Although no portion of the mainland United States is farther from US 6, I'm in Southern Florida now. The Indiana winter (the overnight low was -12F two nights before I left) just became too much, and traveling through the Midwest made no sense at this time of year, while California was just too far.
But still, the travel encompasses the exploration of previously unknown territories, meeting new people, and seeing new places. South Florida seems to be just like the Midwest or Northeast, except people incessantly talk about their respective "homes." The traffic is horrendous, the beer scene is awful (although it seems to be improving, with two new breweries in the last year) and there are no waves in the Gulf. Maybe that's good for a 4-year-old child who wants to play on the beach, but that's not good for a 32-year-old guy hoping to watch the sea for a while. It's boring. There are no waves, no dolphins, no fisherman, just old white people with t-shirts tucked into hiked-up shorts complaining about the heat, the cold or the rain. No, I'm not really against this area. I've enjoyed my time here. But I wouldn't come back. The fact is, I like Tampa Bay better. And the flights are generally cheaper.
Flying into RSW was cheap and easy though. The rental car center is a quick, outdoor walk across the pick-lanes and the airport is small enough that it's fairly comfortable. Then again, TPA is kinda the same.
Tomorrow, I dive into the swamplands. Otter Cave, Royal Palm Hammock, Collier-Seminole... All evocative of what most of us associate with "Florida," instead of the real Florida: deep-ceded racism, vast income disparity, unbelievable and stifling heat, and quite a bit of superficiality and materialism. Southwest Florida, in particular, seems to be similar to LA, if LA was solely inhabited by orange-tanned Indianans with too much money, who with it, bought Mercedes and cartons and cartons of Marlboro Lights. It's like Fort Wayne with way more traffic and a beach.
No comments:
Post a Comment