The guy in the visitor's center at Shark Valley said Alabama Jack's was his favorite place "in all of Florida." We didn't know anything about the guy or his taste or if he's been to anywhere else in Florida, but we took his word for it and went to Alabama Jack's.
The sky got darker and humidity got thicker as we went. We were sort of between a crocodile preserve and the ocean on a narrow spit of land that had a tree lined road on it. In a somewhat wider spot, there sat Alabama Jack's. It was an open air restaurant with a line to get a table mid-afternoon.
 |
| humidity + Mark's hair = wowza |
It was decorated in the same license plate motif that seems to be all the rage. There were a few wheezing and gasping fans that did nothing to cut through the heavy oppressive air.
We secured a table and placed our order. People were smoking and bikers were buying buckets full of beer bottles. The guy behind the counter clanged a bell whenever that happened.
It was a whole experience.
Our food arrived.
Clockwise from top: the crab cakes Geri ordered (delicious), the blackened mahi rueben Adam ordered (delicious), the coconut shrimp I ordered (delicious), the sweet potato fries, onion rings, baked beans (delicious, delicious, delicious).
Mark ordered nachos. Why you'd order nachos in the south of Florida where Mexican food isn't much of a thing, is beyond me. They weren't delicious. They were a huge pile of chips and this gross cheese product and lettuce and a few pieces of chicken.
It was hot and Mark was cranky and the heat coupled with the nasty food made Mark feel sort of sick.
We got back in the car and drove to Biscayne National Park. The dark sky broke open and it rained.
In Washington, when it rained, my friends and I would tell our kids that they weren't made of brown sugar and they wouldn't melt.
They may have melted in Florida rainstorms though....
Adam nobly dropped us off at the visitor center and went to park. We got thoroughly soaked. Inside the visitor center, Adam chatted with the man working behind the counter in the marvelous way he has to make people feel interesting. The man seemed really happy to have someone to talk to.
We didn't see much of the park because of the torrent, but it gives us a reason to go back. (Except we probably won't feel the need to visit Alabama Jack's again.)
Mark was still sick and cranky so he sat outside under a covered overhang and got positively eaten by mosquitoes.
It didn't do much to improve his mood.
He was swelling up all over so we stopped at Walmart for benadryl. That made him sleepy and made his blood sugar spike. Then the ankle zipper on his favorite pair of sweatpants (why you wear sweatpants in melt your face off weather is beyond me) and he was done.
I lay next to him at the hotel until he fell asleep. While he slept, I scrolled through my phone and saw this:
It was exactly the kind of day Mark was having, but he did cheer up after his nap.
The next day we flew home. It was such a lovely trip and I'll always remember it and feel grateful for the chance we had to spend time together and see sights.
No comments:
Post a Comment