Last week, I headed out to Orlando, Florida with the aim of covering four stories in as many days. A bit of a crazy schedule – especially with 500 miles of driving involved. First call was snorkelling with manatees for a travel feature in The Independent. Luckily, we arrived at the hot springs where they over-winter just as a volunteer rescue team was returning a cow to the water.
Weighting around half a ton, with muscles to match, these gentle giants nevertheless get slightly upset when you try to attach a GPS tracking tag to them. We launched her back into the warm waters, where she rejoined the 150-strong herd.
Next stop was Wekiwa Springs State Park where I took a hike through the fragrant pine woods and saw palmettos. Here’s an armadillo snuffling for insects.
The next day, it was another big drive to Spruce Creek – the world’s largest air park, a town based around a runway, where people drive and park their planes alongside their cars. It was pretty surreal, as you can imagine – Uncle Charlie would think this place is heaven!
The same day, I also visited Ponce de Leon Springs State Park, where I took a dip in (possibly) the Fountain of Youth sought by Spanish Conquistadors. In the end, they settled for slaves and gold, while I settled for a very welcome dip in a bubbling spring and a hike through the ruins of Florida’s first theme park. Mini fact: back in the ’50s, this resort had the world’s only water-skiing elephant.
I rounded the day off with a 20-mile bike ride along the West Orange Trail, a super-smooth rail trail that winds through some cute old Orlando suburbs. Then I drove out to Oviedo to re-connect with old family friends – Rick and Jan Florsheim. Rick was one of dad’s photography students in the ’70s – now he’s a real gourmet and treated me to a first class Italian meal. Mamma mia!
Not too much to report from my last two days in Orlando. On the Thursday, I visited Lockheed Martin defence contractors and saw some cool high-tech simulator gadgets that were too classified to photo, and on Friday it was the CyberPatriots final at the spotless Rosen Shingle Creek resort. Geeky teenagers battling in cyberspace makes for an interesting story, but not especially dramatic visuals. Watch out for the story in Wired UK, hopefully soon.
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