From Central America to the US - a quick (and expensive) taste of reality.

Late last year, we spoke to some great friends from Australia, whom we met while travelling in Canada in 2008, and found out that they were getting married in Las Vegas over Christmas.  We had been thinking about what to do for the Christmas, New Year period as we were planning on getting out of Central America for some time mainly so we could reset our visas for the Nicaragua/Guatemala/Honduras/El Salvador region, and so we could do something a little different for a few weeks.  After travelling down through Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama, we took a flight up to Ft. Lauderdale to begin 5 weeks of travel in the US.  After spending over 5 months in Central America, it was a welcome change to be back to a kind of reality and order.


The 5 weeks saw us travel from Ft. Lauderdale to Atlanta, to Dallas and Austin, to Las Vegas, to Houston, to New Orleans and back to Atlanta, before finishing up with a roadtrip around southern Florida.  We had originally hoped to hitchhike a lot of the way, but after being told by many people that it is near impossible in Florida, and with the weather being terrible whilst we were there, we ended up taking buses, a rideshare, a flight and rented a car for the last week.

Clearly I was excited to see beautiful trees in Fall -  Piedmont Park, Atlanta, Georgia. 

Awesome street art - Atlanta, Georgia.

Our couchsurfing hosts for our two nights in Atlanta are volunteers at the Georgia Aquarium so, lucky for us, we got an amazing behind-the-scenes tour. This is a shot of one of the four manta rays breaching  taken from above the Ocean Voyager exhibit. From here we also saw how they fed the whale sharks!  

Weedy seadragon, Georgia Aquarium - Atlanta, Georgia.

Cassie wanted to be one with the penguins, Georgia Aquarium - Atlanta, Georgia.

After Atlanta, we caught a couple of buses to reach Dallas, Texas.  We had always wanted to visit Texas, so we were super excited to get the chance to finally go there. As an added bonus, we got to catch up and stay with a couple of awesome girls, Megan and Chelsea, whom we met while in Costa Rica last year.  Unfortunately, most of the photos that we had of Dallas (us riding mechanical bulls for example) were on my phone that was stolen on NYE (so we no longer have proof of our kick-ass bull-riding skills). Below are some shots of the cattle yards and longhorn cattle drive in Fort Worth, Texas.

 Notice the buffalo's ass sticking out of the wall behind the bar, hence the name of the beer! Fort Worth,  Texas. 

This one is for you, Brett!

After Dallas, we took a rideshare with a crazy Chinese dude and his mother, overnight to Las Vegas to head to Mike and Courtney's wedding. As our fourth time in Vegas, we weren't so excited for all the casinos but more for catching up with our friends and being a part of their wedding. 

The view from the wedding reception at the Aria Casino - Las Vegas, Nevada.

Our next stop after the week in Las Vegas was New Orleans to catch up with our old buddy Mick, and party the night away for New Year's Eve on Bourbon Street. The week here was crazy and is now kind of fuzzy (I have no idea why), but we do know that we had an amazing time and that our kidneys/liver are still functioning. 

My brunch on the second day: 'the Ultimate Cure' at Bayou Burger.   It's a double cheeseburger with a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich stuffed in the middle.  Bourbon Street, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Gnarly beer-bong from the third storey on Bourbon Street - New Orleans, Louisiana.

Alabama and Oklahoma were in town for the Sugarbowl so we decided this was the game we had to see for our first American Football experience. New Orleans, Louisiana.

Some of the beautiful architecture - New Orleans, Louisiana.

Before flying back to Honduras, we had a week to spend in Florida.  We caught a bus back to Atlanta from New Orleans, then rented a car for the week so we could see as much of Florida as possible (Florida's bus network is terrible, and expensive).  

After sleeping in our car for the night in a rest stop outside St. Augustine, we drove down Florida's Palm Coast. 

After driving the Atlantic Coast, we cut across the state, through Orlando and drove down the Gulf Coast. 

If only it wasn't so damn cold… - Siesta Key, Florida. 

Siesta Key, Florida.

 Somewhere south of Venice, Florida.

We then looped around the bottom of the Florida Peninsular and stopped in at the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve to try to stop some gators.  We did see a few gators, but even better than these was the Florida black bear that was hanging right next to the boardwalk! (Look closely at the centre of the picture…) 

We then made our way down to the Florida Keys (again sleeping in the car in a rest stop).  This is the marker at the bottom of Key West, Florida. 

After five weeks of pretty rushed travel, it was time to kick back in Miami before boarding our flight back to Honduras.  

Here I am trying out our new hammock from the boys at SoCohammocks in Austin, Texas.  

(If you're after an awesome hammock that is super quick and easy to hang, perfect for travelling, check them out! www.socohammocks.com)