Miami - Day 8

After 11 pool sessions covering over 70,000m, two runs, three weights sessions and two other land sessions we all enjoyed a day off yesterday.

First on the agenda was a drive into Fort Lauderdale to board a 550 seater riverboat called the Jungle Queen to take us on a trip through the many water ways and the inter coastal highway. Fort Lauderdale is known as the Venice of America and we could see why. The Captain of the boat gave a great commentary as we were making away past $28 million yachts and row after row of $10 million houses.

After an hour or so we stopped at a wildlife island that included alligators, raccoons, monkeys, parrots and other tropical birds. The highlight was the alligator wrestling show and the photos some of the swimmers had with a baby alligator.

Back on the minibus and after a 30 minute drive and a few wrong turns we made our way to the Sawgrass Mills shopping mall with over 400 stores and 50 restaurants. The swimmers were given 3 hours to do their own thing in small groups and whilst the lads, Tracie and Andi went for an amazing meal at the Cheesecake Factory, the girls decided not to waste time eating, not when there was shopping to be done!

Some great bargains were found by all - Kane even managed to find some trainers and fins that fitted him!

The final part of the day was a visit to the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale. This iconic pool is one of the most famous in the world. Lets just say it looks more impressive from above that it does at ground level and we are glad we are training at Pine Crest!