Florida Day One: Fleeing The Wind And Cold: My Flight And Travels Back To The Everglades.
I love to hike. I love to explore. And I love to do both in the Everglades. The Everglades and the Susquehanna Wetlands, near my home in Northeastern Pennsylvania, are my two favorite places to hike and explore on our planet. I have been to many beautiful places but these two are my favorites Unfortunately, the Susquehanna Wetlands get cold, dark and snowy in the Winter, and I don’t like the cold, dark and snow anymore , so I decided to visit the Everglades in Florida this week. I have been visiting here in the Winter months for over 10 years now. 
It was a frigid 12 degrees with strong winds when I left my home in Luzerne County . . I drove the 38 mile to the Scranton- Wilkes-Barre International Airport at 4:30 a.m. I love airports. I love people watching and this is what I did until I boarded my flight and headed south early Thursday morning.
Of course I had my usual window seat. (and thought I would on the next flight on this trip when I began this blog at the airport) I love to watch the clouds and passing landscapes below when I fly. There was a rather long delay to de-ice the wings of the plane. But we were finally off to Charlotte, North Carolina. It was a short flight, a little over an hour . It was nothing compared to the 12 hour flights to Australia and New Zealand I have been on. 
It was dark when we left but the light appeared as the sun began to approach the eastern horizon. I was able to see ancient Susquehanna River I think somewhere near Lancaster. I explored this historic river from Cooperstown to Havre de Grace a last Summer,
We continued south and flew over the Blue Ridge Mountains. I spent many days exploring Skyline Drive and the surrounding countryside while living in Washington D.C. when I was a student in law school. Many memories seeing the mountains evoked. 
We flew over the mountains of Virginia and North Carolina.I enjoy looking at the houses below and wonder about the folks who live there. I remember always looking up at airplanes when I was a child and wondering what the people on board were doing. Who were they ? Where were they going? Why were they going? Now I am looking down and asking myself the same questions on the folks living in the farms, suburbs and cities that pass below. I am also watching the scenery wondering about the trail along the streams , rivers and mountains.
We began our descent into Charlotte , and like most towns and cities now, it was is surrounded by large warehouses.
The skyline of the city could be seen in the distance. I have never been in Charlotte and again my mind wondered what it would be like. The people, the buildings, and the restaurants. 
We arrived late because of the de-icing and many of the passengers were late for connecting flight. We had another problem. We were unable to exit the plane because of a defective Jet walkway. We were delayed another 20 minutes. Many folks missed their flights and they weren’t happy. I was late now, too, I so had to quickly make my way through the busy airport from Gate A 5.
My flight was already boarding when I arrived at Gate B 11. I thought I had would have a window seat and share more photos and thoughts from my flight to Florida. Instead I found this seating arrangement. It was a seat for the flight attendant where I thought was a window seat. I never have seen this seating arrangement before. Well no photos. I learned the Florida Atlantic Basketball team was traveling on the plane. I know this since the strength and conditioning coach Zane was sitting next to me. I wasn’t able to take photos from the flight but I enjoyed a pleasant conversation about his home state of New York and my home in Pennsylvania. 
The flight was smooth and the time passed quickly. I was soon landing at the Fort Lauderdale airport. I had no checked luggage so I walked to ground transportation. I had to walk outside to take a shuttle to the rental car area of the airport. It was chilly outside with temperature only in the 60’s with a strong northerly wind. Not what I expected but better than the cold back home.
I am a member of Hertz Gold club and was delighted to just pick up my keys and drive off in my KIA SUV. 
I don’t like the one hour drive to Florida City, where I was staying. The traffic is usually horrible. I spent many hours stuck in traffic jams. However It was;t to bad on this trip. 
I arrived in Florida City around 2 p.m. and drove to the Farmer Market. I love the home cooking in the restaurant . I ordered my favorite catfish, fried cabbage and mashed potatoes. It is another reason I love to visit the Everglades.
I drove a mile to my hotel, the Best Western. It is a modest hotel but I spend little time my room and the staff are very friendly. I wasn’t in my room long. After checking in I was off the Everglades but more on that in my next blog. Here is a link to a gallery on my website with some more photos of my travels to the Florida Everglades. Florida Day One. Everglades -travel January 9. 
“For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return.”
– Leonardo Da Vinci
Recent Comments