BIG American Adventure - Florida

USA – Florida – Tampa

31^st October 2015 - Duration 2 Weeks 

Sitting on the tarmac at Heathrow, London on a Boeing 747 about to embark on the 4400 miles journey to Tampa Florida, America I couldn’t help thinking my two biggest childhood dreams where about to come true… 1. Fly on a 747   2. Visit The U.S.A. This was going to take a little longer than the direct 10 hour flight as we were stopping in Chicago for a transfer. I breathed my first breath of fresh American air outside the airport featured on Home Alone before rushing back into the terminal and getting onto our connecting flight bound for Temper, Florida. 

View from the 747 as we flew over Greenland

I grew up watching American films and TV shows like many of us here in Britain and because of this I became obsessed with the portrayal of what America had to offer, well from what Hollywood showed to me. From the wilderness of Yellowstone national park, to the dry redrockys of the Grand Canyon, cosmopolitan New York City all the American muscle cars, the food joints, the country music and the American fashion.

We seen one of the cars that inspired my love for America. (Back to the future)

Upon leaving the airport I looked back to notice the abundances of signs reminding you not to bring your handgun into the airport, this was somewhat amusing to me being from the UK, welcome to the USA!

Steven, Myself and our friend John had all planned to head off on this trip and stay with Johns family. John had arranged for us to be picked up at Tampa airport and be taken to Lakeland which was a little over 30 miles drive. Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Tampa Bay Area, halfway between Tampa and Orlando which is in the state of Florida. Just being in America for me was, WOW, finally here!  Everything is just so BIG! Almost everyone in Florida seems to have an XXL F150 pickup truck or Ford Mustang… I’ve just arrived and I’m buzzing. We drive straight to Wendy Burger for food. Welcome to America! I’m fully embracing this; I’m living my dream. 

Everything's BIGGER in the USA!

We’re staying in Lakeland in a gated community which is a 45 minute drive East of Tampa or 35 miles. Smooth rendered detached homes, beautifully manicured lawns in the front and each with their own swimming pool to the rear, with protective mesh to keep the alligators from entering. We’ve arrived on 31^st October, Halloween and every house is decorated like I’ve never seen in the real world… we end up going into town to get some supplies for a party which is being held that evening. Seeing the local kids trick or treating and doing Halloween the American way was an experience and I was privileged to be a part of it.

Tampa itself is a large city located on the west coast of Florida, against the Gulf of Mexico, it’s stunning white sand beaches with a major metropolitan city nestled just behind. You’ll notice some truly luxurious homes within Tampa Bay you could spend hours just gawping upon, many with an expensive sports car parked on the front driveway and a speed boat moored at the rear in the water bay. Its like something out of the movies!

Tampa is very overlooked as a holiday destination I have heard when it comes to visiting and staying in Florida, with many choosing to visit the more popular Miami over on the east coast. 

During our two week ‘Vacation’ we had the privilege of using Johns family’s car, nothing less than a V6 Ford Mustang! We were free to roam the open roads of this hot and extremely friendly place. 

Mustang Jamie

Step back in time to something I describe to family and friends as Jurassic Park. Located in Lakeland, lies Circle B Bar Reserve just 20 minutes south of I-4. This eerie park, wetland is filled with old oak trees, harrowing bird calls, bob cats prowling and alligators camouflaged on the embankments… so watch your step. Creepy as f**k, totally recommend. This is the Lake District on steroids!  

Wild Alligator...

Little frogs chillin on the warm Coke vending machine

Some of the main attractions we visited included; Kennedy Space Centre, SeaWorld Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom and Universal Studios Florida. I recommend booking in advance to save additional fees, taxes and disappointment. You may find discounts by booking via Best Of Orlando website.  https://www.bestoforlando.com/ 

As we neared the Kennedy Space Centre we entered NASA Causeway from the main land after numerus toll roads, 2 hours and 100 miles in our V6 Mustang, this was exciting as I’d dreamt of one day visiting the ‘space coast’. 

The Space Centre’s located on the right of the main road. Hard to miss, there’s a huge rocket outside, (I drove straight by and had to make a U turn)… 

If you are interested in space or not this is the place for YOU! I can’t recommend it enough. You can learn so much and open your mind too. To see with your own eyes rockets, rovers and space suites is just unbelievable and breath taking. In the Rocket Garden you will find 9 colossal rockets, though never flown in space almost all are real and not replicas. I can confidently say I had tears in my eyes and became speechless for the first time in my life. Truly an amazing experience which will really have you thinking about your day to day life and the possibilities for the future of earth life and space exploration. 

One of the 9 rockets in the 'rocket garden'

The real star of the space show goes to Atlantis, who we almost missed if it wasn’t for a super friendly member of staff realising we hadn’t been to see erm… the main attraction. 

Quite possibly the most powerful and amazing thing I’ve seen, ever! Waiting for the black, twinkle light clad curtain to rise, theatrical music played on. Finally the curtain did lift and there in all its space dust galore, after traveling millions of miles through space, Atlantis hung… every hair on my body stood to attention. 

https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/blog/attraction-spotlight-space-shuttle-atlantis 

Atlantis with it's space dust, I cried

SeaWorld, aka whale prison… whales should be free and not imprisoned end of storey. Steven and I did receive free passes, so not directly contributing to their captivity but I’d heard so much about SeaWorld I wanted to visit. This was also the time Black Fish the documentary had just came out on Netflix, condemning the whale captivity in parks such as Sea World. 

Honestly, I would prefer to see whales in their natural environment, which I have done, however not as close as I was able to at SeaWorld, I mean I could smell Tilikums armpit, I was that close.  

Tilikums armpit

Disney World

The theme parks we went to… 

Disney’s Hollywood Studios – Toy Storey & Star Wars rides. 

Universal Studios Florida – The Simpsons ride. 

Magic Kingdom – The one with the Disney castle, and famous rides such as Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, It's a small world. There are parades down the main strip towards the castle daily at 3pm with the Disney characters. There are fireworks named, Happily Ever After each evening. 

Disney Castle away from the hustle

Researching how many parks there are in the state of Florida I found 24. 

List credited to Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_amusement_parks_in_Central_Florida 

Evenings consisted of eating and drinking down the local Applebee’s bar, Johns Family Friends BBQ on the lake cooking the deer he had caught on the last hunt. Fishing on the lake with Steven, something we’ve never done. 

Downtown Tamper nightlife was a friendly experience, where as a night out in Newcastle, England everyone seems to drink until they pass out, Tampa was the opposite. We booked a motel in Tampa prior to our night out, and yes, it was just like the ones you see in the films. 

I do hope this has given you some inspiration towards planning your trip to the USA. 

Please reach out to me as I would love to hear your feedback and thoughts. If you have visited Florida let me know where you went and what you enjoyed.

I can’t wait for my next American adventure, do let me know if you have any recommendations… 

Travel well and stay safe.

Jamie