Florida Retreat

Thursday night I left for Florida to attend some training for work. I was in class on Friday, and made the decision to stay an extra day (the projected 80+ degree temps helped). I had never been there, so wanted to get the chance to at least see a tiny slice of what Florida has to offer.

My training was held in Orlando, so when I was done on Friday afternoon I went back to the airport to pick up a car. I stayed in a hotel southwest of Orlando, and spent a couple of hours that evening driving around the city a bit. I called it an early night because it's difficult to navigate in the dark; but also because I was traveling alone and not quite sure of my surroundings. It was nice to hole up in the hotel room and watch a movie, then go to bed.

I got up Saturday morning and made the drive down to the Tampa/Clearwater area. There were storms in the forecast, but the drive down was sunny and beautiful. I drove past all of the exits for Disney World and all of the other attractions (another time perhaps) and kept heading southwest. Going to the beach was the one thing I wanted to do, and I had the entire day ahead of me.

I arrived at Clearwater Beach around 10:30AM, and as I pulled into the parking lot it started to sprinkle. The sun had disappeared about a half hour earlier, so I knew it was coming. I walked out on the pier and watched the seagulls for awhile, hovering behind a post to get out of the wind and rain. After awhile I decided I was going to walk down on the beach anyway. I got off the pier and took my shoes off and went down to the water's edge. Despite the weather this was my favorite part of the whole trip. It was fun to walk along the water and pick up a few shells, draw a few things in the sand:

I wished I could have walked up and down the beach a little more, but the wind and rain got to be too much - thunder and lightning and the whole thing. I ran back to the car, totally soaked. I waited for about 20 minutes to see if it would stop, but no luck. It kept raining for the next hour or so, and then off and on after that. I tried to occupy myself by doing some random shopping and getting some lunch, then decided to head back to Tampa to drive around a little bit. I accidentally stumbled across the stadium where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play. My brother is a huge Bucs fan, so I took a photo. After that I decided to head back toward Orlando.

On the way the rain let up, and I saw a sign for Hillsborough River State Park, so I took a little detour. It was a nice little park (though I have to say the state parks in Minnesota are better than this one in particular) and I had time, so I stopped to do a short hike. It was kind of a surreal experience...I felt like I was in the jungle! The vegetation is just so different - ferns, cypress trees and hanging moss...humidity and mosquitoes that attacked immediately if you stood still. I emerged from the "jungle" into a picnic area inhabited by a large group of people. As I was looking off to my right, a large bird flew across my path. I followed it with my gaze, and immediately to my left were 2 vultures sitting atop a covering over 2 garbage cans about 10 feet away. Ew. I don't know if you've ever seen a vulture up close, but they are not attractive birds. Considering they feast on rotting flesh I wouldn't expect anything too pretty. They seemed to be the staple though, because I noticed them quite a lot after that. I saw them up to 20 in numbers hanging out in ditches or atop billboards.

The sun did return just before I reached Orlando, and I took the long way via International Drive, which is a more touristy area with a lot of shops and restaurants. I returned my car and headed to the airport, road-tested and bone weary. Despite the rain I'm glad I spent the extra day, and I'm sure the beach and the cities themselves appear even more glamorous in the sunlight!