That's it, day one is over. We had the best coffee in Florida (allegedly) in Jacksonville, saw the oldest European-established city in the US in St Augustine, saw a very, very small alligator in Orlando, and made it to St Petersburg via seeing Airstream caravans stuck in the ground along the I-4.

Here's a video recap, featuring me sat outside "The Moon Under Water"
in St Petersburg. I had a curry, of all things, because I was starving
and because not many places were open when photographer Steve and I
arrived.

Tomorrow I'll be exploring the St Petersburg and Clearwater area before heading to the Everglades to explore there on Wednesday. Tips on places to eat, places to see, things to do, and places to sleep all gratefully received – @AdamGabbatt.

After the disappointment of Gatorland it was splendid to be offered a beer by Chris Hardy, an Englishman turned Floridian. We met at House of Beer. It has 42 beers on tap, although only one was from Florida, and it was a wheat beer, so I had a nice pint of Goose Island IPA.

Then it was off to St Petersburg, a straight shot down the I-4. The freeway runs from the west coast to the east coast of Florida and is seen as the "swing part of the swing state" – the north of the state tends to vote Republican, the south Democrat, but here in the middle is up for grabs. It gets pummelled by politicians during the primaries (tend to be in January – next one in 2016) and every fourth November during the election.

Here's a bit of roadside beauty – the Airstream Ranch. Eight trailers/caravans shoved in the ground, lengthways. Frank and Dorothy Bates erected them in 2007. In 2010, after a legal battle, a judge ruled they could keep them up.

So I made it to Gatorland, the self-described 'alligator capitol of the world' and home to the Gator Wrestlin' Arena. 

Unfortunately I only made it in time to be told that it was shut. The gift shop was open though, and in there they have three comically small alligators. They were not very lively: 

I can report that the gift shop sells t-shirts and alligator hats. And Dr Pepper for $2.66 a bottle. Also the car park is quite large. 

Naples, Fla, native Laura Jane Grace from punk band Against Me! just sent us her choice tunes for the road - everyone with a Florida connection. You can share your Sunshine State sounds via Spotify

Twitterer @karenzander (pictured above) whisked me round St Augustine just now. It's the oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement in the US and celebrates its 450th anniversary in 2015.

We saw the oldest platted street in the country, and then had a look at the narrowest street in the country - constructed so two men could carry a chest down it without anyone coming alongside to mug them. Much of the architecture is Spanish style, with winding, narrow streets inbetween white-washed buildings.

The Colonial Quarter just re-opened in March, after $3m was spent on its creation. It's on St George street right in the center of St Augustine. Cindy Stavely gave me a whistle stop tour round the living museum, which has a blacksmith, old newspaper printing press, and a gunsmith. 

The gunsmith is called Jake, and he will fire his 1650-style musket if you ask him nicely. It is very loud though: 

Next stop - fountain of youth!

Just a reminder that Adam is on his way to St Petersburg tonight (the one in Florida, that is). It's known as a great retirement city, because of the year-round sunshine, but what else is there to do? How should Adam spend his evening there? Any bars that turn its reputation on its head? And where should he stay? Post your suggestions below, or tweet Adam directly (@adamgabbatt).

Adam looking a bit out of kilter with the dress code

This is Jake, he's an armoured gunsmith at the Colonial Quarter in St Augustine

As we're doing a series of road trips across the States over the next six months, we thought we'd better enlist someone who's got a bit of mileage under their belt to advise us on the tastiest roadside treats. Salena Lettera has logged over a million miles behind the wheel of a 75ft rig, and has visited all 49 of the continental US states. She has sampled virtually every regional delicacy … and here are her 10 favourite at hundreds of roadside diners, restaurants and food stands

Breakfast of champions: Fox Restaurant, 3580 St Johns Ave.

A neighbourhood institution since the 1940s. It's just a couple of blocks away from Boone Park in the Avondale neighbourhood of Jacksonville, a pretty affluent suburb where two-storey white houses have sprawling lawns.

It's an old-style diner with a long bar and booths you can slide into. For decoration, action figures line the walls, including Spiderman, C-3PO and Mr T.

I sat at the bar and had an omelette, and chatted briefly to a man from Cheshire who was visiting his son and liked "the Manchester Guardian".

There's a cool little strip of restaurants around Fox's that would be well worth hopping around.

You can see what The Fox looks like in the video below taken by iknowjax.com

Celeste serving breakfast at the Fox Restaurant in Jacksonville

Unfortunately for Adam, none of these vehicles is the one he is using for his road trip. This picture of a row of Lamborghinis on a palm-lined Florida street was sent in by one of readers via GuardianWitness. If you've got a picture that captures Florida life, you can upload it here.

Our friends at Roadsideamerica.com offer a guide to more than 9,000 offbeat tourist sights in the US. They sent us 10 of their favourite roadside attractions in Florida - including the resting place of 60s TV star Flipper the dolphin 

Boone Park was suggested by a person in real life. It's in the Avondale area of Jacksonville, just south west of the downtown area.

It's named after William Elijah Boone, who bought and rebuilt trains for companies in north Florida and South Georgia in the early 1900s.

It's 28 acres, with pathways winding between the trees. I've never seen as many squirrels in my life. The tree canopy offers a nice cool shade from the Floridian sun.

First stop of the day - Bold Bean Cafe (869 Stockton Street, Jacksonville). Thanks to @pricesquire for the tip. My Americano was very nice, as was the the breadline pie I had with it. It's quite a hip place.

They roast their own coffee beans, in this beautiful roaster.

To help Adam on his journey, we asked Sweat Records from Miami to create a playlist of Florida bands... here's what they came up with. Let us know what you'd have on your playlist for the Sunshine State. You can simply add your tracks to our playlist at spoti.fi/14BCa2I

Last night I went for a lovely meal thanks to a tip from @pricesquire – Ben Price – on Twitter. He directed me to Orsay (@orsayjax), a laidback French bistro just outside of downtown Jacksonville.

Inside the decor was modern, and the staff friendly. They were all wearing earpieces, which I didn't fully understand. Orsay bills its menu as "extremely traditional Paris bistro classics, alongside dishes that apply French technique but bring in some southern American influences". I had the Bouillabaisse – fish stew – with wild local shrimp, calamari, mussels, Pernod and saffron tomato broth. It was amazing. Beautifully rich and just a hint of spice.

That plus a beer, which I very sloppily didn't get the name of, came to $20 plus tip. Tasty, thrifty, and a good start to the trip.