Welcome to Florida — where the sun is loud, the water is everywhere, and the wildlife thinks it owns the place. You don’t just drive into Florida. You roll in slow, windows down, palm trees swaying, and within five minutes you’ll see something that makes you question reality. Could be a guy fishing in a canal next to a gas station. Could be an alligator casually crossing the road like it’s late for work.
And the animals here? They’re not shy. The birds are loud. The lizards run the sidewalks.
And if there’s water anywhere nearby, there’s about a 60% chance a gator is already living in it.
This is the birthplace of theme parks, beach days, and the kind of heat that makes your sunglasses fog up when you step outside. Summer here isn’t a season - it’s a lifestyle choice.
Hope you brought sunscreen and bug spray - and maybe a spare shirt, because the humidity is about to turn your entire outfit into a science experiment.
And the weather? Oh, the weather keeps things interesting. You might start your morning in blazing sunshine, hit a thunderstorm at 3 PM sharp, watch it pour like the sky broke for twenty minutes, and then five minutes later it’s sunny again like nothing happened. Locals won’t even slow down.
They’ll just say, “It’ll pass.”
But here’s the thing - Florida isn’t just beaches and palm trees. It’s backyard barbecues, airboats in the swamp, random roadside fruit stands, and strangers who’ll talk to you like you’ve known each other since middle school. It’s a little weird. It’s a little wild. And somehow it works. Florida doesn’t try to make sense. It just exists loudly.
Come for the sunshine. Stay for the stories. And watch where you step -
because that “log” might move.
Thanks to Life in Florida for the inspiration.
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Florida has a lot of rich history.
ReplyDeleteHome of the Calusa who built the largest man made island in the world out of shells, whose empire stretched coast to coast ruling over the Jeana, the Jeaga and the Ais like a medieval European empire. A tribe that sailed 90 foot seagoing canoes across the gulf and the Caribbean , and once rolled into Havana harbor and sacked a heavily armed Spanish galleon much to the surprise of the invading conquistadors.
Home of the West Pensacola cow calvary whose flag still flies over the old New Orleans Court House alongside the flags of the other 'conquerors' of the big easy, US, France and Spain. Home of the Yulee Sugar Mill and the last stubborn rebs who fought the last battles of the Civil war.
And a whole lot more. But I don't have time to write an entire dissertation on the wild wonderful quirkiness of the place of my birth. The heat drove me away to the Bluegrass. I may now be one of Danial Boone's bastard children, but my bones are made of cypress and limestone.
No offense intended but, The place is too flat.
ReplyDeleteAt least the ladies aren't.
DeleteIn one post, you've summed up why we love Florida and Floridians.
ReplyDelete