Sign o’ the times mess with your mind
Hurry before it’s too late
Let’s fall in love, get married, have a baby
We’ll call him Nate
If it’s a boy
Prince
This is a blogpost for nerds only. If you are not a nerd (or a sign geek), don’t bother to read any further! The thing is – when you travel a country (or in this case the Sunshine State), you pick up on some signs. And some of them are funnier than others, saying something about the mentality of the people living there (or the tourists who are visiting). And some of them are just plain confusing.
I hereby bring you a compilation of the signs from our trip in Florida 2014/2015. Most of them were picked up on our drive from Miami Beach to Key West, but some of them are from South Beach or Little Havana.
When you are driving from Miami to Key West, it is easy to find your way. Drive South on Route nr. 1! Unfortunately for us, quite a lot of other people thought it was a good plan going to Key West on December 27th (2014). Because of this, we spent 8 hours on a trip that usually take 3,5 hours. Happy Holidays!And on your way to Key West, you can get a slice of paradise and adopt a highway and buy sandals, sandals and sandals…
I am pretty sure that Sandal Outlet must be the company in the world that spends the most advertising money compared to the size of the shop. I have driven Route 1 twice and I am equally fascinated by these boards every time…
And the Silver Alert? I am sure that the locals know what it means. But we were puzzled. But I guess we just needed some entertainment after standing in line for 6-7 hours.
And on your way to Key West you can buy loads of other stuff than sandals: Grooming, firearm licences, HIV-tests (that was in South Beach to be honest), psychic readings or lawyer’s help (of course). And after standing in a slowly moving line for 8 hours, you are so grumpy when you get to your destination, that you might need one…
But we finally reached our destination Key West and the Best Western Key Ambassador Resort Inn at around nine o’clock. The problem was that the pool bar was closed. And besides this, the hotel had no food, no beer and we did not want to drive a meter further to get some.
But they had a welcome committee! I never understood if this sign was supposed to mean wheelchair accessible check-in or…?The Ambassador did not even have a minibar or a pack of peanuts! But we were hungry and we did not want to drive anymore – drunk or sober. However, thanks to Google Maps we managed to find an Asian joint within walking distance. Thank you Google and Benihana for preventing a bad conflict and giving us some looong awaited food and drinks.
And the next day we were ready to explore Key West. Myself for the second time around…
And in Key West they also love signs. It’s a pretty touristic place, meaning they need signs to explain where you should go, what you should do and what kind of behaviour is allowed (or not)…
And many more signs (and this is quite a normal function to be honest) will give you direct instructions on how to act. Left lanes must turn left and in the Domino Park (aka the Maximo Gomez Park), they have signs telling you how to behave while playing domino. In Spanish of course. Like most other signs in Little Havana.
And whatever you do, please make sure that you relax responsibly…
