The search was on almost as soon as we arrived in Florida. We had dreams of rows and rows of roadside fruit stands, with fruits and veggies fresh from the farm. We thought this was the land of endless bounty and harvest.
First, we tried in "normal" grocery stores...the infamous Publix. All of the fruit there was overpriced and shipped in from other countries and states. Even the grapefruit was imported from California.
Next we tried a Farm Market...note, this is not a farmer's market. This place had more potential because they were specialized...again, no. There was weirder fruits and veggies, but when looking at labels, they were all imported!
Finally we tried an actual farmer's market that again had potential and even the ambiance with the tent and screened in shack. The only things that were from Florida were oranges and honey. All other fruits were IMPORTED!
Thus far, I am convinced, finding fruit that is grown in Florida and is sold in Florida is like finding a person that was born in Florida and still reside in Florida...it is rare and should be treasured when you find one. (I get autographs from these rare specimens...they will be worth something some day)
Reading online, it looks like a lot of farmers markets open in October here? So I am wondering if this is because the growing season starts in October down here because it is too hot in the summer, or is it because snowbirds come down here for winter, and therefore there is more demand for farmer's markets? This question, I will have to leave unanswered until a later date...
Friday, October 22, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Extra Credit: The Scientific Method
Quick thought that hit me while working out...There are a few ways to change things in your life...My mother loves to say "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result..." She's a smart lady, but when you change something, what method do you choose?
There is the Biggest Loser Method, which says when something isn't working in your life, change everything. Abandon all that you were doing before and change it NOW. I guess this is due to a sense of urgency.
There is the sales man method, also known as my dad's method...what will you do differently TODAY. Change some sales approach that you do to see if the results change...however, as one of my favorite business professors told me, in sales you have to be like a ninja and dodge the rain drops. Constantly changing direction and approach to maintain the ever changing competitive advantage. As soon as you stop, the rain will hit you and you are done for. In other words, change fast and change often.
I am going to try the Scientific method...(it might not be "scientific" at all...so it might be "My method that I am going to try this week until I decide otherwise...") is that I could not have possibly messed up so completely that I have to abandon ALL that I am doing (the Biggest Loser Method). I also am, as my favorite blues singer in New Orleans sings, "built for comfort and not for speed" so changing fast and continuously is difficult and taxing...(I think the slow pace of Florida is finally getting to me, haha) and some changes take longer to see the effect. So I am going to change only 1 thing a week and see what the result is. Then the next week, I will keep that change and add another. Testing what combination will work. Moderation is key...or so all of the weight loss programs have told me...
There is the Biggest Loser Method, which says when something isn't working in your life, change everything. Abandon all that you were doing before and change it NOW. I guess this is due to a sense of urgency.
There is the sales man method, also known as my dad's method...what will you do differently TODAY. Change some sales approach that you do to see if the results change...however, as one of my favorite business professors told me, in sales you have to be like a ninja and dodge the rain drops. Constantly changing direction and approach to maintain the ever changing competitive advantage. As soon as you stop, the rain will hit you and you are done for. In other words, change fast and change often.
I am going to try the Scientific method...(it might not be "scientific" at all...so it might be "My method that I am going to try this week until I decide otherwise...") is that I could not have possibly messed up so completely that I have to abandon ALL that I am doing (the Biggest Loser Method). I also am, as my favorite blues singer in New Orleans sings, "built for comfort and not for speed" so changing fast and continuously is difficult and taxing...(I think the slow pace of Florida is finally getting to me, haha) and some changes take longer to see the effect. So I am going to change only 1 thing a week and see what the result is. Then the next week, I will keep that change and add another. Testing what combination will work. Moderation is key...or so all of the weight loss programs have told me...
Monday, October 11, 2010
Lesson #3: Rain Happens
The attitude that Florida residents have about rain can be summed up in 2 words: "Rain Happens."
The biggest example of this attitude is seeing a landscaper (landscaping is a huge business in Florida) cutting the grass in the rain. It was a down pour and I was picking up my mother from a car repair appointment. By "down pour" I mean the streets were flooded to the point that the water was over the speed bumps in the apartment parking lot. On the 10 mile journey, I see a landscaper cutting grass in this down pour and a construction crew busting up the sidewalk. In Indiana we don't even think about cutting the grass if it has rained in the past 2 days.
Rain in the rainy season (those are the only seasons South Florida has it seems, wet and dry) usually only lasts about a block or two...no really, one block it is dry and sunny, next block a down pour, then dry and sunny again. So I guess, the old Indiana saying of, "If you don't like the weather, wait a minute and it will change," is similar here...but reversed, "If you like the weather, wait and minute and it will change." According to a co-worker, one of the few people I have met that actually was born and raised in Florida, if you don't do things in the rain during the wet season, it won't get done. That is why they cut grass soon after rain, but he agrees that cutting grass in the rain is extreme.
We are heading toward the end of the hurricane season and therefore the rainy season, so we shall see what the dry season will be like.
PS: Got my Florida Driver's License today...the process was not as scary or as difficult as many Florida people were telling me...
The biggest example of this attitude is seeing a landscaper (landscaping is a huge business in Florida) cutting the grass in the rain. It was a down pour and I was picking up my mother from a car repair appointment. By "down pour" I mean the streets were flooded to the point that the water was over the speed bumps in the apartment parking lot. On the 10 mile journey, I see a landscaper cutting grass in this down pour and a construction crew busting up the sidewalk. In Indiana we don't even think about cutting the grass if it has rained in the past 2 days.
Rain in the rainy season (those are the only seasons South Florida has it seems, wet and dry) usually only lasts about a block or two...no really, one block it is dry and sunny, next block a down pour, then dry and sunny again. So I guess, the old Indiana saying of, "If you don't like the weather, wait a minute and it will change," is similar here...but reversed, "If you like the weather, wait and minute and it will change." According to a co-worker, one of the few people I have met that actually was born and raised in Florida, if you don't do things in the rain during the wet season, it won't get done. That is why they cut grass soon after rain, but he agrees that cutting grass in the rain is extreme.
We are heading toward the end of the hurricane season and therefore the rainy season, so we shall see what the dry season will be like.
PS: Got my Florida Driver's License today...the process was not as scary or as difficult as many Florida people were telling me...
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Lesson 2: Registering Cars in Other States
How could moving get more difficult? Somehow Florida figured out a way. I contacted my insurance company and figured out that insurance in high because of the no fault state thing (which I will explain in a moment) and because 1 in 4 drivers in Florida are uninsured.
No fault as my friend commented on an earlier post is a state by state law. Indiana was a state that based accident claims on the percentage of fault each person had. This can lead to more lawsuits. Florida decided, along with other states, that to avoid lawsuits they would make personal injury (pain and suffering, inconvenience, etc) no fault, meaning the auto insurance company will pay for medical expenses (that is the injured person's own insurance company.) The actual damage to the vehicle is still always based on fault.
While speaking to the insurance agent, he says that he will give me a temp card that will allow me to get my car registered...I thought he meant the plates... No he meant to get my car title changed to Florida. You have to take you title from the other state (In my case, Indiana), you registration from the other state, proof of FL insurance,and $127.60, to the tax collector's office. With further investigation, you also must have the vehicle VIN verified by a notary public or police officer! The tax collector (no really, there is a building that says tax collector, and the tax collector's name on the building itself...for some reason thing struck me as strange. We do not have this in Indiana.) will change the titles from the other state to FL and issues licence plates. Registering your vehicle must be done within 10 days of when you become a resident...ie, you sign your lease. 10 days!
Then at the DMV, you take your passport or birth certificate, your SS card, and 2 forms of Proof of residency and get your drivers license. This is of couse not in the same location, or even close to the same location as the tax collector. The insurance agent recommended making an appointment because generally you don't take something that you need and you have to wait forever in line as well. So I guess you make an appointment so that your first trip is a quick rejection of your paperwork and then you make another appointment? I did try to make an appointment and the first available was October 11! You are supposed to have the new license within 30 days...hmmm, interesting.
In Indiana, all of this can be done by 1 visit to the DMV, title, plates, and license.
No fault as my friend commented on an earlier post is a state by state law. Indiana was a state that based accident claims on the percentage of fault each person had. This can lead to more lawsuits. Florida decided, along with other states, that to avoid lawsuits they would make personal injury (pain and suffering, inconvenience, etc) no fault, meaning the auto insurance company will pay for medical expenses (that is the injured person's own insurance company.) The actual damage to the vehicle is still always based on fault.
While speaking to the insurance agent, he says that he will give me a temp card that will allow me to get my car registered...I thought he meant the plates... No he meant to get my car title changed to Florida. You have to take you title from the other state (In my case, Indiana), you registration from the other state, proof of FL insurance,and $127.60, to the tax collector's office. With further investigation, you also must have the vehicle VIN verified by a notary public or police officer! The tax collector (no really, there is a building that says tax collector, and the tax collector's name on the building itself...for some reason thing struck me as strange. We do not have this in Indiana.) will change the titles from the other state to FL and issues licence plates. Registering your vehicle must be done within 10 days of when you become a resident...ie, you sign your lease. 10 days!
Then at the DMV, you take your passport or birth certificate, your SS card, and 2 forms of Proof of residency and get your drivers license. This is of couse not in the same location, or even close to the same location as the tax collector. The insurance agent recommended making an appointment because generally you don't take something that you need and you have to wait forever in line as well. So I guess you make an appointment so that your first trip is a quick rejection of your paperwork and then you make another appointment? I did try to make an appointment and the first available was October 11! You are supposed to have the new license within 30 days...hmmm, interesting.
In Indiana, all of this can be done by 1 visit to the DMV, title, plates, and license.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Extra Credit- The Drive
1130 miles of driving alone...really? Yes, after a few near misses, we finally arrived safely to FL. Georgia people are crazy drivers and really it is just the Atlanta drivers and a 30 mile radius around the city. If I had to live there, I think after just going around the city I would have turned back and said, "just kidding."
We took a mini break to St Augustine since we were waiting for the furniture to arrive. Note to self: Don't go during Labor Day Weekend. Crazy busy and we could not find a place that was close to town. So it was difficult to get to all of the places we usually like to go. We (my family) came up with our top 3 places to go.
My List:
1) Trolley Ride: I recommend the Green and Yellow trolley (not sure the name, but once I have internet in the apartment I will get it). I think they stop at the most places and very frequent (every 15 min there is a new trolley). The passes last 3 days (so the price seems a little high, but when split in 3 days, they are not that bad). They tell the history of the city and stop at most of the top locations. I recommend, your fist time in the city, ride the trolley around one time fully to get all of the history and get a feel of all of the locations in the city. There is also a red and black trolley group that is produced by Ripley's Believe It or Not. I have not gone on this tour, but the parents have and they like the Green and Yellow better...for the money, I will have to believe them.
2) Ferry ride: I have only gone on one of the Ferry tours, but there are a few available that will take you around the Matanzas and close to the Atlantic. There is a Pirate Ship that is fun, but you have to sing and dance, so if you like that kind of thing, try it out. There is also a larger ferry that has been operating for 4 generations (the one I took). It is great for scenery and is low on talking (giving history). I would have preferred a little more history in my tour, but I got enough history from the Trolley ride that I could fill in the gaps. There is also a sailboat tour (none of my family has taken) and Eco tours that has kiak and regular boat rides to find the dolphins and wildlife that is in the area (also a tour none of us has taken yet).
3) St George Street: Pretty good shopping and some really good ice cream.
Parents: (they have been to the city more that 2 times, something like 5 times)
-they would add the following to my list
1) Old Jail: A good place to see the old history of the place and get a feel of the 1880's time frame (I have never been to the Old Jail)
2) Flagler College (the tour): happens at 10am and 2PM every day, student run tours. Great way to get the history of the college back when it was built by Henry Flagler as the massive, state -of-the-art Hotel Ponce de Leon in the 1880's. See the Tiffany glass in the dining hall. You will get a lot of the history of the Flagler era on the Trolley tours but to see the inside detail, take the tour. (I have never taken the tour)
3) Alligator Farm: It is on Anastasia Island, across the Bridge of Lions. If you take the Trolley tours, there is a shuttle that can take you out once an hour to the Farm and the Lighthouse, or you can drive. You can hold the baby alligators and learn all about the creepy crawlies. (I have never been to the Farm)
4) Ghost and Graveyards Tour: There are a number of ghost tours around St Augustine and the Lighthouse. Some are walking, some are riding. I took the one created by the Ripley Believe It or Not group, and it was okay, but it was very theatrical. They do give you an EMF detector to use on the tour and a disposable camera that you can use and keep to see if there were ghosties around that you couldn't see but your camera would capture. The Ghost and Gravestones is produced but the Trolley group that I mentioned as my number 1 attraction. I hear that it is even more theatrical but it does go to the Lighthouse but does not go in. They also offer a 4 hour, 10PM-2AM, jail house investigation on the Fridays or Saturdays only (none of us have done this but are very excited it we get a chance to participate sometime in the future).
Those are the big places to go in St Augustine in our opinion. I went to some new places that I will touch on briefly:
Fountain of Youth: Not updated since the 1980's, it seems, and there is very little that kids would find as interesting. Needs updating
Government House (St Augustine Museum): Gives a lot more information than the St Augustine museum that is by the Old Jail will about the colonization period of St Augustine and the different conquests
St Augustine Museum (by Old Jail): Free...but not updated (but I guess how do you update history). Gives more information on the pioneer period of St Augustine and Florida in general.
Casa Zeraga (I will check the spelling when I have internet in my apartment): This is the first structure of poured concrete in St Augustine by Franklin Smith (who taught Henry Flagler how to do it to make his massive hotel). Good audio tour to let you know what you are looking at. Air Conditioned! Someone had a thing for Moroccan "stuff". (Go once...)
That is all for now from St. Augustine. Now to get all settled in in the apartment. The movers came yesterday and left way too many boxes at our apartment...I am sure they were unloading other people's "stuff" but they insist it is all our "stuff!" Movers! Someone must have gotten in our "stuff" and added "stuff", I do not remember this much "stuff!" So far, though, I recognize all of the "stuff"...so maybe I did pack all of this "stuff."
PS. Movers are WAY worth it!
We took a mini break to St Augustine since we were waiting for the furniture to arrive. Note to self: Don't go during Labor Day Weekend. Crazy busy and we could not find a place that was close to town. So it was difficult to get to all of the places we usually like to go. We (my family) came up with our top 3 places to go.
My List:
1) Trolley Ride: I recommend the Green and Yellow trolley (not sure the name, but once I have internet in the apartment I will get it). I think they stop at the most places and very frequent (every 15 min there is a new trolley). The passes last 3 days (so the price seems a little high, but when split in 3 days, they are not that bad). They tell the history of the city and stop at most of the top locations. I recommend, your fist time in the city, ride the trolley around one time fully to get all of the history and get a feel of all of the locations in the city. There is also a red and black trolley group that is produced by Ripley's Believe It or Not. I have not gone on this tour, but the parents have and they like the Green and Yellow better...for the money, I will have to believe them.
2) Ferry ride: I have only gone on one of the Ferry tours, but there are a few available that will take you around the Matanzas and close to the Atlantic. There is a Pirate Ship that is fun, but you have to sing and dance, so if you like that kind of thing, try it out. There is also a larger ferry that has been operating for 4 generations (the one I took). It is great for scenery and is low on talking (giving history). I would have preferred a little more history in my tour, but I got enough history from the Trolley ride that I could fill in the gaps. There is also a sailboat tour (none of my family has taken) and Eco tours that has kiak and regular boat rides to find the dolphins and wildlife that is in the area (also a tour none of us has taken yet).
3) St George Street: Pretty good shopping and some really good ice cream.
Parents: (they have been to the city more that 2 times, something like 5 times)
-they would add the following to my list
1) Old Jail: A good place to see the old history of the place and get a feel of the 1880's time frame (I have never been to the Old Jail)
2) Flagler College (the tour): happens at 10am and 2PM every day, student run tours. Great way to get the history of the college back when it was built by Henry Flagler as the massive, state -of-the-art Hotel Ponce de Leon in the 1880's. See the Tiffany glass in the dining hall. You will get a lot of the history of the Flagler era on the Trolley tours but to see the inside detail, take the tour. (I have never taken the tour)
3) Alligator Farm: It is on Anastasia Island, across the Bridge of Lions. If you take the Trolley tours, there is a shuttle that can take you out once an hour to the Farm and the Lighthouse, or you can drive. You can hold the baby alligators and learn all about the creepy crawlies. (I have never been to the Farm)
4) Ghost and Graveyards Tour: There are a number of ghost tours around St Augustine and the Lighthouse. Some are walking, some are riding. I took the one created by the Ripley Believe It or Not group, and it was okay, but it was very theatrical. They do give you an EMF detector to use on the tour and a disposable camera that you can use and keep to see if there were ghosties around that you couldn't see but your camera would capture. The Ghost and Gravestones is produced but the Trolley group that I mentioned as my number 1 attraction. I hear that it is even more theatrical but it does go to the Lighthouse but does not go in. They also offer a 4 hour, 10PM-2AM, jail house investigation on the Fridays or Saturdays only (none of us have done this but are very excited it we get a chance to participate sometime in the future).
Those are the big places to go in St Augustine in our opinion. I went to some new places that I will touch on briefly:
Fountain of Youth: Not updated since the 1980's, it seems, and there is very little that kids would find as interesting. Needs updating
Government House (St Augustine Museum): Gives a lot more information than the St Augustine museum that is by the Old Jail will about the colonization period of St Augustine and the different conquests
St Augustine Museum (by Old Jail): Free...but not updated (but I guess how do you update history). Gives more information on the pioneer period of St Augustine and Florida in general.
Casa Zeraga (I will check the spelling when I have internet in my apartment): This is the first structure of poured concrete in St Augustine by Franklin Smith (who taught Henry Flagler how to do it to make his massive hotel). Good audio tour to let you know what you are looking at. Air Conditioned! Someone had a thing for Moroccan "stuff". (Go once...)
That is all for now from St. Augustine. Now to get all settled in in the apartment. The movers came yesterday and left way too many boxes at our apartment...I am sure they were unloading other people's "stuff" but they insist it is all our "stuff!" Movers! Someone must have gotten in our "stuff" and added "stuff", I do not remember this much "stuff!" So far, though, I recognize all of the "stuff"...so maybe I did pack all of this "stuff."
PS. Movers are WAY worth it!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Lesson 1...Car Insurance
So I call up the car insurance and find out where the closest agent is in Florida and call there to see how to get everything transferred from Indiana insurance to Florida insurance so that I can get my drivers license, license plates, etc. The agent takes a look at what I have and waits a day to tell me the news...for the same insurance coverage with the same provider...(dramatic pause)...DOUBLE the price! Shocked!
After I pulled myself from the floor and did the whole hyperventilation thing (this is a dramatization of actual events), I learned from a former Floridan that many people have dirt cheap insurance that is called (I think) "no fault", meaning if you get in an accident both sides just pay for their side of the damage and can basically just drive away. This is one possible reason that the insurance is double the price in Florida. According to this ex-Floridian, it is a really bad idea to get "no fault" insurance, because you get what you pay for. However, due to so many people getting "no fault" insurance, the insurance companies hike up the price for those customers that actually want, and pay, for full insurance.
In Indiana, our version of "no fault" would be the opposite, call "liability only" where we pay for the other person's damage but are responsible for our own vehicle out of pocket.
My second theory developed from our recent apartment hunting trip to the area. After traveling to the West Palm Beach area, I realized that Florida drivers are crazy! More than once in that week we had close calls with people almost backing up into us, tricky three lane merging, and even a boat sitting in the middle of I-95 (a five lane interstate). There are also two left-hand turn lanes so that the inside turn lane can do U-turns and the outside turn lane actually turns left. This was all experienced in the "off season" (read as: "before the snow birds migrate from heaven knows where to Florida and drive even crazier").
I am not even sure if this insurance would cover hurricane damage, which I will have to ask the insurance agent when I am finally through giving him the silent treatment and decide to finally talk to him again to make a decision...I am a girl...this is sometimes how we punish people who tell us disappointing information and make us mad...even if it is not the fault of the messenger.
No matter the reason, I value my car. So I will be one of those poor saps that actually pays for full insurance.
Lesson 1 is Car Insurance...be prepared to pay dearly.
After I pulled myself from the floor and did the whole hyperventilation thing (this is a dramatization of actual events), I learned from a former Floridan that many people have dirt cheap insurance that is called (I think) "no fault", meaning if you get in an accident both sides just pay for their side of the damage and can basically just drive away. This is one possible reason that the insurance is double the price in Florida. According to this ex-Floridian, it is a really bad idea to get "no fault" insurance, because you get what you pay for. However, due to so many people getting "no fault" insurance, the insurance companies hike up the price for those customers that actually want, and pay, for full insurance.
In Indiana, our version of "no fault" would be the opposite, call "liability only" where we pay for the other person's damage but are responsible for our own vehicle out of pocket.
My second theory developed from our recent apartment hunting trip to the area. After traveling to the West Palm Beach area, I realized that Florida drivers are crazy! More than once in that week we had close calls with people almost backing up into us, tricky three lane merging, and even a boat sitting in the middle of I-95 (a five lane interstate). There are also two left-hand turn lanes so that the inside turn lane can do U-turns and the outside turn lane actually turns left. This was all experienced in the "off season" (read as: "before the snow birds migrate from heaven knows where to Florida and drive even crazier").
I am not even sure if this insurance would cover hurricane damage, which I will have to ask the insurance agent when I am finally through giving him the silent treatment and decide to finally talk to him again to make a decision...I am a girl...this is sometimes how we punish people who tell us disappointing information and make us mad...even if it is not the fault of the messenger.
No matter the reason, I value my car. So I will be one of those poor saps that actually pays for full insurance.
Lesson 1 is Car Insurance...be prepared to pay dearly.
Friday, August 27, 2010
The proverbial "rabbit hole"...
I am moving from Indiana, where I have lived all of my life except for 1 year in Japan (which we won't discuss right now), to Florida. The land of sunshine, palm trees, palmetto bugs (ie. roaches the size of cats...or so I hear), Cubans, tar balls, and hurricanes...that is pretty well the extent of my knowledge of Florida.
I have traveled to Florida a total of 4 times (1 time I was too young to remember, but the family says I was there and there are pictures so I must have been there). The time I don't remember, we went to Daytona Beach...where it was decided that my first lesson of Florida would be learned...don't drink large amounts of ocean water...results: DISASTER...and a really long night. Fortunately, I do not remember this time in my life but the lesson is understood.
Second trip to Florida was Key West. It was beautiful in Key West. I really liked the pirate stuff everywhere and you get to embrace the pirate mentality for a little bit. Key experiences in Key West include: the Duval Crawl, the original Sloppy Joe (the Sloppy Joe pizza was excellent...highly recommend) which I do not usually enjoy but the atmosphere of the bar was interesting, and watching the sunsets (I want to go at least one time to the Sunset Celebration that occurs daily at Mallory Square Dock...maybe sometime soon).
Third trip was to St. Augustine. Excellent history, and you learn about someone I had never heard of but is famous throughout Florida apparently is Henry Flagler. Great place to visit and walk around. There also a trolley that you can get a 3 day pass for and it will take you to all the highlights of St Augustine, I would highly recommend the trolley and just ride it all the way around one time to get the layout of the area and some great history lessons. St Augustine is, of course, a great ghost town where everywhere is supposedly haunted...although, other than the awesome Ghost Hunters episode about the lighthouse, I doubt most of the claims. A great restaurant is the Conch House (you have to drive to get there, but it is worth the drive), the food is okay, but they have "tree houses" that are tables that are elevated and view out to the harbor. We saw dolphins and flying fish. Great place for a meal and nature watching.
Fourth trip was to my-soon-to-be new home around the West Palm Beach area. We were apartment hunting and trying to get the lay of the land. With the viewpoint of "I'm going to live here," you start seeing thing a little differently...you notice that U-turns are expected and almost encouraged, where as in Indiana it is rarely done. I realized that in Florida, apparently there is not a "good" or "bad" side of town. It really seems random, like the city just kept expanding out from the beach in waves and never really developed a "good" or "bad" side of town and just had it randomly placed. Great finds in the West Palm Beach to Boca Raton area were, Hurricane Alley, a restaurant, in Boynton Beach that has a Key West atmosphere with hurricane information all over the walls and some really good, affordable food. There was a great public beach in Boca Raton that has an inlet to the Intercoastal Waterway where you can sit in the shade and watch the boats come in and fish for tiny fish, apparently to be used as bait out in the ocean...my mom and I kind of had to figure it out on our own, so that might not be fact and just a story we made up to explain the reason why everyone wanted to fish for tiny fish.
That is all I know about Florida from my past experience, but this blog is about my future experiences that I will have with Florida. I am sure there will be days that I love Florida and want to have a map of Florida tattooed somewhere on my person and there will be days that I curse the day Henry Flagler decided to develop the Florida area and wish it would fall into the ocean...So Florida is my latest rabbit hole. I am excited to see where this takes me and you can read all about my strange adventures in Florida in this blog.
I have traveled to Florida a total of 4 times (1 time I was too young to remember, but the family says I was there and there are pictures so I must have been there). The time I don't remember, we went to Daytona Beach...where it was decided that my first lesson of Florida would be learned...don't drink large amounts of ocean water...results: DISASTER...and a really long night. Fortunately, I do not remember this time in my life but the lesson is understood.
Second trip to Florida was Key West. It was beautiful in Key West. I really liked the pirate stuff everywhere and you get to embrace the pirate mentality for a little bit. Key experiences in Key West include: the Duval Crawl, the original Sloppy Joe (the Sloppy Joe pizza was excellent...highly recommend) which I do not usually enjoy but the atmosphere of the bar was interesting, and watching the sunsets (I want to go at least one time to the Sunset Celebration that occurs daily at Mallory Square Dock...maybe sometime soon).
Third trip was to St. Augustine. Excellent history, and you learn about someone I had never heard of but is famous throughout Florida apparently is Henry Flagler. Great place to visit and walk around. There also a trolley that you can get a 3 day pass for and it will take you to all the highlights of St Augustine, I would highly recommend the trolley and just ride it all the way around one time to get the layout of the area and some great history lessons. St Augustine is, of course, a great ghost town where everywhere is supposedly haunted...although, other than the awesome Ghost Hunters episode about the lighthouse, I doubt most of the claims. A great restaurant is the Conch House (you have to drive to get there, but it is worth the drive), the food is okay, but they have "tree houses" that are tables that are elevated and view out to the harbor. We saw dolphins and flying fish. Great place for a meal and nature watching.
Fourth trip was to my-soon-to-be new home around the West Palm Beach area. We were apartment hunting and trying to get the lay of the land. With the viewpoint of "I'm going to live here," you start seeing thing a little differently...you notice that U-turns are expected and almost encouraged, where as in Indiana it is rarely done. I realized that in Florida, apparently there is not a "good" or "bad" side of town. It really seems random, like the city just kept expanding out from the beach in waves and never really developed a "good" or "bad" side of town and just had it randomly placed. Great finds in the West Palm Beach to Boca Raton area were, Hurricane Alley, a restaurant, in Boynton Beach that has a Key West atmosphere with hurricane information all over the walls and some really good, affordable food. There was a great public beach in Boca Raton that has an inlet to the Intercoastal Waterway where you can sit in the shade and watch the boats come in and fish for tiny fish, apparently to be used as bait out in the ocean...my mom and I kind of had to figure it out on our own, so that might not be fact and just a story we made up to explain the reason why everyone wanted to fish for tiny fish.
That is all I know about Florida from my past experience, but this blog is about my future experiences that I will have with Florida. I am sure there will be days that I love Florida and want to have a map of Florida tattooed somewhere on my person and there will be days that I curse the day Henry Flagler decided to develop the Florida area and wish it would fall into the ocean...So Florida is my latest rabbit hole. I am excited to see where this takes me and you can read all about my strange adventures in Florida in this blog.
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