ETID's holiday to Florida!
- Thread starter ETID
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- 87,639
- Rule 12
- GTP_Famine
The three of us did lower Florida on less than a tenth of that budget and the only theme park we went to was Kennedy Space Center
We even left a GTP Dollar at the No Name Pub, right above the bar...
And it was the start of November, as Omnis mentions
- 19,707
- Alabamamania
axletramp
axletrampThe first time I went I was just enjoying driving across the state and discovering that people really do live in trailers and drive pickups.
Heh, you got the pre-Disney/NASA vacation package; still one of my favorite ways to enjoy an weekend, and hit the beach in the early evening for a sunset on the west coast.
- 19,013
- Jersey V.1.0
- axletramp
That's frighteningly spooky. How did you know? 
We actually rented a villa in Reunion for week and used that as a base to hit NASA, Gatorland, Orlando, etc. and then spent two weeks in the Treehouse Villas at Disney. It was late August and bloody hot. I think the 'coolest' night we had was 83° (92/93° daytime) but having that first week helped us get used to it and we were fine after that. No storms though which we told we'd get.
Not sure I'd hit Florida again though as 'Merica is a big place and there's plenty more to see. Looking like a road trip in California next, probably late August next year.
We actually rented a villa in Reunion for week and used that as a base to hit NASA, Gatorland, Orlando, etc. and then spent two weeks in the Treehouse Villas at Disney. It was late August and bloody hot. I think the 'coolest' night we had was 83° (92/93° daytime) but having that first week helped us get used to it and we were fine after that. No storms though which we told we'd get.
Not sure I'd hit Florida again though as 'Merica is a big place and there's plenty more to see. Looking like a road trip in California next, probably late August next year.
- 19,707
- Alabamamania
axletrampThat's frighteningly spooky. How did you know?
We actually rented a villa in Reunion for week and used that as a base to hit NASA, Gatorland, Orlando, etc. and then spent two weeks in the Treehouse Villas at Disney. It was late August and bloody hot. I think the 'coolest' night we had was 83° (92/93° daytime) but having that first week helped us get used to it and we were fine after that. No storms though which we told we'd get.
Not sure I'd hit Florida again though as 'Merica is a big place and there's plenty more to see. Looking like a road trip in California next, probably late August next year.
Believe it or not, Treehouse Villas is no more, although somewhat ironically, it's become part of a Disney timeshare resort in the past 5-6 years, which I've stayed at a few times.
It's a big country, even as a Floridian, I recommend seeing plenty of the rest of the country.
- 6,796
- California
That's frighteningly spooky. How did you know?
We actually rented a villa in Reunion for week and used that as a base to hit NASA, Gatorland, Orlando, etc. and then spent two weeks in the Treehouse Villas at Disney. It was late August and bloody hot. I think the 'coolest' night we had was 83° (92/93° daytime) but having that first week helped us get used to it and we were fine after that. No storms though which we told we'd get.
Not sure I'd hit Florida again though as 'Merica is a big place and there's plenty more to see. Looking like a road trip in California next, probably late August next year.
92/93 isn't usually that bad, but with the humidity it feels 10 times worse. California is very nice. No shortage on amusement parks and tons of beaches. The weather is weird, though. I guess you could say the weather is random. Anyway, California is fun.
- 87,639
- Rule 12
- GTP_Famine
I shoved together some shots.
The Cheapskate's Florida
Find a motel near enough where you land, but far enough from the airport. This one was in Fort Lauderdale. Do not stay at a motel in Fort Lauderdale.
This is our rental Mustang. Being a cheapskate doesn't mean not having standards. Inevitable jetlag means purdy sunrise.
Rent airboat for the afternoon:
Piss off 30 foot gators from 6 inches away:
Be subjected to surprise airshow (no wonder it was impossible to get rooms in Cocoa Beach that weekend):
Go see Discovery on the pad. This is a mite unusual.
Also, big rockets at KSC. Business end:
Landmarks are cool and cheap. This one is the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse. You will now have heard of Ponce de Leon through Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Or by being Floridian:
Deface Daytona Beach with Starbucks Nog. Repair broken fingers later as doodling in what is effectively concrete is retarded:
Pose.
Go as far away from the rest of the USA as possible:
Find the pub with no name. Have exceedingly good pizza. Deface currency:
Go further away from the rest of the USA:
See the start of all the USA's roads:
One of which is a seven mile long bridge. Called... Seven Mile Bridge:
Gulf of Mexico = Purdy sunset (through oil haze):
Every day was 23-25 degrees (75-80) and 80-100% humidity and it was awesome. My hideously malfunctioning joints vanished, to be replaced with fully working ones for the next eight months.
We pretty much stayed in Motel 6s, Days Inns and the like the whole time. They cost just about £12 for a night and have a big comfy bed, air conditioning and TV - nothing more and nothing less. Places to eat in the US are so ridiculously common and cheap that paying for meals at your hotel is mental and severely limiting.
I'd written a GoogleMaps cheat sheet to get us from the airport to the hotel, to a WalMart where we bought a GPS for sod all ($80 or something) - and then to an IHOP. The GPS then guided us all around Florida without skipping a beat. We still have it - do this.
We also met up with Pupik who forced us to eat with him at a nice local place he'd recommended. He has photos, we don't
The Cheapskate's Florida
Find a motel near enough where you land, but far enough from the airport. This one was in Fort Lauderdale. Do not stay at a motel in Fort Lauderdale.
This is our rental Mustang. Being a cheapskate doesn't mean not having standards. Inevitable jetlag means purdy sunrise.
Rent airboat for the afternoon:
Piss off 30 foot gators from 6 inches away:
Be subjected to surprise airshow (no wonder it was impossible to get rooms in Cocoa Beach that weekend):
Go see Discovery on the pad. This is a mite unusual.
Also, big rockets at KSC. Business end:
Landmarks are cool and cheap. This one is the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse. You will now have heard of Ponce de Leon through Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Or by being Floridian:
Deface Daytona Beach with Starbucks Nog. Repair broken fingers later as doodling in what is effectively concrete is retarded:
Pose.
Go as far away from the rest of the USA as possible:
Find the pub with no name. Have exceedingly good pizza. Deface currency:
Go further away from the rest of the USA:
See the start of all the USA's roads:
One of which is a seven mile long bridge. Called... Seven Mile Bridge:
Gulf of Mexico = Purdy sunset (through oil haze):
Every day was 23-25 degrees (75-80) and 80-100% humidity and it was awesome. My hideously malfunctioning joints vanished, to be replaced with fully working ones for the next eight months.
We pretty much stayed in Motel 6s, Days Inns and the like the whole time. They cost just about £12 for a night and have a big comfy bed, air conditioning and TV - nothing more and nothing less. Places to eat in the US are so ridiculously common and cheap that paying for meals at your hotel is mental and severely limiting.
I'd written a GoogleMaps cheat sheet to get us from the airport to the hotel, to a WalMart where we bought a GPS for sod all ($80 or something) - and then to an IHOP. The GPS then guided us all around Florida without skipping a beat. We still have it - do this.
We also met up with Pupik who forced us to eat with him at a nice local place he'd recommended. He has photos, we don't
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- 87,639
- Rule 12
- GTP_Famine
The Mustang totally suits you, Famine.
Needs moar RHD
It's odd. It was quite clearly St. Murder by the Arson, but everything was fine. I have this strange, unconscious ability to fit'n'blend and the unlikeliest people just accept me - the guy who ran the beach motel being a case in point.
It was demonstrated amazingly at No Name Pub, when the guy next to me took about ninety seconds of asking where I was from before telling me what he could remember of his life story and blaming n:censored: and Muslims for everything.
However, next time I go to Ft. Murderdale I'm not slowing down, never mind stopping.
- 19,707
- Alabamamania
- 87,639
- Rule 12
- GTP_Famine
Miami Beach scared the 🤬 out of me.
For what we used it for - schlepping up and down the I95 and Keys Highway - it was perfectly acceptable. I think that one was the 2011 model with the 300hp V6 - it certainly seemed sprightlier than the 2009 one we did the Mojave Desert crossing in.
Utterly inoffensive. Auto didn't bother us (saves opening the door by accident when changing gear), we got pretty much 30mpg Imperial from it and Sirius 80s on 8 (which we can't get over here). Also we changed all the interior lights to purple.
- 38,957
- Application hell
- MP-Omnis
I love how in famines beach pose picture he's wearing the colour shirt we all assosiate with him
"We have a convertible mustang available for you, sir."
"Got anything better? Anything with a roof?" /yawkshire accent
"No, but this has a very cozy interior and multi-color ambient lighting system."
"Does it light up purple?"
"Yes."
"I'll take it!"
- 19,013
- Jersey V.1.0
- axletramp
Patrick92/93 isn't usually that bad, but with the humidity it feels 10 times worse. California is very nice. No shortage on amusement parks and tons of beaches. The weather is weird, though. I guess you could say the weather is random. Anyway, California is fun.
Random? Sounds, err... fun. We were planning late August / early September. What's it like then?
- 87,639
- Rule 12
- GTP_Famine
We always go convertible 'stang in the US - it's just the best value for money car you can rent. Top off when it's lovely, top up if it's too lovely, the "trunk" takes our cases no problem and we all fit in it. It fits on the roads, doesn't stand out, doesn't struggle anywhere (I wouldn't want to take a 4-pot generocar up to Mojave!) and does 30mpg imperial. The guys I rent through sublet from other firms and always pricematch (or better) - it works out at about £4 a day more expensive to rent the Mustang than a generocar and not get something that can do everything.
