Fairweather Snowbird

"Travel is the sherbet between courses of reality" Unknown

The spring of 1956 started an illusion and love affair that never really ended until 1983. The objective of my affections and later inflictions was the "Florida Lifestyle". That March I spent almost two weeks in Fort Lauderdale and the Florida Keys visiting and sightseeing and it seemed to me just about everyone lived in a house on a canal with a Cadillac parked in front , a boat in back and all kinds of palm trees in between. No one did much work either, unless it was cleaning the fish they caught earlier in the day.

The illusion came to a head when I was forty years old, out of work and my apartment burglarized. Not all bad. Fortunately I had insurance and many of the items stolen I was glad to see go. The check from the insurance company was most welcome and ended up being seed money for the "Florida Discovery". During this 27 year period I was friends with a guy who had actually relocated with his parents to Lauderdale and later to Orlando and did his best to keep the "Florida Illusion” as much alive as possible. "So come on down, read the map, it's all downhill, we’ll even cash your unemployment checks”. So I did!

The day I left was the first of November, temperatures were cooling in Michigan and moderating in the Southland. The area between Monteagle and Chattanooga always held a fascination, very mountainous and the highway (I-24) followed a very scenic path through the Great Smokes and the Tennessee River Valley. The fall colors were just about hitting there prime. Just before coming into Chattanooga I took another highway that followed the river without the traffic and had places to pull over and enjoy the river and barge traffic that was abundant at the time. Another side trip was Lookout Mountain with the famous Ruby Falls and the Incline Railroad. The mountain itself didn’t cost anything and provided a beautiful overview of Chattanooga and battle points of the Civil War.

I arrived in Orlando a day later. A busy city, the roads were in a constant state of construction to accommodate the influx of new business and people like me. BOOMTOWN - traffic backups and delays were the norm, with no relief in site. The city itself is built around several small lakes (more than 50 within the city). Lake Eola ended up being my compass center, not far from the apartment I rented in Colonialtown and close to the office of the friend who encouraged my move.

Lake Eola was right downtown with a fountain in the middle and surrounded by a park. Egrets, ducks, pigeons, hydroplane races, fishing, mothers playing with their children and paddle boat rentals - a little of the natural along with the man made. The architecture of Orlando is quite diverse; from the Victorian to the ultra modern along with structures like Church St. Station that are somewhat in between. Disney World, Epcott and MGM Studios are about 15 miles to the southwest. Everything is fresh, picturesque, clean, colorful, wholesome and corporate along with guides who dress in native costume and smile a lot.

Brevard County is directly to the east of Orlando, right on the Atlantic. "A unique paradox between lush, tranquil beauty of unspoiled nature and man's ability to challenge the universe". Very true. Home of the space coast. From Melbourne Beach on the south point to Canaveral National Seashore to the north, with Indian River, Banana River, The Kennedy Space Center, Cocoa and Indialantic in between. Small communities with lots of water, beach and wildlife exposure. The whole area was very pleasant, not nearly as crowded and commercial as the Orlando area.

Another delightful, less crowded area was the town of Sanford along with Lake Monroe and the St. Johns River. The St. Johns River runs from Jacksonville to the swampy regions west of Melbourne. The river is similar to the Mississippi in that it flows into large lakes (with whitecaps when it blows) and supports a number of recreational as well as commercial crafts as well with a lot of fishing, canoeing, manatee watching, and wildlife to enjoy.

At the opposite end of Central Florida's natural beauties is Daytona Beach. Colorful, tawdry and fast paced with the raceway being the focal point of the area. The Daytona 500 is the big event of the year which takes place every February and draws NASCAR enthusiasts from all over the world. Other events are scheduled throughout the year, both auto and motorcycle races and festivities. The town itself is also very colorful and carnival like, especially along the beach; motorbike rentals, auction houses, bars, strip joints, pier fishing (with gear, bait and cleaning provided!), miniature golf, ferris wheels, gondola rides over the ocean, and "Hog Heaven”, world’s best barbeque. Collegiate guests are more than welcome. People still enjoyed driving along the beach.

Central Florida also has a number of other small communities and towns. On the weekends I made it a point to drive around and visit. Photography taking and appreciation were a big part of my life and Deland is a small town which was the home of glamour photographer Harold Haliday Costain and the town museum had a display of many of his works. Mr Costain was 86; semi retired and had a photography career that was spanning 70 years.

The Art Center of Maitland at the same time featured a display of Jerry Uselman's works. Orlando, Winter Park had a Camera Club that had meetings and displays that were open free of charge to the public and Downtown Winter Park had a number of art galleries that featured photographs as well.

About three and one half hours south of the Orlando area is the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge which basically is just to the west of Palm Beach and offers a nice refuge from the commercial quality of the surrounding area. It is part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department of the Interior. It is nice in that one doesn't have to drive through the Miami - Ft. Lauderdale area to experience a visit to the Everglades. The Refuge is teeming with wildlife from alligators to wild orchids.

Between 1960 and 2003 the population has gone from about 5 million to 17. The day to day traffic is unbelievable and no leveling off in sight. From May through September the weather is sweltering. No breaks, no cooling "ocean breezes". Some people can live with and maybe even enjoy the 90 degree plus and the 90% humidity on an ongoing basis. Not me. "Paradise Lost". The Michigan border was a most welcome sight, along with a 20 degree temperature drop.