"In this sticky web that we're all in, behaving decently is no small task." -- Novelist Stacey D'Erasmo

Saturday, January 28, 2023

What's Interesting About Florida?

     I've been on the road, traveling to and through Florida, for about ten days. For those of you who don't know Florida, I thought I'd tell you what's interesting about the state.

     The beach. There's lots of it. There's so much of it that even though Florida is crowded, the beaches are not. Well, maybe there are a few crowded beaches -- South Beach? Fort Lauderdale? Lido Key? -- but that's only because people want to see and be seen. There are miles and miles of beautiful uncrowded beaches. And the sand is nice too. Where we go in South Carolina the sand is silty, almost muddy. The Florida beaches are made of warm golden sand that feels great between your toes.

     The water. Not the water you drink. In fact, the drinking water in Florida is pretty bad. Stick to bottled water. But the ocean water is blue and clear and usually plenty warm. The waters of the Gulf of Mexico are even warmer and bluer, although they occasionally get Red Tide or some other kind of tide -- but that's unusual. For the most part the waters are beautiful.

     Historic downtowns. Really? Am I kidding? For the most part Florida is one giant strip mall, with more muffler shops and pawn shops per square mile (I swear) than any other state in the Union. But, actually, a few towns have made efforts to make a small part of their downtown nice-looking and walkable. On this trip I've been to two of them:  The little settlement of Eau Gallie in Melbourne, and the downtown riverfront in Fort Pierce.

     The weather. It's been sunny and in the 70s every day since I crossed the border into Florida. We had a shower one morning, but it cleared up by noon. And . . . wait. I'm mistaken. On at least one day, maybe two, the temperature got up into the low 80s.

     Fishing. I'm not a fisherman, so I don't know first-hand. But the guy downstairs in my airbnb said he caught two big ones this morning. "Is that your dinner?" I asked. "No, I threw them back," he said. And who am I to doubt him?

     Golf. There are even more golf courses in Florida than there are strip malls . . . and that's saying something. Honestly, the courses are not spectacular -- they're flat and sandy, with lots of water and hardly any trees -- but where else can you meet up with a few friendly strangers who, by the third hole seem just like your old golfing friends at home?

     The food? Well, about 99% of the food in Florida is fast food from the likes of McDonald's, Wendy's and Waffle House. But if you look for it, you can find some great local dishes. I found a super Mexican restaurant in Fort Pierce. And a fellow I played golf with told me about Sharky's out by the beach. The guy lives in Delaware and winters in Vero Beach. He told me Sharky's makes a good Philly cheesesteak, "Not as good as home, but pretty darn good. They also have a fantastic Mahi sandwich." Then his friend chimed in -- "And the shrimp is to die for." I can't stomach Philly cheesesteak. And I'm allergic to shrimp. So I got the Mahi sandwich, which was every bit as good as my new friend promised.

     Family. A lot of people come to Florida to visit parents and grandparents -- and lots of times brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews show up. We used to come to Florida when our kids were small and my parents were still alive, retired in South Florida. It's good to get together with family, especially when it's on vacation and it's sunny and in the 70s outside. I've been traveling alone so far, but in a couple of days I'll be meeting up with B, and then we're visiting my sister, and a few days later -- well, not in Florida, but in South Carolina -- we'll be meeting up with children and grandchildren, and for this old geezer, at this time of life, that's what it's all about.

     So if Florida is so wonderful, why didn't we retire here? For the rest of the story check out my post from last year Why Didn't We Retire to Florida?

14 comments:

gigi-hawaii said...

Florida sand sounds nice, but I don't like alligators. Here in Hawaii, there are no alligators, but there are sharks that bite. So, guess what, I don't go to the beach anymore. I visited Orlando in 1975 and Miami in 2013. Both times, I had a lovely time. Enjoy your vacation, Tom.

Rian said...

Interesting post, Tom... because the first 2 years of our marriage we lived in Florida; first on Satellite Beach (1968-1969)(with friends in EauGallie). We watched Space shots from our porch back then. Sometime in 1970 we moved to Palm Bay-close to Melbourne for a few months before finally moving to Texas when they cut back on the Space program and lay-offs were everywhere.

It's a strange thing, as I love 'to visit' Florida. My dad's family lived in Jacksonville, Florida when they came over from London in 1920. And dad always took us to Florida in the summers. But I DIDN'T like living there...

Loved the soft-shelled crab sandwiches down around Fort Walton!

ApacheDug said...

Interesting read Tom--I haven't been to Florida since the 1970s, I'm sure it's very different now but we sure loved it then--and not just for the beaches or Disney World. Well, in the last 10 years I've had my youngest sister, 2 cousins and 2-3 coworkers move down there. And except for one coworker, the rest of them all moved back here. They love to vacation there, but...

Tom said...

Gigi, Haven't seen any alligators yet. I'll be on the lookout. Rian, Florida in the summer? And Doug, There must be at least twice as many people in Florida now as there were in the 1970s. So, ya know, I wanted to get here before it sinks into the ocean.

Ed said...

I did the Florida thing for a decade visiting my elderly grandparents. I remember that first time I discovered what a red tide was as I stumbled the last mile of beach walk home physically holding one eyelid open so I could see and wheezing for air. Not sure how I had never heard of a red tide before then but I'll never forget it now.

I agree with the beaches, we never went to a crowded one and often had it to ourselves for 100's of feet in either direction.

I also enjoyed the food scene, especially the seafood scene. I always tried to get my yearly intake of fresh fish sandwiches, raw oysters and shrimp during my visits. But I found as time passed, the fish sandwiches were harder to find, at least the fresh ones. Frozen ones like we get back home started moving in.

My only dislike really was the crowding on the roads. It was horrible driving anywhere, from going to the local grocery store to entering/exiting the state. I was always glad when I crossed that line heading north.

DJan said...

I have family in Florida and have visited annual for more than a decade. I can tolerate in small doses, but the traffic is horrendous, and it gets way too hot for me, and it's flat with no mountains at all! :-)

Anvilcloud said...

OST of it sounds quite wonderful as we endure our Nth snowstorm of the month with transportation worries looming again.

Olga said...

I have been in FL since November and have not tired of it yet. My days are as full as I want them to be and I love the warm weather and even the humidity -- makes my hair curly.

River said...

It sounds lovely, but I've read about so many people retiring there and they all need housing so swamps are being drained to build accommodation, there's too much drain on the aquifers too much traffic etc so I would never want to retire there. it might be a different story in less populated parts of Florida, for instance up around where blogger Mary Moon lives, but the humidity there would get me. So I'll stay in Australia where we also have miles and miles of sandy beaches, some crowded (Sydney, Melbourne) some not, but the water is cold.

priscilla said...

We left Miami 38 yrs ago & never looked back! Although the food (multiculturally) was wonderful, the heat, humidity & flatness were always a bummer. The beaches were busy even back then but the warm water sure did feel good most of the year. CA living is so different & took a lot of adjusting to, but our kids & grandkids are nearby. So wherever family is is definitely the most important.

Linda Myers said...

I was only in Florida once, for three days, in 1964. I'm not good with humidity and heat, and I like some variation in topography - hills are good. But I know many people love it there.

Wisewebwoman said...

I worked in Florida for a while (Fort Lauderdale) and hated every minute. Admittedly it was summer and the humidity and heat were awful. I am sure there is beauty there but I saw none of it. I worked long hours (an audit) and found the outdoors very depressing. Admittedly ageism (ha!!) plus a fairly hostile work environment. I never did go back even though there were opportunities.
Enjoy yourself and the grands Tom.
XO
WWW

Anonymous said...

Florida has now become a shit hole IMHO. Puerto Rico much better. Ola’

Jennifer (UnfoldAndBegin) said...

Food? It's so bland down here. I only found one restaurant that's comparable to anything in CT or NY, and that was a hole-in-the-wall in Miami. And the best fried chicken I ever had was at one place in Sanford. Otherwise, it's just a bunch of no-taste places. I think they keep the flavor out of food to appeal to the majority of tourists. Chinese, Mexican, or American food doesn't matter; it's all bland. All the native-born Floridians are recommending restaurants that they think are fantastic--they aren't. Pizza? We have to go back to NYC and New Haven to get good pizza. But the water in the Gulf is a beautiful blue-green color that soothes my soul. Still, once we retire, we'll actually move out of Florida to get away from the crazy.