Romancing Florida
By Patricia Detwiler
f you were going to spend some time exploring Florida and wanted to have fun
along the way, where would you go and why? When asking myself this question, I came up with many answers, depending on what you are looking for and of course what you want to do.
When I was 23 I went on a cross-country trip that lasted a few months and was not mapped out with a particular agenda. I just wanted to see what was out there, to explore on my own and meet new friends along the way. The freedom of youth and being that age was exciting. The world is your oyster.
Now that my family is grown and looking back 9 to 5 was never my style, I truly appreciate exploring new things and meeting new people along the way. When I was a bed and breakfast owner I met some interesting characters and other people who we're following their passions. One couple in particular stood out in my mind when they took a bicycle ride from Maine to Florida after their youngest child went off to college. Wow, I was amazed and impressed, it took them 40 days.
I’ve met many guests who decided to take a tour of Florida on a motorcycle and I had may other groups of motorcycle clubs who liked to stay for the weekend and ride the open roads away from lots of traffic. There were also people who brought or rented canoes to explore the many beautiful rivers or came to hunt for fossils. The rural areas of Florida are beautiful, tropical and some areas let you feel the wild and untapped beauty of nature just like the when the Native
Americans lived here.
Some people who traveled down the Intracoastal Waterway on their motor boats and many bed and breakfast inns have boating docks for their guests and some have nice big lakes in their back yard.
I challenge you to be adventurous and explore to your hearts desire. There is something for everyone. The millenniums (children born between 1982 and 2002) are now the new guests at bed and breakfast inns and some say they get their adventurous spirit from their grandparents, (which are the hippies of rock & roll) love breaking the rules with freedom and exploration. The technology of today makes it easier to see where you want to go, unlike when I was on the road and had to find a pay phone to call home, talk to friends or needed a fold out map. GPS on mobile phones tells you exactly where you are and Google Maps can find anything that's around you. I keep saying that ‘beam me up Scotty’ will be the next technology. LOL after all, if you can think it, you can do it.
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