Took a three day trip to Florida to enjoy a warmer climate. It wasn’t much warmer but certainly comfortable. We spent the first day in a Spanish colonial town called St. Augustine. Some pretty amazing 18th and 19th century buildings including a very old chemist’s shop, the one that we get to see often in American westerns – a moustachioed septuagenarian with all his medical wisdom in a tousled hat operating a cash register with a mechanical lever with a constant expression of being wary of an outlaw. We weren't much of outlaw material but more like gullible tourists. The back of the shop however was an anachronism, it was selling ice-cream. There was an old fort too – Fort Matanzas(a US national monument!), similar to the ones that are littered all over the Goa coastline especially Fort Aguada. The difference is the building material. The bastion here is made of coquina – a rock made entirely of shells.Nothing much to see other than a few drab rooms and a funny speech by a soldier dressed in the colors of the Armada. The town of St. Augustine is a small quaintish charming enclave and worth a visit once.
Then came the main course. We headed for the place where childhood came gushing back – Disneyworld ofcourse!. And whoever visits the Disney parks for the first time must visit the Magic Kingdom. It was the Nu's first time. Now, it might not sound truly exciting, but it was puerile pleasure indeed to return to the multi-hued world of the Disney characters. Besides the omnipresent Mickey and Minnie, who can forget Pluto, Chip’n’dale and Goofy. We even managed a dance with Humphrey the bear.We got a glimpse of the fairy-tale houses, the everlasting fearful expression on Snow-white's face(the dwarves were nowhere to be seen though), peter-pan and his cohorts, the desperate beast in the hands of the beauty(the Nu even cheekily made a comparison) and a smattering of other vivid creatures all under the watchful eyes of the iconic Cinderella castle that changed colors as evening approached. Just for a moment I missed those hard board books that contained sketches of cartoons , the color-me exercises at the end of the book that were must haves and in general the whole euphoria of being a kid. Why do we have to grow up? And then the answer....
FOR THIS(yeah baby) - Next day we were at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. The name says it all, from Superhero rides to Jurassic Park to the stunningly detailed Harry Potter’s wizarding world, IOA is a must-visit thrill junkie haven. Where on one side we get tricked by Bluto to ride his leaky raft(instead of Popeye’s boat) and was it wet, on the other side we almost get devoured by T-rex stealthily waiting famished(isn’t it always) jerking us out of our laguor on our mostly serene and a little subdued Jurassic boat ride. Dr. Doom is up to his usual tricks by suspending us from the air, feet dangling, mouths screaming and stomach experiencing negative Gs(similar to my grades) while the Incredible hulk coaster thinks exposing us to gamma radiation is going to keep us away. For Potterphiles and even for the “muggles”, the Hogwarts castle is a true delight. The trick of the moving portraits is applause worthy while the conclusive ride at the end was terrific and might I say – magical. The HP ride had a technical glitch in the middle and during the stoppage, I got to see the incredibly intricate set design. The village outside the Potter rides is authentic and if the queue outside Dervish and Banges wasn't long, I would have loved to dress as a wizard. Due to wait times, we could do every ride just once but what fun. The day was over in a jiffy and our legs were giving away.
As a state, Florida is a like a large-scale retirement home with 20% of its population being over 65. Houses are cheap, the weather is beautiful, rainy and the beaches are ace. For most part it is a flat-marshy land with broad roads and miles of coastline. Both the beaches and roads have a dearth of population and cars. It is said that the population of Florida triples during tourist season. So in one way the sunshine state as it is called might not have much in terms of history nor scenery but what is does have is Theme parks galore and if your adrenaline needs a boost, lets “coast” along.
