Sittin' on the dock of the bay

When we decided to come and explore the US I envisaged beautiful beaches, dramatic landscapes and exciting cities - and thus far we've had plenty of that. But I also imagined quiet little towns, country folk and in the words of Otis Reading, sittin' on the dock of a bay, wasting time.

Well now we're in Fairhope, Alabama and we have found just that. A sleepy country town by the sea, we've found some lovely people - never have I felt more like a celebrity than on the beach today, where the young local girls for whom British tourists are definitely not the norm, spent most of the day fascinated by our accents, quizzing us on England and One Direction - but we also found the most stunning dock.

And so today, I have been living by Otis  Reading's words:

Looks like nothing's going to change

Everything still remains the same

I can't do what ten people tell me to do

So I guess I'll just remain the same

Sittin' here resting my bones

And this loneliness won't leave me alone

It's two thousand miles I roamed

Just to make this dock my home

Now I'm just gonna sit at the dock of the bay

Watching the tide roll away

Sittin' on the dock of the bay

Wasting time

I can certainly think of worse places to be 'wasting time'.

Living in the USA

The first two weeks of our trip are up. If we were on a normal holiday we would be back in the UK now sat at our desks with our fast-fading tans, watching the drizzle and reminiscing about the good times we'd had in the Florida sun. Instead we're still here and it's started to sink in we're going to be living in the US for the next 3 months (well 2 and a half now). 

With that comes the realisation not every day is going to be all highs, there will be moments when we miss home, miss our friends, feel a little tired or grumpy - not that we've had time to feel even remotely home sick yet.

We have a lot of places to visit, an abundance to see, and with that comes plenty of time on the road, a variety of experiences, some exhaustion, but most importantly a hell of a lot of fun! Tonight we plan on reliving our Uni (or should I say college) days by gatecrashing a Frat party at our new friends' in Tallahassee.

The four of us are already like a little family. And I have a sneaky feeling we're going to love living in the USA.

A journey of surprises

We're still very much in the early stages of our trip, but already there have been several things and places that have really surprised me on our journey. And I don't just mean the prices of the drinks in the clubs in Miami or that iHop is open and serves it's full menu 24 hours a day (this is us there at 2am)

I have learnt things about myself, my friends and the US I never knew or expected - and I'm certain I'll learn a lot more over the next 4 and a half months.

I've been surprised by how much I felt at home in Miami after 5 days; how much I enjoy going out diving on my own; how non-slimy dolphins are; how quickly we all began pining for a washing machine and clean clothes; how brainwashed some Americans are (the views of our friend Thomas in Naples shocked us all); how quickly we could learn the state nicknames and capitals (we thought it would take weeks rather than a day); how our state knowledge is now better than a lot of Americans; how fun it is being out on the road - ok, I did kind of anticipate that, but the sense of freedom and contentment you get is absolutely something else.

But the real surprise for me so far has been Tampa. A big city, known for little more than business, Busch Gardens and being the home town of Channing Tatum and his seedy 'Magic Mike' strip club. Not the sort of place you'd want to visit, right? Wrong. The cute streets in the historic district of Ybor City, the lively strip of bars, the drink prices ($1 a drink - could you ask for more?), the friendly people. I loved Tampa. Admittedly, with a long day at Busch Gardens followed by a drive to Orlando the next day, making the most of the city may not have been the wisest decision we've ever made (for Chloe at least) but I'm certainly glad that we did.

Heaven on Earth

After an eventful start on Friday (with a forgotten credit card mishap) we picked up our car, or KiKi as we affectionately call her, and got out on the road. That road brought us to a place I think is actually heaven on earth, The Florida Keys.

Stopping off in Islamorada to eat the best food we've had so far, as we sat looking out on the palm trees, sunshine and sea, I knew it was going to be a good few days.

It took literally minutes to spot our first bunch of dolphins, then we arrived at our glorious hotel in Key West. Located right near the sea and a short walk from the marina and all the bars, with a lovely swimming pool, jacuzzi and breakfast included, we are living the life.

From biker bars to aligators, crazy dancing, meeting special agents, late night swims, moped rides, beer by the pool, key lime coolers, key lime pie, amazing views over the sea, giant iguanas, tropical storms, we've had it all. 

And we left our mark in Key West attaching our dollars to the ceiling of the dollar bar.

We even found the most scrumptious veggie cafe (much to Soph's delight) in Key West, with Sezchuan noodles, falafel pittas and Moroccan vegetable and lentil soup. Good job we weren't there longer or Soph may literally have spent her whole budget in that place!

And importantly for me I got to do some diving in Key Largo. Diving of many firsts, first time I've been out on a boat without someone I already know, first time I've dived in the rain and first time I've seen eagle rays, lobster and a whole load of jelly fish.

I really couldn't ask for more. And we've not even swum with dolphins yet - that's what we're up to tomorrow morning before we head on to the Everglades, where I plan to cement my nickname of Ray Mears.

Miami, the city that keeps the roof blazing

'This the type of town I could spend a few days in, Miami the city that keeps the roof blazing.'

We've only been away for 5 days so far and we've not even ventured further than Miami yet, but there's already much to tell.

There's been tattoos, drunken evenings, giant cocktails, lost Kindles, exciting bus rides, lots of sunshine and beach time, some thunder and rain, nail salons, morning runs, American diners, buggy rides, Kardashian stalking, bike rides, roller blading and lots of new Italian/Israeli/Swiss/Moroccan/Spanish friends.

We've set up some routines, like recording quote of the day, winning one so far is Danielle's drunken explanation of how she doesn't need an invisibility cloak or immortality because she has alcohol!

We've started to relax and enjoy ourselves, we're really loving life; although I'm sure the fact this is our lives for months and months hasn't really sunk in yet.

Now we're off to pick up our hire car and are heading South to Key West... let the road trip begin!!

Someday is today

Ever since I was 7, I've always thought 'someday I'm gonna travel the world' ...well now someday has arrived and in an hours time I'm off to Heathrow, to begin my big adventure, travelling the world.

Having been filled with trepidation (and a mild state of panic) just six hours ago as I dashed around the house sorting out a few last minute things, now my excitement has taken over and I'm beginning to realise today is the day I start living my dreams. Adieu.