The Girl's Goin' on a Road Trip

I neglected to mention to you that I'm going on a road trip - I'm actually on that trip right now and writing to you from the Best Western in Winter Park Florida, about two or so hours from Sarasota where I live. I wanted to stay at the Winter Park Inn, but it was full of artists getting ready for the big art festival this weekend. I thought it a little early to be booking all the rooms out, but I didn't share that with anyone.

One of my intentions of this trip is to think - I always do better at that when I'm distracted by something mindless like driving. I want to do what ever I want to do whenever I want to do it, and not have to be considering anyone other than myself. I also want to take pictures, preferably better than this one.

I wanted to come to Winter Park because I heard it was beautiful. The downtown area of Park Street is lovely with a large grassy park along one side of the road and hip quaint brick buildings lining the other side, with some live oaks sprinkled in between. The stores are upscale with your usual Pottery Barn and Ann Taylor, and there are at least four wine bars in as many blocks. There is also a train, yep a real horn blowing actual working not for tourists train that cruises through this part of town. As I was enjoying a glass of wine at one of the wine bars I heard the horn and looked up and saw the train running parallel to Park St, the main drag.

Getting to downtown I got lost, and that was a good thing because I saw some lovely old houses with lots of drippy moss and overhanging branches so that I felt like I was driving through a faerie tunnel. I loved looking at these houses and landscaping, and that's worth the trip to get here - a Gap here is the same as a Gap anywhere.

I came here by following back roads as much as I could and they took me through the center of the state. There is a huge amount of farm land for cows, citrus and vegetables. Along the way there was a plowed field ready to be planted and the soil looked more like brown sand than the dark loamy soil of Michigan. Made me think how much they have to fertilize it to get the plants to grow. Ick.

Tomorrow I'm going to Mt. Dora or Cassadega or both. I have to be back to Sarasota on Thursday so I have plenty of time to putz around.