The Grove Adventures...: Florida

After California, I flew back to Baton Rouge and we had a few days to wrap things up and get ready for another long drive/move. This time we headed even further south, down to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida for the month of June. Owen did a Forensic Pathology rotation with the Broward County Medical Examiners office. It was quite the experience for him, probably a bit too graphic to describe his best cases here, let's just say there were a lot of autopsys, a crime scene visit, and a wood chipper....but contact him if you want to hear about any of the gory details ;)

We were fortunate enough to stay with our family friend Alaina, who has lived in the area for a long time and had an extra room for the month! She lives about 17 miles north of the medical examiners office, so on the days we didn't have torrential rains, Owen cycled to work. I spent most days swimming at the pool in her neighborhood or attempting to run in the humidity. It was great to spend time with Alaina, whether it was going out to eat, meeting some of her friends, getting a pedicure (no Owen didn't join for that one ;) ) or just hanging out at home making dinner and watching World Cup together! We really enjoyed our time with her. Thanks again Alaina for hosting us for the month!!

During the month in Florida, Owen and I also had the chance to check out Las Olas Bloulevard in Ft. Lauderdale. It was neat to see all the lights, some high end sports cars, and get some gelato (about all we could afford there). We also met up with some friends (Tiffany and Monique) from medical school who were in London with us as well and watched a movie and I went to Hollywood Beach with Tiffany one day while Owen did a practice exam.

Here's some pictures from the first part of our time in Florida (more here), scroll down to read about my Dad's visit and see more pictures!

Pool by Alaina's house that I swam at most days

Crazy storms for most of the time we were there!

Picking Mangos, they were delicious!

Early birthday pedicure with Alaina

The end of Las Olas Boulevard

Sunset by the lake at Alaina's

Dad's Visit

The last week of our time in Florida, my Dad flew down for a vacation. Fortunately Owen was able to take a long weekend and we drove down to Key West after picking up my Dad from the airport. We spent Friday-Monday in Key West and really tried to make the most of our short time. We ate at some great local places and even had the unique experience of being pooped on by an iguana up in a tree above our table at breakfast (at least we got free tshirts out of it!). We did a wave runner tour around the island, saw the southernmost point in the US, went parasailing, rented paddleboards, tried sailing on a hobiecat, enjoyed some beach and pool time, checked out the local history at the Wreckers Museum and the Mel Fishers Museum, loved the Key West style architecture and homes, and explored Duval Street of course! It was also neat to see a lot of sealife over the weekend, even though we didn't have a chance to go diving, we saw 6 nurse sharks, a starfish, a horseshoe crab all while on the wave runner; 1 baby nurse shark while on the paddle board; and some rays while parasailing! Most times you don't even get all that while diving! It was a great weekend getaway and it felt very much like being back in the Caribbean, a nice little touch of one of our homes! Check out more Key West here!

The rest of the week I hung out with my Dad in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea while Owen finished up his rotation. We saw the sunrise, went to the beach across from his hotel, watched lots of barracudas, rays, and a shark off the pier, and walked around the little town center. We also went to South Beach in Miami for a day which is a whole different world, and the art deco was really cool to see. We went to Bahama Breeze for dinner one night with Alaina and the other student who was doing the rotation with Owen, and walked around the Sawgrass Mills Mall. We also met up with one of my Dad's friends from work who retired to Florida. When Owen had free time, we all walked around Las Olas Boulevard, ate at the Aruba Beach Cafe in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, and spent the last night in Florida at my Dad's hotel to get up early and watch one more sunrise over the ocean before heading back north. We had a great time and we so glad my Dad was able to come down for the week! Thanks again Dad for a great vacation for us too! Enjoy your pictures ;)

Key West