First Impressions of Florida...
So And and I have just returned from a short break to Florida, care of some freebee tickets from United Airlines. I've been meaning to visit my Auntie Marilyn in Fort Lar-dee-da for a long time. We caught the red-eye flight out of SF straight after the madness of the Spring Show Industry Day which could have been better timing but jeezy creezy this is one big country to cross. Some 6 hours in all!
Anyhoo, we managed to get some rest on the flight and we met by my aunt (well Pen's aunt really, or mum's cousin, or... well you know northern families) who then gave us a tour of Fort Launderdale in all it's glory... and HUMIDITY! It's almost solid out there at the momenr in readiness for the tropical storms ahead. That took some getting used to! First stop being the infamous (at least to me) Andrew's Diner. Now I've heard a lot about this place care of Marilyn so I was really intrigued. The gay vibe was pretty well sealed with the server regaling us with his exploits at a recent Gay rodeo, where he tells us he didn't win but was 'mounted by a steer!' - some booby prize then.
We were really surpised to find we were relatively close by (nothing being really that close) to the biggest Gay district in Florida (nee the East coast) - Wilton Manors. Now not wanting to push te stereotype but it's always glarily obvious that a neighborhood embraces a pink populace thanks to the wealth of stores selling lovely things. My Aunt told me that when the gay couples moved in just less than 10 years ago it was quite different, now it's festooned with antique shops, coffee houses and a rather good gay club by the name of Alibi. Where thanks to the 'older' population of the area, we for one glorious night enjoyed being the youngest guys there. What a different joy from a night in the Castro!
We had a wonderful relaxing couple of days with my Aunt and her friends, a boat tour through the winding waterways and million dollar homes of the rich and slightly has-been (How can a house once owned by Sonny and Cher now be owned by the family behind Taco Bell!?) Shopping at a huge Flea Market and lots of eating. A couple of days in we visited a Butterfly park with one of my Aunt's best friends Kay and her Goddaughter Kaylan. Very cute. A sumptuous meal on the last night before we all went up to Orlando.
