Anton as you can imagine (I liked it as well!), but was overall really well done as it told us and showed us about the waters and animals of Florida. Afterwards we went and saw the different the international districts, which had small areas representing bits of England, Germany, Japan and North Africa. It was done pretty nice, with foods from the various regions. In the evening we wanted to book ourselves into the Mexican district for some good Mexican food, but unfortunately they were totally booked out, so we went outside to the centre lake, had some Chinese takeaway and watched the “Illuminations: Reflections of Earth” fireworks. It was very nice.

Disneyland has always special programs and shows, which change almost annually and when you arrive at your hotel resort make sure you get as much info as possible on special shows, rides, exhibitions etc., normally though upon your arrival the staff will give you all the info you need right away so you do not miss anything, if not sure about something, just ask as they are all very friendly and helpful staff. This is actually amazing and your “calling” must really be in entertainment, because I would have lost my nerves with all these crowds asking me for help, favours and questions, it is a mad house in summer! The fifth day we got up early in the morning to make our way back down to Miami to board onto our plane back home to Doha. All in all we spent a good holiday in Florida and enjoyed ourselves, the next time when we are back there I definitely would like to see the west coast of Florida, which is supposedly the older more historic route of the state and want to see what it has to offer. Looking forward to our next visit to Florida!

The American Adventure Theatre Presentation Quotes

1. “America did not exist. Four centuries of work, bloodshed, loneliness, and fear created this land. We built America and the process made us Americans…a new breed, rooted in all races, stained and tinted with all colors, seeming ethnic anarchy. Then, in a little time we became more alike than we were different- a new society, not great; but fitted by our very faults for greatness.” Source: America and Americans by John Steinbeck

2. “Even amidst the cricket’s song here along Mark Twain’s beloved Mississippi, I hear the noise of chains and the crack of the whip. Yet there is hope…hope born from the words of Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom’s Cabin has given our nation a “key” which can unlock the slave prisons to millions. Anti- slavery is no longer a thing to be prevented. It has grown too abundant to be snuffed out likea lantern.” Frederick Douglass

3. “We are not a narrow tribe of men…No: our blood is as the flood of the Amazon, made up of a thousand noble currents all pouring into one. We are not a nation so much as a world.” Excerpt used in The American Adventure: “…a thousand noble currents, all pouring into one.” Source: Romances of Herman Melville. From Redburn, Chapter 33, entitled “The Salt- Drogher and German Emigrant Ships.

4. “Enough! Enough of your words. Let your new dawn lead to the final sunset on my people’s suffering. When I think of our condition, my heart is heavy. I see men of my own race treated as outlaws, or shot down like animals .I hope that all of us will be brothers with one country around us and one government for all. From where the sun now stands- I will fight no more forever!” Chief Joseph Source: Profile of America by Emily Davie

5. “Woman has shown equal devotion with man to the cause of freedom. Together they have made this country what it is…we ask justice, we ask equality be guaranteed to us and our daughters forever.” Susan B. Anthony Source: Susan B. Anthony by Alma Lutz.

6. “…discontent is the first necessity of progress” Thomas A. Edison

7. “This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. This great nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself…” Source: First Inaugural Address of Franklin Delano Roosevelt

8. “We was a mighty cocky nation. We had begun to believe that the height of civilization was a automobile, radio and a bathtub. Course, now we’re a whole lot smarter. Now Congress wants to trim down the navy so’s it’ll fit in the bathtub too!…You know…seems that we are the only nation in the world that waits ‘til we get into war before we start getting ready for it.” Source: The Best of Will Rogers and Will Rogers’ Scrapbook by Bryan Sterling (The quote is a combination of several of Rogers’ sayings. From Will Rogers’ Scrapbook: “We was a mighty cocky nation. Why the thought never entered our head that we wasn’t (sic)the brightest, wisest and most accomplished people that ever was on this earth. We had begun to believe that the height of civilization was a good road, bathtub, radio and an automobile.” From The Best of Will Rogers: “We start sinking the navy to save taxes.” “We are the only nation in the world that waits ‘til we get into war before we start to get ready for it.” )

9. “Now we face the danger which in the past has been the most destructive to the human: success, plenty, comfort and ever- increasing leisure. No dynamic people has ever survived these dangers.” Source: America and Americans by John Steinbeck

10 .“To every man his chance, to every man, regardless of his birth, his shining golden opportunity- to every man the right to live, to work, to be himself and to become whatever thing his manhood and his vision can combine to make him- this, seeker, is the promise of America.” Version used in The American Adventure: “To every one a chance, to all people, regardless of their birth, the right to live, to work, to be themselves and to become whatever their visions can combine to make them. This is the promise of America.” Source: You Can’t Go Home Again by Thomas Wolfe.