From Cleveland to the Keys

I just returned from my semi-regular trip to Florida. I flew in to the Ft Lauderdale Airport and rented a car to go to the Keys for 8 days. The plane trip lasted 3 hours and the car trip almost that many. I was mentally comparing everything with Cleveland. Right away you would notice that drivers in Florida are more like like the ones in New York rather than Cleveland. Everyone is in a hurry and driving like a maniac. Also, they don't have manned toll booths so they use cameras instead. You are sent a bill for every toll you go through without paying or if you don't have a pass. No penalty, it's just the way they do things. I guess it must be cheaper to do it this way than to pay a living person. It certainly was faster for the cars. I wondered if that would work here. As you get farther down the road and into the Keys, the highway becomes 2 lanes. When you are frustrated by an accident slowing you down here, think about this. If there's an accident in the Keys, you aren't going anywhere. There's no way to go around or turn back. But, if you're lucky enough to be on a bridge in the daytime, the view is beautiful.

Unless, you're into water sports, Cleveland is a much better choice for entertainment than the Keys. It's fun for a week, maybe two. Then there are only a couple things to do. It's called the Keys disease. It involves drinking and fishing and that's about it. I, for one, like having endless choices to keep me busy and I don't even have to leave Lakewood for that. Restaurants, plays, patios and lots of events are what I want. You can only fish so much and you can do that here. No, you're not really sport fishing and fighting your catch for hours. That is fun. I actually did some tarpon fishing a couple of days. I landed one and one got away. I also caught a couple amberjacks, aka action jacksons. I do recommend doing that if you can. And, of course, check out Key West. It's fun for a whole day but I suggest getting a room overnight. You don't want to drive home after an evening of grown up fun. Remember those one lane roads. And a taxi there is much more expensive than one from Cleveland to Lakewood.

After a week in the Keys, I headed to Miami Beach to spend a Friday hanging out with a friend who lives there. She was a great tour guide. Miami is like Cleveland in the summertime...but on steroids. Same concept of lots of outdoor venues for eating, drinking and other entertainment but more vast. And the people are different. The clothes are different. There's a lot more skin showing and the people are in better shape. You'd have to be if you were in shorts and tanks all year. At night, there is just as much skin but with more sparkles. Here, the twenty-something gals wear skin tight mini dresses. In Miami, it was skin tight mini shorts that fit like a glove. They were shiny and always paired with the highest of heels. The men were toned and tanned and wore the latest fashion. There is no shortage of clubs where this was on exhibit. Again, Cleveland on steroids with really pretty people. There are pretty people in Cleveland, don't get me wrong. But not this pretty.

Personally, I like Cleveland. I like four seasons and I don't want the extreme in anything. Lakewood fits me perfectly. I enjoy visiting Florida but I wouldn't want to live there. As soon as I got home, I started adding new social events to my calendar. There is so much more to do than drink and fish, although I have nothing against those things on occasion. Soon enough my scooter will be on the road and the boat will be in the water. Summers here are better than the ones down south. It's too hot in Florida. I think people from the Keys would enjoy visiting Cleveland. Miami, not so much. Oh well. To each their own but I'm glad to be back in Lakewood.