I’ve never been much of a tourist. I’m afraid of flying. Yes, I’ve held my breath and traveled all over the U.S. (100 refrigerator magnets as mementos) for reporting and journalism conferences. But my idea of fun and relaxation has never involved leaving on a jet plane. That is, until last winter when the movie I wrote and helped produce took me to Florida three times, January through April.
Here’s the story in 13 photos, with tips for Florida travelers. Used my Galaxy S5 on first two trips, added my Nikon D610 for last.
4:30 a.m., Tuesday, January 20, and I’m at Dulles International Airport for the 6 a.m. departure of American Airlines Airbus A319 direct (hate changing planes) flight to Miami for a major TV conference, $165 (booked five weeks out), returning Wednesday night. First happy discovery (tip one): cheapest days to fly, and this Airbus has roomier seating.
Under a mix of clouds and cool breezes, a taxi deposited me at glistening red steps of The Red Hotel, a refreshingly mod and comparatively cheap Miami Beach hotel. With nearly six hours to check in, I head for the ocean a block away, and exhale, frozen pipes, polar vortex forgotten.
Second tip: If you are like me, without funds for expensive attractions, hit the pavement, or, here, the broad north-south boardwalk. As someone who writes about protections to lessen flood damage, I was fascinated by the broad ribbon of native vegetation, leaves trapping blowing sand and roots locking it in dunes, essential barrier against rising seas.
February 14 and I’m off for our movie screening at Cinema Verde in Gainesville, Fl. I chose to fly to Jacksonville and drive the next day to the film festival. Booked a hotel near the ocean and added an extra day for exploring a new beach. Now, did I mention I’m afraid of heights?
As usual, I rented a subcompact, a Nissan Versa, and set off in the dark. Jacksonville is the largest city in the United States, but many of those 840 square miles are on both sides of the wide St. John’s River. “Oh, my God,” I nearly froze as the Dame’s Point Bridge rose so high as to hide the other side. Next day’s light revealed a sail-like suspension bridge, wires as delicate as piano strings.
Fourth tip: grab all the tourist guides as the airport welcome booth. I had to choose between the Tree Hill Nature Center, the Maritime Heritage Center, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, horses on the beach at Amelia Island to the north, St. Augustine (nation’s oldest city) to the south, Route A1A along the ocean (and two dozen more). With a snowstorm in Virginia impacting flight home, I chose the shore drive, soon coming upon Neptune Beach, a tiny morsel of the 22 miles of Jacksonville beachfront.
Back to tip two, walk. Guided by a map (tip six) picked up at a coffee shop, amidst bright sunshine and just-right temperatures, I fell into the Key West spirit: Two rock guitarists blared under a ceiling of dollar bills, a pickup truck covered in seaweed and sponges (“Don’t Dread on Me”), a dog wandering up to sniff a musician at an outdoor café, art galleries on nearly every street, all against a lush backdrop of purple orchids, pink bleeding hearts and palm trees.
Wealth and poverty blend here. At the edge of the Gulf of Mexico, I found the ocean liner, Vision of the Seas, awaiting passengers boarding for England. Nearby are clustered the Key West Museum of Art & History, the Key West Aquarium and the Shipwreck Historeum, with a few sidewalk sleepers, invisible blurs.
With plans to explore the middle Keys the next day, I had a reservation in Marathon after the movie screening. When I didn’t arrive by 6 p.m., a clerk called and told me where to find my key. Tip seven, online ratings of the best hotels are pretty accurate.
Tip four again, guides are great. SEE publications Florida Keys Visitor Magazine in the room gave me lots of ideas. Marathon and Ismoralda and Key Largo to the east are renowned for diving, fishing and dolphins.
I chose the Crane Point Museum and Nature Preserve, a 1.5 mile loop through 63 acres, the largest land protection in the Keys, outside of Key West. George Adderley and nearly a dozen other families fled desperate conditions in the Bahamas in the 1890s. He collected sponges, dried them and took them by boat to market in Key West. His house, built of “tabby,” a mixture of burnt shells, water and sand, still stands.