Im Barack Obama and I approve this message…
The election stuff is incessant on TV although I had to say in almost 3 weeks of exposure I still didn’t get a couple of the ads, they could swing for either candidate and they must be the ones who funded both. A few ‘we don’t know either, you decide’ ads at 30k a pop does seem a bit wasteful. You might as well go on TV and say ‘we’re still here!’
I long for the day when we get local tv ads along similar lines but without the veiled air of statesmanship. ‘See him, he is a lying bastard, don’t vote for him.’
For a foreigner, some of the TV stations are hilarious – Fox news (my namesake), scaring the shit out of white people since 1996.
But it does have its plus points, for a couple of weeks I sat and had my hotel coffee with some sugary thing deep fried in reused engine oil, downloading my photos, watching Erin Burnett on CNN.
It was a beautiful morning and no hurricanes, thunderstorms, deluges or loose alligators on the drive down to everglades city.
Florida Hurricane Shelter sign
The airboat ride was something Ive wanted to do since I was a kid, watching all those us tv shows and documentaries. You can get airboat rides up in Kissimmee near Orlando but its not the same as a proper small airboat ride in the real florida everglades. The trip Id picked was again highly recommended on tripadvisor and they have a private area and run small boats.
It was a really still morning and the noise this thing made had to be heard to be believed, maybe I’ll use those ear defenders after all!
The first part of the trip was through a mangrove jungle and the airboat fairly hammered its way through there. Great sensation of speed as the channels seemed so close to the boat.
Mangrove jungle florida everglades
speeding through turn in open grasslands florida
In a couple of places the captain stopped the boat and killed the engine, it was deathly silent, I would have expected to hear more birds, but then again they could have been scared away by the noises. As long as it scared the alligators away as well!
Florida Everglades
Captain works for tips
As I was in Tampa and having never visited a Hooters before I was drawn to Hooters spiritual home in Clearwater. If I could only go once, why not in the original.
Hooters original in Clearwater
Damn I’m sooo easy to read but is it really been taken for a ride when you know you are being taken for a ride and decide to put up, shut up and enjoy the view?
Anyway, off to the happiest place on earth…
… well I feel that I have to explain myself here. Im not really staying at Disney, I’m not really visiting Disney but some very good friends of mine are and they are staying in the Cars resort with their little ones. The little ones have no idea that when they go down for dinner tonight I’m gonna be sitting there.
I think that’s really cool.
No honestly I really do.
I want to be five years old again and walking around the Cars resort with my eyes on stalks…
…and dragging my mum and dads photographer friend around every single prop and get my photo taken in front of it!
Driving into Walt Disney World
I was quite proud of myself I’d managed to get a hotel for 19 dollars a night including breakfast and wifi….
…that was until I saw it. The breakfast was warm brown liquid and stale mini donuts, the wifi only worked in the main foyer and my best advice on booking a 19 dollar a night hotel in Kissimmee?…
…don’t.
I’m being a bit unfair, Id read the reviews beforehand, Id been to Kissimmee before and Id be using the hotel as a base and somewhere to store my gear so 19 dollars (plus tax, resort fee and some other shite stuff they don’t tell you when you book) was still less than 20 quid a night. It would do and I have to make the decision to stay here or head up towards Daytona Beach and book a series of hotels from here to there and then down to Fort Lauderdale for my return trip. To be honest I could see that far enough, another 4 nights (not in this hotel but a bit dearer across the road) might be the order of the day and then a mad early morning dash down to Fort Lauderdale on the expressway.
If I did that I could go with the 2 big kids and the 2 wee kids to Mickeys not so scary halloween party at Disney…
…I’ll sleep on it..
Walt Disney World
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