East Coast 2021:
Day 14 - Homestead, FL

	Thursday, September 23, 2021: We got up at our usual time and were on the road before 7:30 AM. We were driving through the Space Coast this morning, and the Apollo Inn was a good example. Not sure about the use of the Space Shuttle as an image on their sign though.
	We drove through very patriotic Cocoa, Florida. Not Cocoa Beach, which is on A1A, but just Cocoa. We decided against going into Kennedy Space Center and doing some space-related touristy things, opting to save that for our next trip when we are chasing a launch.
	Florida weather can go from clear skies and sunny to spooky fog with little notice.
	And just like that, it was sunny again. Patrick Air Force Base, now Patrick Space Force Base, controls the Eastern Range that is used for all rocket launches from Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center.
	We were making good progress southward, getting through Melbourne and Palm Bay without any issues.
	An oil well? Here? Well, not a working one, but a relic of one. Hmm.
	We passed marinas and piers on the Indian River, which is the name for this portion of the intracoastal waterway.
	We crossed over the St. Sebastian River as we entered ...
	... Indian River County. Fun fact: their police department is one of Tom's former clients.
	Yep, we were still on US 1.
	We passed the Twistee Treat outside of Port St. Lucie, but it was too early to stop.
	This giant conch shell was listed in Roadside America as a "classic Florida photo-op," and we couldn't resist. After all, people have been taking photos of it since 1955.
	The median in Port St. Lucie was lined with palm trees and pretty flowers.
	The road widened out to three lanes in both directions as we crossed the bridge over the St. Lucie River.
	The road drawbridge was down, but the rail drawbridge was up, so we didn't know if something large had recently passed through, or if something was coming, or if the rail bridge was always like that.
	This vintage-looking McDonald's sign advertised that they used the "Speedee Service System."
	This is the best combination of Yum foods according to Debbie. You have to admit that it makes more sense than KFC and Taco Bell. Think of the taste combinations possible from sharing a fryer.
	We didn't stop at the Twistee Treat in Port Salerno, either. We hadn't had lunch yet, and according to Pink Floyd, "How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat!"
	This sign completes the trilogy of turtle-related crossing signs. We had previously seen Terrapin Xing signs in South Carolina, Turtle Xing signs in Michigan, and now this turtle sign in Florida. Side note: we saw no actual turtles, just the sign.
	We passed the Nathaniel P. Reed Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge, shortly before ...
	... Jonathan Dickinson State Park, one of the places we had originally booked when we thought were were going to be doing this trip in our RV.
	Jupiter, Florida, ...
	... contains June Dunes Natural Area. We see what you did there. Juno was name of the Roman goddess of marriage, home, and family, and was the sister to Jupiter.
	The Juno Dunes look lovely.
	We knew we were in a weathly area when we were passed by this Aston Martin, ...
	... and sure enough, ....
	... we were in North Palm Beach.
	Here's a great gargoyle statue wearing a mask.
	We passed a port with a bunch of Tropical shipping containers, but no other companies were represented.
	This beautiful building is the 1916 County Courthouse and the Palm Beach County History Museum ...
	... and this is the new Palm Beach County Courthouse.
	The street was very narrow here, ...
	... but there were interesting things to see all around, such as this Swedish Coffeehouse and Cafe.
	We stopped at the first Pollo Tropical that we encountered, ...
	... ordering the Mojo Roast Pork platter with rice and beans, flan, quatro leches cake, mango iced tea, and ...
	... a side of sweet plantains. It was as delicious as we remembered from our last trip. Maybe even more delicious. We vowed to eat every meal at Pollo Tropical while we were in the Florida peninsula.
	At 1 PM, we were at Boynton Beach, ...
	... still enjoying the drive and the colorful sights.
	We drove through Delray Beach, ...
	... and thirty minutes later, we were going through Boca Raton.
	The buildings were getting larger and ...
	... spectacularly beautiful.
	Even this Citibank building was attractive.
	This Fort Lauderdale Collection South car dealership was one of a chain of dealerships, most of which were not in Fort Lauderdale. This one was in Pompano Beach.
	Putting the intended road symbol on the lane you needed to be in really, really simplified directions.
	We approached Fort Lauderdale through the Henry E. Kinney tunnel under the New River.
	We saw this Lamborghini Aventador on a side street. It's the first time we've seen one in the wild, and it sure looked fast.
	Welcome to the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
	We liked the stylized "D" in the Welcome to Dania Beach sign. But hey, not every photo can be perfectly centered when you're driving by quickly.
	Roadside America told us about the Big Orange outside a souvenir shop in Dania Beach.
	Here's the Hollywood Bread building in, uh, Hollywood, Florida. Debbie remembered Hollywood Bread. Tom did not.
	That's a big horse. A really big horse. Actually, it's Pegasus pummeling a dragon with his hooves outside a racetrack in Hallandale Beach. Thanks, Roadside America.
	We wondered if the Aventador that we saw earlier was headed to the Lamborghini Miami dealership, seen here.
	As we sat at a red light at US 1 and North Miami Blvd, we watched this semi try to make a right turn, driving over the bushes in the median, ...
	... and getting thoroughly stuck, blocking all of the southbound lanes. Stunned, we turned right and wondered how long it would take to clear that up, thankful that we could watch it happen and get away from it quickly.
	US 1 Scooters.
	This is another motel that was probably packed during the 1960s, but props for maintaining the classic exterior.
	This ad made Coppertone a household name back in 1953. According to Wikipedia, this is one of the last known billboards remaining with this ad.
	The South Pacific Motel has a distinctive sign, with the "M" upside down.
	The Sinbad Motel was just down the street. They have cable channels.
	The buildings were starting to look more like Miami.
	Pollo Tropical! We didn't stop at this one, but only because we didn't yet have the stomach space.
	The One Thousand Museum building was stunning.
	We drove past the Miami Cruise Terminal, and could see an Oceania ship docked.
	At 3:45 PM, we made a fateful decision. The streets were blocked for some event, and there were signs indicating that there would be delays. However, we decided to press on with Route 1 and continue though downtown Miami rather than take a faster route. We felt like we needed to see this through.
	We could see highrises on the outlying islands offshore.
	On the road, it was nothing but a sea of brake lights and stopped traffic.
	This sign promised one mile in under five minutes. It would be an improvement.
	There would be no problem slowing down to 45 MPH on this curve because we weren't going anywhere near that fast.
	We passed the Church of Scientology building. It had taken us 45 minutes to go ten miles.
	Debbie was pretty sure we were going to die of old age on this road.
	We were amused by the dominos painted on the overpass pylons.
	Another hour later, we passed Coral Castle, 22 miles further down the road. We were almost to our destination.
	This McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II show the markings of the 482nd Fighter Wing, based at Homestead Air Reserve Base, which is all that is left of the former Homestead Air Force Base that was destroyed by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
	Finally at 6:15 PM we arrived at our hotel, the Floridian Inn. It had taken us two and a half hours to travel 28 miles. It had been a miserable drive through Miami, but it had been worth it because we stayed true to our mission.
	Luckily, there was a Pollo Tropical right across the street, and we ordered a repeat of our lunch, and enjoyed it just as much.
	Just before bedtime, Debbie reached for her backpack and was startled to find a tiny lizard on it. Before she could get a picture of the little guy, he scampered away and hid under a piece of furniture by the door. Ah, the joys of a tropical hotel. Miles today: 250. Total miles from Fort Kent, ME: 2646. Day 15 >