After surviving my hitch in the Army, (ours), and vowing like a freeze-dried Scarlet O'Hara to "never be chilly again!", I packed up my young family and moved to Florida. It was home to us for more than half of the 1970's until a job in San Diego took us West--where we have been ever since. The West seems to suit us. It is a region of abundant beauty that, like a magnet, has attracted all sorts of interesting people. Everyone in the West seems to come complete with a story and good stories are always a bonus.
In retirement I thought it would be fun to once again visit Florida and from a distance of more than thirty years see how the place was doing without us. With our youngest daughter and her family in tow we returned for a look see.
A LOT has changed in the Sunshine State. There are now twice as many Floridians as there were when we were in place and little suggests that "America's Basement" is still a part of Dixie. I guess it is the natural progression of things, but I do miss hearing a Southern accent and finding grits on the menu almost everywhere. The state is pretty much a total Yankee outpost and it's too bad.
Tampa/St. Pete, now simply referred to as "Tampa Bay" looked better to us than it did in the 70's. Both cities appear prosperous and made significant improvements to their downtown areas. Granted this is purely a subjective observation, but I thought they looked good. Orlando and central Florida don't seem to have fared as well.
When we left in 1976 our biggest regret was the neglect of a visit to Key West. We had planned to see it, but never made the trek.
2012, marking the 100th anniversary of the completion of the Florida East Coast Railway from Homestead to Key West, sparked a renewed interest in a visit; so off we went. Henry Flagler's railroad no longer exists but U.S. 1 follows his 126 miles of roadway and will get you there today. Over forty bridges connect the islands of the Keys and deliver you to the southernmost city in the United States where Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, President Truman and thousands of eccentrics have enjoyed the contagious "Let it Be" philosophy of the Conch Republic.
So there we were, just a couple of days ago, standing with the crowd at Mallory Pier watching the sun burn itself out in the gulf at the close of a perfect day at the end of the road in one of America's most fascinating neighborhoods.
Old Ernie Hemingway may have been on to something. I think we may need to spend a few more days to find out.
Pass the Key Lime pie, please.
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| Watching the sunset at Mallory Pier, Key West |
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