I was still making my way down through Florida towards Key West with Mitchell. I had been spending a lot of time on busy beaches. As much as I love beaches, my burned skin needed a break from the sun, and I needed a break from so many people.
We looked on-line to see what was around us, hoping to find a nice camping spot in the woods. We found a large nature preserve in West Palm Beach that was also a campground. When we arrived, it was late and already dark. Nobody was at the front gate to greet us, so we drove in, and not wanting to search for a good spot that night, we pulled into the first campsite we found and went to bed.
The next morning we set out to explore. We took the motorcycle up and down the 20 mile stretch of dirt road lined with campsites. Almost all of them were along a little river, and nearly every site we saw seemed like a nice one with fine fire pits. Some were tucked deep into the trees with plenty of privacy. It was my first time camping where there were palm trees growing. It made me feel as if I was in some magical world.
We passed a site with a dock to fish off of, and pulled over to check it out. As we walked onto the dock we heard a loud splash. We looked over to see an alligator swimming away from us in the water. It was the first one I had seen since in Florida, and I was ecstatic. The way everyone had explained Florida to me, I had expected alligators to be everywhere, but it turns out that that isn’t really the case.
We spent most of the day riding around and enjoying being in the woods, away from the hustle and bustle of the cities. We eventually picked a nice camp spot right on the water with a welcoming fire pit. There were two entrances, so we were able to each park our vehicles in one, secluding us from the surrounding sites. The majority of the trees surrounding our site were palm trees. It made for the perfect little tropical camp spot.
That night we had a little fire. The dead, dry palm leaves make perfect kindling. We sat by the fire enjoying the star spattered sky above us.
It was a perfect night. The chorus of animals sang from the water next to us.
The next day I spent time going for walks, fishing, and enjoying the solitude of the woods; so different from the busy beaches.
We had planned to stay there for about a week, but that plan was disrupted when the police pulled up to tell us that the campgrounds were closed during the week. We had been wondering why there was no one else in this beautiful place. They did say we could spend the rest of the day there though, which was nice. We explored, I painted, and we fished some more. At the end of the day, we ate the fish we had caught for dinner. That night we slept in a Walmart parking lot before heading to Miami.
Once we arrived in Miami, we found a nice little spot to park on the side of the street within walking distance of Miami Beach. The first thing I noticed about Miami was all of the cats. Florida in general has ample numbers of cats roaming the streets and parks, but Miami was a step up. Everywhere we went there were cats lurking. Unfortunately none of them let us pet them.
I was eager to get to the beach. I had been told it was one of the places with the warmest water. Mitchell, Maggie, and I all walked over to check it out together. When we arrived, there was a long boardwalk that stretched along the beach. We decided to walk for a little bit to see what was going on around us. There were little stands with overpriced food and drinks, but they were cute nonetheless. The part that I found the coolest were the free outdoor gyms. There were workout benches, weights, and just about anything needed for a good workout, all laid out in the sand. Multiple people were taking advantage of them.
Eventually, walking in the hot Florida sun became too much. We went up on the beach to find a place to sit. There were signs saying: no dogs allowed on the beach, but I brought Maggie anyway, hoping no one would say anything. Maggie was thrilled to be on the beach amongst all the people.
The water was such a beautiful blue color; unlike anything I had ever seen before; so bright and clear that it didn’t even seem real. Mitchell and I took turns swimming while the other stayed and sat with Maggie. As soon as my toes touched the water, I was amazed by how warm it was. I’m used to cold ocean waters that feel like a slap when you walk in. This felt like warm, welcoming bath water.
We rode the motorcycle around the city a lot. It was fun zooming about and seeing everything. While we were driving, I noticed a large statue of a hand surrounded by water. The hand was outstretched as if it was reaching for the sky. I was fascinated, and asked Mitchell to pull over.
When we approached the statue, we realized it was part of a holocaust museum. The outside part was free, so we walked about looking at a few different statues, along with pictures along the wall from concentration camps. The entire place broke my heart, but I was grateful to be able to see it, and that there was this place of remembrance.
We found a pathway through a long, narrow tunnel. Once we reached the end, before us was the hand statue surrounded by water from a completely different view. It was surrounded by a half wall which cut off the bottom from the outside view. It was filled with statues of people, all so thin and filled with sorrow. The people also covered the arm of the huge hand. They twisted, intertwining as they stretched up the arm. There was no plaque to tell us about the statue, but the statue itself spoke a million words.
We continued walking down the road as we looked at all the interesting plants and trees of Florida. One plant I stopped to look at had a cute little frog hiding out in it.
As we explored, we came to a little park that had a projector with a movie playing up on the side of a big building. We happened to get there right after it started, so we stayed and watched. It ended up being a Queen Latifah movie that I had never seen before. The movie was heart warming, and it was nice sitting with random strangers in a Miami park to watch it. It made me feel as if I was a part of something.
The next day we went out exploring again. We walked through a little park scattered with random statues before making our way to a free botanical garden.
It wasn’t anything fancy, but it was fun to look at all the tropical plants and beautiful, bright flowers. The trees were my favorite. One of the trees had smooth bark where it naturally looked like someone had painted it with a collage of orange, green, and brown colors.
Hidden throughout the garden were little ponds with koi fish and more statues. One statue was a white unicorn that had plants growing out of it to make up its mane and tail.
While we were in Miami I went to my first nude beach. I’ve been skinny dipping a million times, but I had never been to a beach where you were supposed to be naked. Also, with being in the sun so much, I had developed intense tan lines. I figured this might help even it out.
When I arrived, I was a little nervous at first. I’m not used to being naked in front of so many people, and I didn’t see very many girls around. But I went with it anyway. We laid out on the beach soaking up the sun. Then we went skinny dipping in the ocean. It is one of my favorite things, the most freeing feeling. I don’t know what it is about swimming naked, but it makes you feel like you're flying.
We walked up and down along the beach. As we did, I noticed more women, which made me more comfortable. My first trip to a nude beach was a success, but the sun burn on my butt didn’t feel too great afterwards.
That night was our last night in Miami before heading down the Keys. We walked along the beach in the dark, and the cooler air made the water feel even warmer on our feet as the stars lit the sky above. It was the perfect ending to the amazing time we’d had in the city.
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