I was in Los Angeles for work, but I still made some time to go exploring. I just set out on foot one afternoon until I was completely and utterly lost with about 10% phone battery to get home. It was a lovely tour of the local street art.
I don’t have a lot to say about the trip, so here’s a gallery of all the beautiful street art I came across.
And I have absolutely no idea what this is, but I found it. it’s lovely.
I ended up at the AERA conference in Toronto this April. I didn’t do a whole lot this trip, but I did find a few cool things.
The start to my trip was discovering that I had no phone service in Canada. Yeah… first trip across country lines with my cell phone. I was driving… So fortunately, I found a gas station with wifi and downloaded a map to my airbnb. But the keys were at another hotel with a 24 hour security desk, a guard who wasn’t there, and I really needed to pee. Apparently my credit card had a pin number on it, which I didn’t realize. So no cell phone, no money, and no map. I was getting a little nervous. After about 5 hours trying to get checked in to my airbnb, it was smooth sailing. I got a good laugh out of it once I was done crying.
The conference center was next door from Ripley’s Aquarium, so I headed over there for lunch. It was a little overcrowded for my taste, but I can understand why. The many Aquariums housed a variety of fish and aquatic life. And there was a tunnel through one where sharks and sea-life swim around you.
My favorite piece of Toronto was the Distillery District. Did some shopping and grabbed a few snacks. It reminded me a little of Saint Augustine. The prices were a little higher than they are back home, but nothing too bad.
The remaining highlights of an otherwise uninteresting trip:
I spent most of my time in the water here. There were small waves entertaining the local surfers and tourists. I was happy to find the beach was sandy and I didn’t need shoes to avoid sea urchins. I snorkeled around a little bit and found some life. I saw a few octopuses, puffer fish, and even a sea turtle.
Every day after swimming, I would stop up to Uma’s for a drink and too much to eat. The food here was seriously so good, I visited the place three times in an effort to try everything on the menu. The boasted an amazing vegetarian menu, the best mojitos, and bartender that picked fresh fruits for drink creations on their way into work. I don’t even like food.
Found a beautiful place called Cueva del Indio. It appears in Pirates of the Caribbean and Goonies. It’s not that easy to find actually. You start in a privately owned parking lot, that looks like any other gated coastal property. You have to buy a ticket for the day and pay to park. The ticket vendors are set up between a couple of booths where you can find jewelry and touristy delights.
I think I spent half the day chasing the wildlife trying to catch a photo. There were birds, giant hermit crabs, and many types of lizards. The lizards were not really into modeling I guess. And I had to keep my shoes on because of the sea urchins.
Even found some petroglyphs among the rocks.
The views were absolutely breathtaking and I can see why movies are filmed here. The beaches are a bit too rocky for casual swimming, but it’s an amazing place to climb around and explore.
Even a place deemed safe by cliff divers. It’s jump at your own risk, but it was pretty neat to watch.
The last stop was Flagler Beach. We received a historical tour of the John Anderson Highway and Tomoka State Park area. And had a wonderful chance to check out the local wild life. My aunt and uncle live right next to a state park and encounter tons of wild life right in their own back yard.
Apparently my uncle gets pretty excited about the wild life and the remains he finds lying about. He was very proud to show me the wild boar skull he found.
I was not so excited by the enormous banana spiders.
The town of Flagler Beach has grown quite a lot since I was young, but it has maintained the small beach town feel. The shops are all still thriving, everyone still congregates at the pier.
Most importantly, the beach is still beautiful. My uncle gave us some surfing lessons in the afternoon.
After the beach we went and got cleaned up and went to dinner at the Flagler Fish Company. Every bite was absolutely divine. We tried the Steamed Muscles, the Shrimp Cocktail, Blackened Grouper, Tuna Salad, Seared Tuna Steak, and Crab legs. We had the Asiago Potatoes and Green beans, the and the sauteed spinach as our sides.
After dinner it was time for a midnight swim under the full moon. My uncle took us back to the beach for a short excursion. The water was still warm and the weather perfect for a little dip to end an awesome adventure.
A few months after we left, my uncle sent this picture of the highway near the beach. The hurricane wasn’t feeling too friendly after I left.
PigTailz 