florida

I have never been to florida. Never even been south of DC really. So when I awoke on the train to florida greenery, I felt as though I had stepped into another country. They have palm trees growing naturally under pine trees and none of their trees change color for the fall. Also, Spanish moss drips from most trees. Someone on the train said that was mistletoe and I wondered that anyone went anywhere without kissing under all the mistletoe. But then Ashley corrected my knowledge naming that stuff Spanish moss and the world made sense again.

Florida feels different and it isn’t the weather. Tropical beauty sits everywhere, taken for granted by most as they tour the tourist attractions. I did not go to many of these except the Disney village. Stores full of tempting things, artwork, build your own miniature car, etc. not including any kind of food you want. They have dinosaurs and sea dragons built of legos. On top of the arch of one building, they have a stitch that spits water at unsuspecting passer-bys. I am not a big Disney fan, I can’t even name half the characters I saw there, nor can I find the hidden Disney symbols; I’m too busy looking at the basic attractions. And that is ok with me.
Southern hospitality lives up to its reputation. Helpful, thinking of everything without hanging over my shoulder. Lots of excellent food when we ate in. Excellent food that I couldn’t get elsewhere when we ate out. They almost had an issue when they found me eating cereal. But that’s what I wanted. Sometimes cereal is the only thing which fits my hunger.

I couldn’t believe I was actually sitting with Ashley once again. I haven’t seen her since college and that’s the only place I ever saw her. a person in their home looks so different than college. More relaxed, less harried. I think I stared for a while seeing her so relaxed and professional looking. Makeup and nice clothes are a far cry from bed-head and hoodies. And her family got to finally see who I was. As I talked I watched them connect dots of stories they had heard from Ashley with my face. Oh, so you are the one who tried to kick her… you are her tutor…. Eventually we realized that all of us were on our best behavior.

I went line dancing at a country bar. I told my friend I would go as long as I had beer in my system quickly. Actually, line dancing is kinda fun. The only downside is the country music. I don’t mind country setting, country people (too much), or the clothing (sometimes), but I don’t like country music. Sometimes the lyrics make it bearable, but most of the time just annoying. But line dancing is actually fun. Besides, everything becomes a bit more tolerable when approached with a beer. No, I did not get drunk. I did ride the mechanical bull, and I actually stayed on over 8 seconds.

If you have the option, def go to st. Augustine, the oldest constantly inhabited town in the Americas. The atmosphere alone makes it worth the trip. The day I went they had a pirate get together, so we walked thru that. I have never seen so many jack sparrows in one town. They seemed to be everywhere.

We went to see the manatees in their spring. A deep spring feeds a decent sized river with incredibly clear water. Manatees themselves look like miniature whales or giant seals at a glance. But they have funny noses. They live up to their name of sea cows by floating for a bit, then moseying out to eat for a while, then moseying back in. I went swimming in the river over to the spring and looked down. Huge crevasses open up about 15 feet below the surface. Pretty amazing. Also amazing to swim with the current; I didn’t know I could swim that fast without moving much of anything. We went to say goodbye to the manatees and saw a turtle. And then we saw a large alligator climb up out of the water (with trouble of course) onto a log to sun itself. A lot of very exotic animals call florida home. At least, they are exotic to me.

Then we went to the ocean beach. The huge waves called to me, I had to go tumble in the surf. Its kinda hard to swim in the surf, but fighting and rolling in the waves I could do. In fact I love it. Walk out a bit till the surfs hit your face, plant yourself while the wave gathers water to itself. Watch as it rises to meet you, forming a white crest on top. Decide how you will meet this wave. Dive in head first? Swim with it? Let it crash into you? Jump over it? Make sure that you dive under the surf, not directly into it. Otherwise you invite the headache afterwards. My favorite is diving under one wave and feeling another roll over while still under the surface. Waves, unlike life, usually give you a short respite to clear your eyes and get your bearings again. If you fully tumble with the waves, expect to have to find the ground and the direction of the shore. At some point, you can just ride the waves back into shore. Then look down as you walk out of the waves; the water recedes much faster than your steps, making it seem like you fly but for the solid ground beneath each step. I could have sworn the ground ran towards the ocean in those seconds.