Somehow we managed to drive ~550 miles — all in the state of Florida — in the last three days.

For work reasons we stayed at the Bahia Mar in Fort Lauderdale. Their web site photos look nice but, of course, marketing photos are supposed to look nice, and you never really know until you get there. I can report that the corridors and rooms are showing their age some. However, proximity to attractions, dining, entertainment, and the beach, plus friendly staff, made the stay enjoyable.

More photos are at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianhart/sets/72157619607167745/

Since the Bahia Mar is basically exactly due east of Alligator Alley and Dede is just a bit north of said Alley, we invited ourselves over to Cape Coral last night. We crashed at Dede’s place… cleaned the pool, relaxed, freaked out the cats, ate at Outback, shopped at Ross (some of us), fed bread to canal fish, and just generally had an enjoyable time. With that baby on the way and everything, we didn’t think there’d be another opportunity in the near future, either.

Today was the Cape Coral to Celebration drive. I now remember how sleepy major Florida highways make me. Long and straight with little-to-no interesting scenery. Note to self for next time: be sure to be adequately caffeinated, and not with a caffeine/sugar drink that will give you the sugar crash sleepies.