Salt and Sand

Florida was like a stressful vacation.

After the poor planning that occurred on the trip to Maine I decided to book a hotel while I stayed in Florida, that way I didn't waste any time trying to find a place to stay.

I felt so spoiled.

I stayed in the Jupiter/Juno Beach area which was the halfway point between Beth's place in Hobe Sound, and the college in West Palm Beach.

I also rented a fancy-smancy Dodge Avenger.

Driving in Florida was a whole experience in and of itself. It was a lot different than driving in the north!

One of the first places I visited after I arrived was the Loggerhead Marinelife Center. The museum was awesome, and outside we saw the rescued turtles. It was a great experience.

I spent quite a bit of time with Beth exploring, (what little land there is to explore in Florida) and enjoying the beaches.

I took a solo trip to visit PBA, the drive there was a little scary, but I made it! The campus was unlike any other campus I have been to. It was very spread out and reminded me of a little tropical town inside the much bigger city of West Palm Beach. It was very intimidating. I walked around to try to find a place to buy some water, did I mention how hot it was? I ended up walking by a lot of fancy apartment complexes on the way, and seeing a lot of "rich people" areas. Sorry, no pictures of those.

There is a big difference in Florida between natural areas and developed areas. In developed areas there are tailored landscapes, but virtually no areas of trees, grass, or other plants that were not planted there. It's very sad to think about.

To get away from the city, while I was in the city, I decided to visit the zoo.

The Palm Beach Zoo is huge compared to my little Utica and Syracuse zoos at home, and I loved every minute of it. Being there definitely renewed my passion, and reminded me of why I'm going to school.