Nattaproblem

Upon completion of my third year teaching in Saudi Arabia, I decided to return home and embark on a 10-day road trip through the mid-section of Florida state with my dad. This road trip covered both coasts and the primary objective was to see whether Florida would be a nice, reasonable place for me to live within the next two years.

The trip started in Orlando where we rented a car. From there, we promptly executed our plan to drive a counter-clockwise loop that started and ended in Orlando. We visited the following cities and towns: Tampa, Sarasota, Venice, Fort Meyers, Naples, Everglades City, Miami, Little Havana, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Jupiter, Melbourne, Cocoa Beach, and finally back to Orlando.

I personally thought Naples, Sarasota, and Boca Raton were the most attractive areas to live with Little Havana in Miami being the most exciting tourist area. Upon landing at the airport, the buzz of summer travel and friendly hospitality from airport security staff and gas station attendants made me realize that in spite of high inflation and post-covid financial strain, people were still grateful to be alive. This positive spirit is something that I can relate to in other areas of the world and it’s the one link that binds humanity together; a common thread that can only be observed through travel.

Both Sarasota and Naples had beautiful developments with a luscious Santa Monica feel. The only difference was the increased humidity. The beaches in Sarasota were some of the most pristine that I had seen in a long time; powdery, white sand with a clear, blue coastline that was untouched by litter or seaweed. It was like looking into a liquid crystal that was surrounded by filtered grains that were easy to kick up because it was so dry.

Naples is a burgeoning community that is steadily increasing in popularity because of the growing recreational, arts, and cultural activities that are available throughout the suburban areas. According to my dad and other locals in the area, retirees from midwestern states vacation in the southwestern coastal regions of Florida to escape the cold winter months. They are called “snowbirds.” Conversely, those who escape the heat during the summer months and venture up north to New Jersey, Connecticut, or Michigan to enjoy some time on the water are called fudgies.

Overall, the community was quite friendly and despite the constraints of inflation and the after-effects of a pandemic, people were helpful and joyful for the most part. This was a pattern that I noticed throughout the road trip. Workers were quite happy to be assisting and booking tourists again for their traveling excursions. The southern seafood was also delicious. If you are ever traveling through Sarasota or Naples, a nice bowl of clam chowder or lobster bisque is a must-have.

Continuing south towards the everglades, we entered some rain storms that ended almost as quickly as they started and continued onwards towards a town called Everglades City. This was where we planned to go air boating through both the mangrove ecosystem (where we spotted a few crocs) and the grassland ecosystem. Due to a sudden storm surge and lightning, the grassland tour was canceled and we made peace with having a scenic windy ride through the Florida mangroves.

One momentous event was watching a lady try to retrieve her glasses from the edge of the pond while we were waiting for the airboat. She was very conflicted because of the gator that was staring back at her from the water several feet away. With the help of a tour guide, she was finally able to get them back but I remember it being quite entertaining.

Holding little alligators after the educational show helped me appreciate the delicate nature of these creatures. People poach and sell animal skins and furs to this day and holding one brought my senses closer to the idea of a domesticated alligator, a similar concept to that of owning a dog or a bird. I suppose that’s the whole idea behind the show Tiger King. You wouldn’t necessarily want to support domesticating predators, but having them close to you makes you realize how valuable they are to the ecosystem at large.

Having the slippery leather crawling on your head puts a new spin on the predator-prey relationship between humans and crocodiles. We were the visitors and the Florida Everglades was their territory.

From there we journeyed east to Miami on the 41 through mild rain storms every 15 minutes or so.

Miami was a compact city, intertwined with flashbulb memories of a candy-colored backdrop that combines post-modern cultural depictions seen in films like Something About Mary and the series: Dexter. Driving into the city was all I needed to search for a Cuban food tour on Viator through Little Havana. Passing by murals of Gloria Estefan, Celia Cruz and the Bay of Pigs monument, the highlights included a Cuban cigar shop, a delicious cafecito and some of the best Cuban sandwiches in town.

From Miami, we drove up through Hollywood, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Jupiter (Tiger Wood’s turf), and Melbourne ( where I saw my first manatees at Manatee Cove). None of these towns really suited me and the vibe wasn’t a match compared to Naples so I settled for a brief trip to a seaweed-stained beach at Red Reef Park, a serendipitous stop. The trip concluded with a drive up to Coral Beach and then back West to Orlando. This was the third memorable father-son trip and it reminded me that my loyalty will always be to those whose actions speak louder than words, a good thing for my Dad because words aren’t his strong suit. Thanks Dad. Florida has some great areas, and it was nice to retrace the route that we mostly took when I was 10 years old as a family of four searching for a place to settle in the U.S.A. We really made it full circle. 🙂