I\u2019ve been out of pocket for a couple days. A good friend stopped by, and we went down to Amelia Island to rendezvous with family before taking a day trip exploring the \u201cold Florida\u201d away from the coast. It was a nice respite after months spent holed up; fully vaccinated, we felt emboldened to strike out and let our hair down a bit.<\/p>\n
The catalyst for the trip was a visit to Blue Springs State Park near Orange City, Florida, north of Orlando to see the manatees. If you have never seen manatees, they are large mammals\u2014about 11 or 12 feet long, rather fat and resembling small whales to the uninitiated. They always make me think of the big moose I\u2019ve seen in northern Minnesota. And like moose, they are herbivores and appear to have been designed by a cartoonist. Blue Springs feeds into the St. John\u2019s River and is the winter home for hundreds of manatees. It is a marvelous park with tourist cabins, kayaking and swimming available as well.<\/p>\n
Our second stop was a visit to Cassadaga, the South\u2019s oldest spiritualist community. Centered in a quaint Victorian town, it\u2019s a hoot to visit and a colorful portrait to the eye. The old houses are painted in outrageous colors and trimmed out with bizarre ornaments and yard art. And on every block and corner is the shingle for mediums offering readings and promises to commune with one\u2019s ancestors. The focal point of the community is the old Cassadaga Hotel, opened in 1929 as a replacement for its predecessor which burned three years earlier. Today the hotel features Sinatra\u2019s Italian restaurant and operates as a meeting place where spiritualists and mediums offer individual and group counseling. What caught my eye was the old telephone booth-like structure in the lobby where one can sit down, recite the spiritualist prayer inscribed on the wall, and find \u201cinner peace.\u201d Believe me, this is a must to visit if you are ever in the vicinity.<\/p>\n
Returning north, we had lunch in DeLand which is home to Stetson University, a residential university with impressive buildings and a beautiful campus. Originally founded in 1883 as a Baptist school by Henry DeLand, a New York philanthropist, it is now a private nonsectarian school of about 4000 students. The name was later changed in 1889 to Stetson University for a founding trustee who became the benefactor after the college\u2019s financial reverses. The town of DeLand is a thriving, attractive college town full of shops, restaurants and beautiful parks. DeLand and adjacent communities such as Mt. Dora make this area of central Florida worth a visit.<\/p>\n
All in all, it was a wonderful two-day holiday, a long overdue escape from the humdrum of this past year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019ve been out of pocket for a couple days. A good friend stopped by, and we went down to Amelia Island to rendezvous with family before taking a day trip exploring the \u201cold Florida\u201d away from the coast. It was a nice respite after months spent holed up; fully vaccinated, we felt emboldened to strike…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-by-robert-fischer"],"yoast_head":"\n