If you're there for that long, you're sure to get a few dark, rainy days -- windy enough to blow over the umbrellas at the pool ...
This is not a river or stream; it's a culvert that hasn't drained because of all the rain.
And this is not a pond. They say the mosquito season is going to be bad this year.
It didn't rain every day. But still, I had time to go to a flea market . . .
where I bought a decorative dragonfly and saw a live macaw at one of the booths.
I made a few friends playing table tennis at the local recreation hall.
And then, yeah . . . there's the traffic.
Still, a beautiful sunset over the Gulf of Mexico.
And so, goodbye to Florida.
13 comments:
I was so surprised the first time I experienced a rainy Florida winter. The soil seems so sandy that I was surprised that there was so much standing water for so long. Must be lots of waer in the round already.
Florida is going to be very wet this year it seems and has already gotten its share of tornadoes. But the reason I cannot live there is the demographics. Too many graybeards.
My sister lives in Florida in a 55+ community. No kids on the streets and three golf courses makes for a different environment, that for sure. I could live there if I had another place to go during the summer. But those summers! :-)
I've only been to Florida to catch cruise ships and have yet to spend time in the state. I imagine there are wonderful things to see and do there.
Florida is a great place for parrots. Millions fly loose. Of course parrots fly in Chicago too, but its colder.
Have never heard anything to make me want to spend time in Florida. I flee from heat and humidity. Can't imagine spending a winter where it's warm.
Sorry about the rain. Unlike Linda, I would LOVE to spend a winter where it's warm and sunny.
I'm not going to stick up for Florida. I'm just going to look at the facts. Last week, the entire country was cold. Even California. Except for Florida, which had temps in the 60's-70's. Which would you rather endure: snow storms or rain storms. Having gone through both, I'll take the latter every single time.
With an unemployment rate of 5.6%, (https://www.google.com/search?q=unemployment+rate+in+florida&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8) who do you think has all those lovely jobs? Graybeards? Old people? Retired people? I doubt it. Lots of young, energenic, entrepreneurial folks relocating to Florida to the tune of 1000+ per day. Lots of people live in Florida. Get used to it! Florida may have traffic but which traffic would you rather be in: NYC or Orlando (as an example)? Florida roads, since they are new are outstanding pieces of pure construction. How else can you drive over 70mph on the highways?
Florida is an outdoor state. In other words, you walk, hike, bike, paddle, row, kayak, fish, canoe, swim, surf etc. all.year.long.
As for summer temps, the climates around the world are changing. What used to be, is no more. And all that recent rain? Florida hasn't seen rain like that in 20 years. Unusual to say the least. But then again, the weather has been unusual everywhere.
Go figure?
I arrived in Tampa Bay Area, FL, on the 19th. It was definitely cool. A sweatshirt felt good over my cotton knit shirt. The next day started out in the high 30s. Not sure it got over 45 that day. As I recall, it was the following day (21st) on which one of the bridges was closed because of high wind. (Being from Kansas, I wasn't impressed by 50 mph wind. Don't know whether they closed the bridge for structural resonance/loading considerations or because they didn't want the vehicles to get blown around - into one another.) That day, the sweatshirt still felt good.
There was only one day in which the temperatures/wind allowed it to feel like winter in Florida. Returning home one week after I had left, I had to content myself with having seen just under 100 species of birds. No parrots, but lots of parakeets were seen.
Cop Car
I enjoyed Orlando in January 1975 and Miami in August 2013, but prefer Hawaii.
I've heard about all the unusual bad weather Florida is having and the tornadoes..which scare me to death. I have been contemplating storm shelters vs safe rooms for months now and really hope I can get something done about that before our season breaks out. Apparently that will be soon since it is Feb 1 and it's been in the high 60s and low 70s the last week or so. Strange weather!
Glad you had an enjoyable Florida trip though perhaps you would have liked it to be longer.
Having lived in the Great Lakes area's snow country many years ago I'm sure Florida and the Gulf are a logical close by area to which many people in the east welcome escaping to for respite from the long cold winter. Some of my family there will be doing just that soon.
I recall being in Florida several times along both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, interior cities, also Miami, and the Penninsula in the summer years after I had moved elsewhere from the east. Coincidentally, I even bought a lot in Cape Coral at the beginning of that development, but sold it before the community fully developed as I concluded I would unlikely ever live there. This has proved to be the case when life took me west to the desert which I loved and then to California which is my preferred location. I prefer the West's dry heat compared to Florida's humidity but each state has their charms to be appreciated.
Did you really buy a live Macaw? That is a heck of a souvenir.
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