Searching for the Old Florida

[Galaxy]

Recently, my wife and I flew the bird to Florida to continue our search, in the small towns of Florida, for the old Florida--- the Florida of 40 years ago. Flying the bird is better than driving the cat (the Jag), riding the iron horse, or riding the dog (the Greyhound bus).

I think we found the old Florida. I ask a resident of a small town to recommend the best restaurant in town. He answered, Well, I reckon it’s the Exxon, cause the Citgo ain’t got no microwave.

Maybe we have achieved success in our quest! Well maybe not, there is the matter of the microwave.

[Dale Hodges]

Theres still some old FL around....we try to keep it well hidden.

[dcross]

Isn't flying the bird one of the signs of the new Florida? :D

[Grannysmith]

Galaxy, do you read your pms ? I sent you one.

[AllFloridaBee]

Theres still some old FL around....we try to keep it well hidden.


Yah, but fading away as the growth moves from the south. It's hard to see the change, most seemingly negative , for this florida boy.

[tecumseh]

at one time I would have said the only remaining spot in florida that looked anything like old florida would be carabelle (almost everything else has been altered by development). upon my last trek to florida I would have to suggest that even 'the natural coast' aint. or as all florida wrote:

'It's hard to see the change, most seemingly negative , for this florida boy.'

or as bob suggested:

plow up paradise and build a parking lot.....

[BWrangler]

Hi Guys,

I moved to Boynton Beach last June. Don't know anything about the old Florida. But the new one isn't pretty and I think I know where it's headed :>) One thing nice about flying the bird down. When the time comes, its the fastest way to escape :>)))

Regards
Dennis
Thinking that most in south Florida fly another kind of bird at every opportunity. And they'll create one if it doesn't exist.

[paul mattox]

most people don't know where to look and get lost trying.....thank god.

[Barry]

Well, thanks for the encouragement! :)
I'm sitting here trying to figure out what to do, where to go, once I get down there in another week. Since it will be Spring Break, I'm ruling out places like Key West. Any suggestions? I'll be near Orlando. Plan to run down and visit with Dennis, share a meal on the way down and back with BizzyBee and Rob Mountain as I'll be cutting through their turf.

How about some suggestions for my wife and I.

[tecumseh]

barry writes:
Well, thanks for the encouragement!

tecumseh suggest:
oh orlando... well that ain't exactly old florida (you are about 30 years too late) but here goes my suggestions anyway.

casa daga (the town)... hold on to your hat because the ride is getting a bit weird, but it is worth every dime of the fare. a town of mystics, fortune tellers and psychics. some are soooo darn good that it will make you think... how they do dat? casa daga is a short ride north and east of orlando (at one time the highway maps had it on the wrong side of the interstate highway).

plant city... my old home town. they have a most excellent strawberry festival if you are there at the proper time of year. quite typically this time of year they have a couple of road side places that serve strawberry short cake (you will likely see several greyhound type buses with lots of OLD tourons on board).... the name parks or parker??? were the folks we knew best and they had a place on the old road (hwy 19 maybe?) between plant city and tampa. fairly soon the same area should have a new crop of orange blossum honey.... get some fresh and you will likely never find clover honey acceptable again.

bee stuff...
follow the old highway (from orlando to tampa) and there use to be prominent bee folks around winter haven right on the old highway. if you got to see more.... then a number of outfits are now located at zolfo spring (spelling likely ain't quite right) which is directly south of plant city perhaps 45 miles.

fishin'
the kissimmee river water shed is spittin' distance from orlando. if you wished to see something of the old wild and wooley florida and enjoyed fishing then this would be where I would go. I spent a large amount of time on the kissimmee river from grade school thru my high school years...

the natural coast...
a good drive from orlando the natural coast is that still somewhat undeveloped western coast north of Tampa. if you have young children (or are one yourself) there is a nice state park at homossassa spring with a manatee (+other native florida wildlife) exhibit. they have one of those plexiglass viewing areas below the water level of the spring that allows you to watch the manatees swim about. notice the lack of clarity in the spring's water... 30 years ago these kinds of spings (and there are a great number of them in florida) was absolutely crystal clear... a pretty clear sign of agriculture/lawn fertilizers. weeki wachi spring (probable spell that wrong also) is where they do the underwater ballet and is just south of homossassa spring.

[Galaxy]

casa daga (the town)... hold on to your hat because the ride is getting a bit weird, but it is worth every dime of the fare. a town of mystics, fortune tellers and psychics. some are soooo darn good that it will make you think... how they do dat? casa daga is a short ride north and east of orlando (at one time the highway maps had it on the wrong side of the interstate highway).

Tecumseh is correct. I was in Cassadaga about a year ago. It is a different kind of place, but interesting. See:
http://www.cassadaga.org/

The Nature Coast is perhaps the least populated coast of Florida, because most of it has no sandy beaches. I just arrived back from this area today. There are some really small (sparsely populated) villages on this coast. Some of them include Aripeka, Ozello, Yankeetown, and Steinhatchee. Steinhatchee is known for it’s fishing and the Steinhatchee Landing Resort. Adams Beach has no beach and no evidence of human habitation as far as the eye can see, except for the road you just drove in on.

Another small village west of Orlando is Webster. On each Monday a gigantic flea market is held there. You can buy most anything that you would ever need there, including vegetables and honey (and much that you would never need). It is maybe the world's largest flea market.

If your wife likes antiques and a “cute” small town you might try Mt. Dora, just north of Orlando. Also north of Orlando, is Winter Park, which has many upscale and pricey shops in a very upscale setting, adjacent to the Rollins College campus.

If you like visiting small towns, I recommend “Visiting Small-Town Florida” by Bruce Hunt. See
http://www.amazon.com/Visiting-Small-Town-Florida-Bruce/dp/1561642789/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205026370&sr=1-1