"I love Florida - despite the hurricanes! " a Florida Travel Page by Flem2002

My first visit to Florida was in 1999, when I flew into Miami for a week's stay before heading off to Venezuela. We met up with my sister and her partner and spent a great week exploring some of the east coast centres and the Florida Keys (as well as Miami itself). Basing ourselves in the Holiday Inn on South Beach proved economical, as the rate was per room rather than per person, and the room slept four comfortably, despite the snoring!

My sister is into diving, so there was plenty of opportunity for her to go off and leave the three of us on the numerous beaches in the area. Hiring a car was essential as public transport isn't great, and the roads are uncongested (compared to the UK anyway!)

Our favourite place was Ocean Drive, where we regularly took a coffee break or dinner out on the pavement cafes watching the expensive cars pose up and down the wide boulevard outside. You'd also see bikini clad models doing photo shoots under the palm trees, policemen (sorry...cops!) on rollerblades, and homeless people asleep on the beach in the balmy sunrises.

All in all, one of the best places in the world for people watching!

In September 2004, we watched Hurrican Ivan on our TV screens in the UK with trepidation, as we'd booked a fortnight in a villa on the Gold Coast a few days later. Fortunately Ivan went west of projections and we were OK to go.

We flew into Miami and spent another night there (for old times sake) before heading off on Alligator Alley to the West coast of Florida. Hurricane Charley had come through earlier in the season, and there was still evidence of the devestation he'd caused on a narrow strip about ten miles wide around Fort Myers. The traders were still tidying up, repairing and trying to get straight.

We had a great time exploring the stretch from Tampa to the Everglades, trying out different beaches and visiting the Cities. Huricane Ivan's path looped the loop and we got a drenching of rain for a whole day (he was just a tropical storm by then) but out in the Atlantic Hurricane Jeanne was forming....

Despite predictions that she would come right over us, her path went more north but there were still 24 hours of nervousness. The 24/7 Walmart closed its doors, the TV news reporters told people to stay indoors and the wind chimes in the porch jangled through the night rather sinisterly.

The villa and occupants survived unscathed, and we were soon able to go out and watch the enormous waves that the hurricane had stirred up on the local beach at Englewood. It was still blowing a gale and difficult to stand up, but the winds then faded away to leave us in peace for the rest of the holiday.