The Better Florida

Last week I went down to Florida to visit long-time friends. St. Simons is virtually on the Florida border, and it is an easy drive down I-95. Just a couple of days but enough to feel the pulse of the state, given that I have been there many times in the past. It’s kind of an indulgence on my part as my hosts have a beautiful home and they put me up in my own suite. Our time is mostly spent eating well and laughing together.

For many of us, Florida conjures up images of crowded beaches and miles of coastal development, a lifestyle of neon and noise. Old people from up East and college spring breakers all enjoying the good life in the sun. And frequently we think of the state as a refuge for all sorts of misfits and dropouts. Sometimes it all seems right out of a Carl Hiaasen novel.

Most of my jaunts south involve short road trips around the state visiting out of the way places. My pal, Nick Wynne, the former Director of the Florida Historical Society, appears to know every nook and cranny on the peninsula. This time we visited Sanford, Florida, located about 15 miles northeast of Orlando on Lake Monroe. It is a pleasant town of over 50,000 which increasingly has become a bedroom community for Orlando. It has a rich history dating back to 1870 when its founder Henry Shelton Sanford bought over 12,000 acres and laid out the town. Since then local residents have found many ways to make a living from citrus to celery to naval aviation and winter baseball. Most recently, tourism has increasingly gentrified the town with a riverwalk, renovation of charming old buildings, breweries, and eateries. A “must stop” is Hollerbach’s German restaurant which attracts large crowds, many of whom come from out of town. It is possibly the best German food I’ve enjoyed—one taste of the sauerkraut and you are hooked!

All of this is to say there is a better Florida off the interstate and coasts waiting to be explored. Much of it is what we would call “the old Florida” inviting us to sit awhile and take the time to “smell the roses.”