Florida - the sunshine state

Over xmas and new years we did a trip for two weeks to Florida/USA.  Soaking up some sun and have, maybe, a surf. But it was more a family trip to visit the Aunt of my Girlfriend who lives in Port St. Lucie/Florida. If there will be a surf, we will rent some Boards for a day, that was the plan. And it was pretty nice to travel without surfboards. What a hassle every time, specially with longboards. I think you know what i mean....

We started in Hamburg on xmas day with a heavy cold, that completely sucked us out of energy. At the arrival in West Palm Beach we had lovely 25 degrees  (in the nighttime). The Weatherforecast said the same for the next two weeks. Sunshine and warm, dry weather but no waves.
So we had perfect holidays, without the everyday search after some waves. 

It´s not the first time for me in Florida, but every time i got there i was impressed how big this country is. Specially the Highways with up to 8 lanes in both directions, but they need streets like this for their big Pickups. Another thing is, for me, everything looks pretty much the same. Shopping Centers, Streets, Buildings and so on. 
So we spend a lot of time in the car to get somewhere. We did some trips to the Atlantic along the A1A, the closest street to the ocean. Go to Ron Jon´s Surfshop when you´re there people said. We Did! We drove 2 hours north to Cocoa Beach and visited the birth town of Kelly Slater. He is having a monument at the main street there. Cocoa is pretty touristic and crowded with a long Pier at the beach, and i think there is a good surf when you have swell. Ron Jon´s is probably called the biggest "Surfshop" in the world. But for us it´s not a real Surfshop. You can buy overpriced T-shirt and other fashion stuff. It´s more like a touristic attraction.
 

When you are in Florida, you should go to Miami. My Girlfriend lived for a short time in Coconut Groove, a small suburb of Miami. It feels a bit like you are in the Jungle. Birds are twittering, Palm trees and so much vegetation. Seems a bit like the Australian Jungle. But sadly the time moved on here, and it getting more and more busy. Very expensive and overpriced real estates with the people who are part of it. In the past you could find there a lot of small boutiques with little labels and jewelry shops, but no one is left. Everywhere the same ... 
In the evening we went to Lincoln Road Mall, a renovated suburb close to South Beach. Foodcourts, restaurants shops, and everything outside, what is very unusual for Florida of the heat. Normally everything is inside and air-conditioned. Not my World, but impressive to see. But what was more on my side that day was the sunset i shot from a parking garage.

The next days where pretty lazy, having a swim in the pool before breakfast and chilling in the sun. Or we went to the beach,  drove arround and explored the coastline of Florida. Sad thing you can't go everywhere to the beach, because of PRIVATE PROPERTY. I can't remember a country where you can a buy a whole beach and say it´s yours and no-one is permitted to go there. The Beach should be for everyone!
And so two weeks just past by a little to fast, and we where a bit afraid of the cold temperatures in Hamburg. 
But Hamburg was not the nightmare we expected, it was the flight home. 
The shooting at Ft.Lauderdale Airport and a snowstorm in New York stretched our nerves to maximum and the time. It took us 58 hours to come home.