2015 Florida Trip - drive down, first days there

We left Cobourg on January 6 to drive to Florida.  The first 2 days were beautiful, the third, not so much, but we arrived safely.                                                                                                     

 It was not so sunny on our first day in the "SUNSHINE" state!    However, it did stop raining, and we enjoyed the day anyway. 

After we got settled into our hotel in Daytona, we went downtown to visit a chocolate factory.  Nick made the tour really interesting and fun! 

You know how I love dalmatians, and this one was displaying doggie valentine treats.  What fun!

Wouldn't you love to have a breakfast like this every day?  Chocolate covered bacon (yes, REAL bacon!), white chocolate egg, and jellied orange slices!  Yum Yum! 

Do you like cream-filled chocolates?  This is where they mix in the colour and the flavour, after the cream has been cooked to just the right temperature in the big copper kettle. 

 After we enjoyed our three yummy samples of chocolate, we drove down to the beach and went for a walk.  This little gem, which had washed up on the beach is a kind of jelly fish.

 This big bird looks for food when the waves come in and then go back out (recede).  They poke their long beaks into the wet sand to find good things to eat.

 I love to watch the pelicans.  They glide along near the surface, then, when they spy a fish, they dive in to grab it.  This fellow must have succeeded, because he is swallowing one. 

These little tiny birds also feed along the water's edge, but they don't like to get their feet wet.  It's fun to see them scurry along just ahead of the waves, with their tiny feet going very fast!

As you can see, the waves were very large yesterday, and this pelican was soaring very close to them! 

One of our favorite restaurants to eat in is actually a fast-food one called Chick-fil-A. We ate there last night for the first time this year, but it sure won't be the last time!  As you can imagine, they serve chicken.

There are a lot of different kinds of palm trees, which only grow in southern climates, but this is my favorite.  Although palm trees grow throughout Florida, these, called Royal Palms, only grow in the most southerly parts of Florida.  We are now in Fort Lauderdale, and will be getting on a cruise ship tomorrow to cruise for a week. So next week's blog will  be pictures from the cruise. 

Bet you can guess what kind of palm tree this is!  See the coconuts?  You don't want to stand under one, or you might get hit on the head!

We see lots of these little fellows.  I think they are called geckos.  While this one was being distracted by me and the camera, Paul sneaked up behind him and grabbed his tail.  Don't worry, he escaped intact.  There are a LOT of these little creatures down here in the south.  They like the warm weather too! 

 I don't know the names of any of these flowers, but they sure are pretty!

Well, until next week, farewell.  Have a great week.  Keep safe, keep well.  Bye for now.