Driving to Miami was always such a long drive from North Carolina especially in the early 80’s. My parents had met in the military and my Dad was stationed at Patrick AFB. We moved away when I was young and now it was a yearly trek to Miami to see my Mom’s family. Driving past the orange groves and smelling the fragrant blossoms and the sweet fruit will always stick in my mind. Riding Soarin’ at WDW brought some of those memories back to life for me when I rode it for the first time. I remember arriving at my Great Grandma Nan’s house and she always smelled sweet like roses. We usually stayed with her and visited all our other family throughout the week. My grandmother had a bigger house and I can remember the pool outside, the huge shower inside and the smell of all the trees in bloom. There were avocados, oranges and other tropical plants that were so lush and provided just the right amount of shade to sit on the patio under. During that time patio furniture wasn’t retro it was original with giant hibiscus patterns, bright colors and large cushions. Me being a kid, everything looked amazing! One year we made a movie about the pool and we all did tricks, made faces, or showed off for the camera. That was back when super 8 mm cameras were what was in use, no cell phones, no vlogs.
Now, when I travel I imagine myself back in parent’s car with the windows down taking in those amazing smells. I know that many people today are in such a rush to get to the parks, windows up, AC on high, and phones out that they miss these experiences I had as a kid. They will always be there for me in my experiences. This won’t stop me from turning my phone off, “rolling down” the windows, and imagining we are cruising past the groves, stopping for a Cuban sandwich in Miami and driving for the keys to camp at John Pennekamp once more.
The Experienced Traveler 