Ahhhh, Florida

If you read my previous post, you know we just got back from a trip to Florida.  There's just something about being in the sunshine state.  To me, it seems to run at a much slower pace than we do here in the outskirts of the ATL.  It's quieter.  It's peaceful.  I don't know if I feel that way because I associate it with a less complicated, less stressful time of life, being that I grew up there and as a kid was mostly oblivious to the stinkiness and crud that life so often throws at us grown ups.  It may be that I feel that way because nowadays, when we go to FL it's for vacation or at least a time to get away from the everyday grind.  Whatever the reason, it's nice. 

My parents (who live in FL and are who we stay with while there) live in a town that although is not all that small number wise, it still has a small town feel to it and it's far enough aways from bigger cities that it's not really all that affected by them.  Some days, I long for that small town, lazy, slower pace feel.  I wish my husband didn't have to commute to work everyday.  My dad's office is maybe 10 minutes from my parents' house.  That would be nice. 

The town they live in is in a great location too.  45 minutes from Disney, an hour from the beach.  Nice. 

I do love where we live though.  Because we are so close to the city, we are afforded a lot of amenities that people in a small town are not.  I love the season change we experience here.  I love that we are so close to the mountains as well. 

My parents talk from time to time about moving up this way, but then where would we go on vacation (for free)??  Where would we go to relax and get away from it all (for free)??  Right now, we have our own little vacation home in central Florida (my parents' house).  It's nice to know it's there. 




My parents town is known for it's many lakes.  One of our favorite things to do when we visit is to go feed the ducks and swans (and evidently pelicans).




Being that it was not a beautiful, sun shiny day, the poor ducks had not been fed all that much so they were very excited to see us. 




This is a picture of another one of my favorite places in their small town.  It's these beautiful gardens on the edge of one of the lakes that are just very peaceful.  They even have classical music quietly playing in the background.  The kids want to know if we can make our backyard look like this.  (This picture does not do it justice).