This morning it was time to bid a fond farewell to Fort Myers Beach and head about 200 miles NE to Orlando, our base for the next 3 weeks. We’ve really enjoyed our stay at the Marina in Snug Harbor. It’s been such a comfortable resort filled with genuinely nice people, all of a certain age who’ve been coming here for a long time. All of them – like us – are escapees from the winter: Ohio, Michigan, Ontario… lots of people from above the snow line.

We packed up and were on the road just after 10. It was a glorious day weatherwise again. We could have made our journey today on the interstates but we decided to take the backroads. We wouldn’t be able to check in at the Marriott Grande Vista Orlando Villa Vacation Resort | Marriott’s Grande Vista till maybe 4pm so we were in no hurry. If you’ve read any of my other US blogs, you’ll know that we like to take some of the official Scenic Byways if we possibly can. Each state has a number of routes designated as Scenic Byways. You can get lists and maps online if you google. They tend to be off the beaten track and make up routes of linked sights by theme. We’ve driven quite a few in the Rockies and the Pacific North West and have never been disappointed with the experience. Knowing Florida as we do, we knew that it did not offer the inland scenery of either of those states but there was a byway that worked for us The Ridge Scenic Highway | Florida Scenic Highways. It promised a route along a lake lined ridge, through miles of orange groves and old historic towns that showed Florida as it was 50 years or more ago……. How could we resist?

In fact, it was very true to its description and that’s exactly what we saw. The orange groves went on for miles and the trees were covered in oranges. At some points we saw collective processing and packing plants. There were some lovely little towns.

And here’s another favourite thing of mine that these byways tend to include: The Small American Town. These are things of 1950s movie perfection that are fast becoming a rarity. It’s not that they are disappearing, more that they are becoming absorbed in suburban sprawl. But not entirely… even in Florida, that most touristy of states. Frostfree, Highland Park and Lake Wales are both great examples. What is a Small American Town you may ask? Well…- and this is just my definition – it’s a small town that still has a centre. It has a Main Street. And that Main Street has proper shops, not just charity shops. There must be a diner and not a chain diner. It might be called a Family Restaurant and it will have daily specials. There might be a cinema but it won’t be a big multiplex, it’ll be a one or two screen old place. There will be a town square and a town hall and a church. Probably several. There will be a High School and right nearby there’ll be an Elementary school so it’s handy for school pickups. There may be something called the Arena and this will be a big hall used for sporting events and graduations, sometimes concerts or plays. There’ll be a park. Houses will be modest and old with well tended gardens and some of them – my idea of bliss – will have big wrap around porches and crawl space basements.

Anyway, you can have a lot of fun discovering these places. Bill Bryson wrote a fantastic book about them https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Continent-Travels-Small-Town-America/dp/0060920084 and if you haven’t read this book, then what a treat you have in store. It’s utterly brilliant, so funny, so poignant…. written with wry affectionate wit. The opening lines set the tone: ” I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to.” Just get yourself a copy

We stopped for lunch at a little town called FrostFree. I guess it’s name signifies a literal blessing in a place surrounded by citrus orchards. It was a perfect Small American town. It’s right in the centre of the Ridge Lakes. There are about 4 big lakes immediately surrounding the town but we stumbled first on Lake Clinch and that’s where we stopped. It’s a big lake and on our side of it they had developed sandy beaches all along with wooden sunshades, picnic huts, bbqs….. boat launches…. all very delightful. It’s President’s Day Bank Holiday Weekend here, so a few things on. Main Street was closed for a parade and a display of classic cars. Quite a few people out enjoying the lakes either on or off the water. But nowhere crowded. No litter. No drunkenness. It was wholesome. We parked by the lake and snagged our own picnic hut for the duration of our lunch. Several people were swimming nearby. Kids were paddling. I wished I’d dressed for it. Looked lovely.

We wended on past many lakes. The route was mainly up FL17 and it took us all the way to Kissimmee and the bottom of International Drive in the greater Orlando area. Just about to our resort. We got in at about 315 and everything was ready. They loaded us with discount vouchers and maps and this and that. We have a one bedroomed condo very near the main pool complex and we are on the ground floor which is nice for luggage and shopping lugging. We have been coming here for 24 years now and this is our “home” timeshare resort. Generally we have stayed in 2 bedroom condos but this year we had no need to do that. In fact the lounge area has a sofa bed and the bathrooms are arranged so 4 people could stay here privately. After dinner we called in at Walmart and got some grocery shopping. It was a bit of a zoo…… I don’t know…. maybe we’ll go back to Publix. It’s more expensive but it’s a bit like comparing Waitrose with Asda…. somewhat of a different experience.

Back by 830ish and glad to rest. These three weeks are going to be pretty active. We have a lot on.