In the past for me visions of Florida conjure images of strip malls, slow drivers, and of course, as mentioned in my previous blog, gators and crocs. My new list consists of natural beauty, wildlife, and culture in the Sunshine State, filled with nothing for us to do.
Landing in Miami we started our quest via auto through Key Largo (see last blog for the almost gory details) and spend a few lovely weeks in Key West. “Key” is derived from the Spanish Cayo, meaning Small Island. After doing my research I learned that amazingly there are 1700 islands in the archipelago of the Florida Keys! Only 43 of the islands are connected via bridges and even after having driven this route from Miami I had no idea.
When we found ourselves in Key West it took but a breath and a sigh to let go and feel a part of the space surrounding us. We have been in Costa Rica for a few weeks every year for the past 3 years, 4 including this one so it was not until we landed ourselves on the Atlantic shoreline very close to the Gulf Coast that it became “real” for us. We were on an extended break. I refrained posting the beautiful pictures to Facebook during the most frigid of temperatures for fear of converting friends to frenemies.
When we spent 2 ½ weeks in the Keys, we loved it and found the rhythm melodious for our liking. Yes, we were blessed to stay in a lovely guesthouse overlooking the ocean but more we felt more then that. The local people were very friendly and welcoming. Not just in restaurants and shops but parks and beaches as well as a lovely woman and her son that we were lucky to get connected with and hung out with our daughter a few times. When we have visited places such as Key West and Sedona for examples there is a certain energy that the people exude. One thought is that these places are filled with natural beauty and nature, tourism is THE industry. For the average person to live there they have to make a conscious effort to transplant themselves, for the most part a career is not going to implant them in these locals. They are drawn there by their hearts and desires.
Right now it is a bit difficult to grasp that we don’t have to DO something. At this point we can consider ourselves frequency holders for a time. But, inherent to our nature as self-motivated, fervent people and society instilled beliefs, at times can difficult to grasp the concept of not doing anything specific but be in the moment. Yes, raising a child is the most important job one can do and that is sheer joy daily but not really to much of anything else unless of course if we are inspired to do so. After conversations regarding this issue and hearing about yet more snow in the Northeast we decided to extend our stay another week. (Yes, this blog is later then it should be hence the title of the blog.)
We took ourselves past Coconut Grove in Miami and headed to the Gulf coast to see Sanibel Island and visit with Rick’s Sister-In-Law in Fort Myers. The island is a throw back surrounded my nature and all local independent stores; there are no traffic lights and lots of people bike around the many bike paths. Love, love, loved it. Walking on the beach as the sunrises is my idea of doing nothing.
Living Wherever We Are 