Changes in Latitude: Three Weeks in Florida
Journal Entry #18
December 18, 2021
We have now been in Florida for three weeks. We have covered roughly 1500 miles in the state, from St Augustine in the far northeast, south to Islamorada on the Keys, and from the east coast’s Jupiter Beach across to the west coast’s Lover’s Key. Florida is a strange, beautiful, weird place; a study in wild contrasts. Traffic choked Gold Coast cities and sprawling strip malls, crystal waters, salt air and unspoiled beaches, austere prairies that stretch for miles, hauntingly beautiful live oak hammock forests dripping with Spanish moss; a preponderance of nail salons; candy yellow and pink buildings, feral hogs, alligators and snakes; bitterly icy over air-conditioned grocery stores, and waves of Africa-like heat.
Top five things that Florida makes us miss:
Autumn campfires (with a little crisp chill in the air)
Hills
Air drying our clothes
Sparse and generally small benevolent mosquitoes
Ice cubes
We planned our year long journey with the intention to seek out temperatures ranging from the high 30/low 40’s for our low threshold, and the high 70’s/low 80’s for our high threshold and to spend the majority of our time outdoors. Given our indoor space is limited, really, the outdoors is our proverbial “living room.” We invested in two powerful ceiling fans but decided against an additional a/c unit (other than the regular van a/c that we can use when we are driving). And, until we got to mid-Florida, we were fine. However, about a week ago we hit a hot spell in what is typically a reasonable month, as temperatures go. By the time we arrived in the Everglades we could feel it. On one of our hikes, Tom’s watch logged the average temperature as 94 and the high at 100 degrees. And with the heat came fairly oppressive humidity. If this is December, I can’t bear to think of July and August!
Here’s the thing. I can understand the draw of Florida for so many: miles of beaches and sand and palm trees and flamingos and east coast sunrises and west coast sunsets. Pools under netted cabanas and dazzling tropical gardens. But, if you aren’t a hot weather person, mostly it seems you can enjoy these highlights for only brief stretches (during winter months) or quick doses of them between the comfort of air conditioned cars and malls and homes.
Floridian friends, I am not disparaging Florida. We have seen some of the most interesting and stunning landscapes here; in particular, the Florida state park system is a marvel. Thankfully, state politicians in years past had the foresight to protect and steward so much park land and wildlife. To date, we have spent our nights here in six state parks, each with different flora, fauna, fascinating human history and “personalities”. Three of them (Everglades, Kissimmee Prairie and Myakka River) have been unimaginably vast, wild, and remote. They have an otherworldly quiet beauty that has been jaw dropping to us. Not to mention Florida parks have some of the friendliest rangers and well maintained facilities around. But, in the end, we think that Florida is probably not for us (did we mention alligators?) On the whole, we prefer mountains and lakes and autumns.
One of the interesting things about van living is that you experience a “sense of place” in an entirely different way than you would in normal “home life” or traditional airbnb/hotel vacations. You are much more connected to the visceral nature of a place; if the outdoors is your “living room” than the elements are the “wallpaper” - it’s how you experience a place- the weather, temperatures, darkness, lightness, and creatures too. Once our van is parked, we primarily use our feet or bikes to explore an area so we get really up close and intimate. It’s part of the charm and attraction of camping. The difference is when bad conditions hit, we can’t just pack up the tent and go home. We are home!
Will we come back to Florida? Absolutely. We have dear friends and close family who have chosen Florida as their home. We look forward to spending time with them year after year. Would we live here? Probably not. As Harry Truman (the President who dedicated the Everglades National Park in 1947) said, if you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen! Wishing everyone a happy holiday (in these strange times). Next blog, next year!
