Floridaying!

In case it is not obvious this post is about living it up in Florida- the sunshine state!

It took me almost three years in US before I touched Florida beaches so the anticipation was quite high. In my mind I thought of Florida beaches as high-end party destination; the glamorous kinds where people come to flaunt their well-toned bodies and drink mimosas by the pool side. 

So we planned an old friends Bachelorette in Florida and headed out to party!

For comparison purposes, I thought of Rio beaches as being relaxed and unpretentious. The kinds which I would not attribute as sophisticated ‘water-sports package’ sporty but simple ‘football/surf board’ sporty. (Yeah football not beach volleyball). It’s a party destination again; but you come here to soak in the native experience..

I thought of California beaches as a lifestyle, where RV beach camping is a regular sight and young people jog around in the morning and walk their dogs in the evening. The beaches feel young and a part of everyday life. It’s the ideal destination for a road-trip, you’ll see the beaches, the mountains, the deserts everything as you keep moving along the coast.

These are just my general perception, I would not argue their merit..

The question now is did Florida live up to this anticipation?

Honest answer would be it wasn't what I expected it to be.

I came across the most peaceful of beaches-literally deserted beaches where dolphins just walked by you.  

I came across the playful white beaches and incidentally it was really easy to leave the crowded beaches and sail away to a quite island on the Gulf of Mexico where the water is perfectly clear for snorkeling and again chase dolphins!

So for me Florida was about lying on the front deck of boat eating water melons, soaking  in the sun, getting sprayed by the salty waters as we raced along the gulf of Mexico, listening to Reggae music-‘everything will be alright’..

I saw the partying but not the high end swanky clubs kinds but a very colorful Spanish-Cuban-Colombian roadside partying (7^th Avenue Street). Colorful splash of yellow-blue and green, a Scientology church (i haven't seen one before), lots of tattoo places and Cuban cigar shops, stores selling bric-à-brac from south east Asia, from Colombia, dresses from France and slew of pubs each trying to stand out in its own way and you could tell the clientele they were shopping for.

For me it was a feeling of déjà vu, like visiting the little cousin of New Orleans’ Bourbon Street (colorful, musical, flavorful, ethnic and the wildness of the partying crowds at night)

One reason to explain this anomaly might be the choice of destinations in Florida- Tampa bay area & Orlando. We didn't really spend much time in Orlando, so my sphere of vision would be just Tampa bay area- Tampa city and the beach towns of Clearwater and St Petersburg. My general impression was that these places had more local businesses running the show, they didn't have the familiar promenades with big brand stores. We found the food was really cheap- small cozy cafes serving good food to a loyal customer-base. Initially we fancied the idea of driving in a convertible, but then we settled for a budget Nissan Versa, although the Nissan made us scratch our heads with their bizarre design choices(the car seats felt funny and the dash lights were an ugly red) but there weren't too many posh/stylish drivers on the roads so we blended in just fine..
It was a small town feeling through and through, not some crazy party destination on steroids..(haha..just my imagination..)
In the end a place can offer a lot of things to a lot of different people, it all depends on what you are seeking for.. perhaps this was the Florida I was seeking!

I neither shot the video and nor edited it... but I am sharing it across here..
Credit: video swati, editing: parixit