Old Florida

This week we've been spending time with our cousins. As much as I like posting the blog on time, we rarely get to see this branch of the family, so the blog was placed on the back burner. They have kids who are similar in age to our own and it's been fun watching them interact and get to know each other. My favorite part, other than just enjoying each others company, was hearing stories we've never heard before about people who are no longer with us.

If you watched Downton Abbey and saw the last episode, there's a scene where two sisters, Mary and Edith, are making peace with each other and Edith says “Because in the end, you’re my sister. And one day, only we will remember Sybil. Or Mama, or Papa, or Matthew, or Michael, or Granny, or Carson, or any of the others who have peopled our youth. Until at last, our shared memories will mean more than our mutual dislike.” I found that to ring so true. Fortunately my husband has never had any bad blood with his family but often in life we don't appreciate the people who share a common history with us until it's too late. Having this opportunity to reconnect and make new memories with them has been a treasure.

Speaking of treasures, we all visited Indian Rocks Beach together and had fun beachcombing! I'm embarrassed to say that it's the first beach we've actually visited since we arrived in Florida (yes, even after the Keys), but it was a lot of fun! Here are some pictures to give you an idea of how beautiful the white beach was. The weather was perfect and we found a lot of shells. The kids really enjoyed the water, which was warmer than what we're used to on the west coast.

Here are some of the shells we found.

They were everywhere!

When we started visiting Florida a few years ago, we wanted to learn about the area and see many of the popular tourist destinations. Many times we planned day trips and carefully plotted the most efficient routes. On several such trips we were disappointed, though, to see strip malls on all sides of us almost the entire time. It appeared to be never-ending. Like Florida had been swallowed up by concrete, stores, and restaurant chains. While that can be convenient if you're only here for a week, it really doesn't allow you the opportunity to see the nuances that make Florida beautiful and unique.

We started making an effort to get off the main roadways and seek out "the real Florida" when we explored. You know, places where people actually live and raise their families. Where libraries and museums are located and people are invested in their communities. Places where small businesses thrive and people have roots. Fortunately, it turns out that we didn't have to go very far at all!  Because of some great advice from people along the way, we found hidden gems like the one we visited last weekend, Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, near Orlando.

Historically this lake was one of the most polluted in the country, but in recent years has been the focus of major restoration efforts. Through these efforts the area has become home to animals and birds of all kinds and has returned to something closer to what "Old Florida" looked like before being built up. White one-way roads have been added over an 11 mile area, so you can view the wildlife in their natural habitat from the comfort of your car. This area is opened to the public on the weekends and best of all, it's free! You can find alligators, bobcats, bears, turtles and much more! Because of the lack of fences, you should obviously exercise caution, but here's a sample of what we saw....

This preserve is also home to hundreds of species of birds and a wide variety of plant life. In fact, if you visit next January you can go to Birdapalooza! I was amazed at how close we were to many of these beautiful creatures. We noticed that many bird species have long necks and long legs. I supposed that's common in tropical areas?

 This is what one of the varieties of Palm trees looks like when it hasn't been pruned. Spikey!

This eagle was standing on a nearby field.

Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive is my new favorite place to visit here in central Florida, hands down! If you're ever in this area on a weekend and you're interested in wildlife, conservation, or seeing "Old Florida", I highly recommend it!

- Jen