What I leave behind

We have been extremely involved in our upcoming move north. It is all very exciting - not only do we get the usual fun benefits of moving (new route to work, new sights, new grocery stores, etc) but we also get an entirely new set of perks. We have an entirely new city, new state, new region to explore. There is new flora, new fauna, new weather. We have new landscapes and new restaurants to eat at and new museums to see.

But all of this comes with a price; we are going to miss Orlando. We have always thought that we would eventually leave Orlando, maybe even leave Florida, but now that we're faced with actually moving, and moving so soon, I am already starting to feel sad.

For one thing, I will miss the extreme convenience of theme parks. I won't necessarily miss the heavy loads of tourists, but I never really minded them all that much. Now that I have less than four weeks left in the state I grew up in, I want to make a mad rush and see all the things that I won't see again, or see soon anyway. Disney, for example; we've wanted to go for a while, but just haven't gotten around to it. Now, if we have time to see anything, it'll be only one park. We may not even get a chance to see it at all. Universal too, although I'll miss that place far less. I'd love to see Kennedy Space Center too, but that looks unlikely.

I'm making a list of the places that I'll miss when we move to Raleigh (in no particular order).

• Austin's Coffee
• Infusion Tea
• Einstein Brothers Bagels
• Park Ave CDs
• Downtown Disney, including the Virgin Megastore
• The Woodlands restaurant
• The Social
• The Red Fox Lounge
• Fuji Sushi
• Publix
• The House of Blues
• The Orange County Public Library
• The Winter Park Library
• The Enzian
  
• Orangetree Antiques
• Ron Jon
  
• IKEA
• The beach
  
• Winter Park Art Festival
• Leu Gardens
• WPRK
  

Some of these things we rarely used. I felt good just knowing that they were there. And I know that Raleigh is hardly Mayberry. There will be plenty (if not more) exciting and interesting restaurants and shopping and museums. But I am still going to miss Orlando. I grew up just an hour away and have lived my entire adult life here. It will be sad to leave it all behind.

I love summer

I love summertime. I know I am not alone, because summer is a very popular season. It is the time of plenty, the time when food is abundant. I would invoke our primal past and say that summer reminds us of times when we did not have to fear starvation or death from freezing. But that's unnecessary, because summer is still fantastic. Summer is still the time when we play.

True, life does not stop, work must still be done and danger is far from absent. Here in Florida we have hurricanes, for one thing, and a seemingly endless drought condition that makes wildfires a constant worry. Also, since this is Florida, the summer is when the heat becomes almost unbearable. During the "Autumn," "Winter" and "Spring" months, the temperature relaxes and we can play comfortably outside. Now, for example, it is May, which is really spring. It won't be summer for another month and a half. Temperatures are supposed to be in the mid-nineties today. I'd blame global warming, but I doubt if that is really the issue. The issue is that this is Florida.

And I love it! I love the heat! I can't wait until June, July and August, when the air really heats up. I love everything about the summer. I love the smell of tar from freshly paved parking lots, chlorine from pools, sunscreen, pina coladas, margaritas and cold plums that drip all over your chin and fingers when you eat them. I love the beach, although I rarely ever go. I love warm mornings and warm evenings. Although it is uncomfortable, there is something wonderful about it.

For a long time, I felt like a fool for living in Florida all of my life. Some people get up and see the world, they move all around, living the Bohemian life. I admire that. And I still see the value of moving and travel and seeing the world. I do regret that I have not had (or taken) those opportunities. And yet, for the past few years, I find that I don't even want to move. Sure, I would love to live in a place with more culture than Orlando has to offer. I would love to live in San Francisco or Seattle or New York. But at the same time, I would miss Florida.

So I am happy to be here. I think I'd like to move eventually, perhaps find a place in Florida that does actually appreciate art and culture, but for now, I am perfectly content to live in the Sunshine State.

I just need to get the AC in my car fixed.