When I was ten years old, my parents took me on a long vacation to Florida. We spent several days at the Polynesian Resort at Disney World and several more at Fort Lauderdale beach. It was a lot of fun and I remember it well. Shortly after that time, my grandparents moved to Arcadia and we spent several weeks a year visiting them and exploring more of the Sunshine State.
Although there were still visits to the beach and theme parks, my family went on trips to other recreational spots as well. We took a long drive on alligator alley stopping to take an airboat ride in the Everglades; we visited a local animal preserve and saw a two headed cow; took a tour of Thomas Edison's Florida home and saw the Ringling Brothers Museum. All of that while playing golf, going shopping, catching new movies at the theater and enjoying the warm weather made Florida my favorite place to visit. The fact that my grandparents lived there made it even better.
As Doug and I began talking about where we would like to live once all of the Heinisch children moved out, he mentioned several states that he would be interested in as our next home state. Tennessee, North Carolina and Texas were all on his list. They sounded fun to me and I looked at a few, but my heart always was in Central Florida. Thus, when Doug got the chance to follow Champion to Ocala, I was more than ready. The weather change would be perfect and I knew from a long time of experience with the area that we would love living there. Once I was on board and Doug found that the cost of living to be the same as in Northern Indiana, we began getting ready to move.
Our children didn't quite have the same experience with Florida that I did growing up although they did spend quite a bit of time in Orlando over the years. Thus, when they heard the new, they were extremely excited that we would be living less than an hour and a half away from their favorite theme parks. Once they visited and realized how much more there was to do, they fell in love with our new home. Each one of them has planned multiple trips to see us and have enjoyed all that we have done whether close to Ocala or a short drive away.
Today on our way to the airport, Cameron and I talked a lot about his return trip to Florida in June. He definitely wanted to go to the Everglades for a weekend visit. I also told him about other places that we could visit while he was here - Cape Canaveral, the Thomas Edison Home, the Tampa Zoo, and St. Augustine were just a few. He told me that was what he loved most about Florida. There was so much to do, but it was also a different climate than the Midwest complete with tropical weather and species of plants and animals that were only found in our new home state. I was happy to hear that he felt just as enamored with the Florida culture and climate as I was when I was younger. We had planned and talked so much about his return trip this afternoon that it made leaving him at the airport so much easier. We were both already looking forward to his next visit.
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