Candid Florida

Moon shot at Dicerandra Scrub

Growing up in the Space Age, it’s always been a joy to stop in Titusville and admire the view across the Indian River Lagoon of the hustle and bustle of Kennedy Space Center.

It saddens me that the wind-down of the Space Shuttle program will have a ripple effect on local businesses, such as the Clarion Inn at the end of SR 50 that just recently closed. But there will always be the moon.

Space View Park is an excellent place to see the starry skies over the Indian River Lagoon, but I lucked into this daylight shot in Titusville at Dicerandra Scrub Preserve, no tripod, with my Nikon D-80. Perhaps the stars were in alignment?

There’s always been a certain magic about crossing the Florida state line. It’s not that the terrain or tall pines look any different than South Georgia. This magic is tourism-wrought for the weary traveler, and it comes in the form of the Florida Welcome Center.

When I was a kid on our annual road trip down from New Jersey, it was a momentous event. Clean restrooms! Free orange juice! Smiling faces! And the relief of my parents that the question was finally answered– “Are we there yet?”

This week’s stop at the I-75 Welcome Center triggered a flood of memories and a few tears over losing one lifelong road trip companion, my Dad. But the place was bustling and full of joy, with more families making memories for the future.

Seen along 200 miles of driving Florida’s Turnpike:

Accident, minor: 1
Accident, major, with all emergency personnel on site: 1
Construction cranes: 7
Cormorants, perching: 3
Disabled vehicles: 5
Rain Showers: 4
Rain Showers, torrential: 2
Reckless drivers: 3
Sandhill cranes: 1
State Troopers: 2
Swallow-tailed Kite, airborne: 1
Tailgaters: 7
Turkey: 1
Walls, persistent: throughout Orlando

I’m very upset to see DOT busy at work “improving” but in fact trashing the scenic beauty of one of my favorite Florida backroads, SR 42. In Marion County, between the Eustis turnoff and the Lake County line, they appear to be actively removing the curves that make this drive such a joy. Between Altoona and Paisley, they’re trimming the trees back so the road is no longer shaded. It makes me very sad to see this. Your stimulus dollars at work!

In the continuing saga of cold, cold, cold in Central Florida, I keep looking for cheap and easy ways to keep warm while keeping the thermostat down, Tonight’s trick: a virtual hot sack of rice. It might have been a gift or an inspired purchase, but it’s simply whole grain rice and some scentful herbs sewn into a small pillow. Pop in the microwave and it’s an instant neck warmer! Beats a hot water bottle, too.

Sister Sal and I were slightly above sea level at the Writing Below Sea Level workshop, nestled in the branches of silk bay trees at The Treehouse, an inspirational rental property where the Matanzas Inlet meets the sea at Summer Haven, south of St. Augustine.

With noted Florida novelist Connie May Fowler as our guide, we were there to find our own paths to publishing our first novels. I’ve been focused on telling one tale since 2004, a story born of the hurricanes of that year, and have struggled mightily with finishing it. Finally, I have a roadmap. Connie May suggested visually representing my scenes so I could arrange them into the plot.

In writing them and sticking them up on my studio wall, I uncovered gaps in my novel that needed to be filled, plus a couple of characters who came to the forefront from the backstage.  I now know my story arc and how to tell it … it’s just a matter of arranging my scenes in the proper order and writing the missing parts. My goal is to have a first draft completed by June 30. Wish me luck … and thank you much, Connie May, you are an inspiration!