otoh

Before I moved to Florida it meant only two things to me: beaches and theme parks. While we have both in abundance here they don’t make my list of things I will miss when I’m gone. To be fair, I have had some good times on beaches, but given a choice I’ll head to the mountains. I even have some pleasant memories from theme parks. [You haven't seen "It's a Small World" until you've seen it with a five-year-old.] By and large though they mean paying lots of money to be in big crowds — two things I detest.

After I moved to Florida I learned that there is a whole other world away from beaches and theme parks [and usually, but not always, away from crowds]. This other world includes natural springs, rivers, and hiking trails. For example, Wekiwa Springs State Park is just a few miles north of Orlando and has a gorgeous swimming area at the springs. There are miles of hiking trails and canoeing on the Wekiva River. Outside the park, the adjacent Rock Springs provides a wonderful canoeing experience too.

A little further north is Blue Spring State Park, best known as a Manatee refuge. The waterways are closed to swimmers and boaters from mid-November through March each year as the Manatees winter in the 73°F water.

There are something in the neighborhood of 150 state parks and historic sites that run the gamut from springs and rivers to beaches to coral reef. [John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park was the first undersea park in the U.S.] And we have a few national parks and preserves too. I’ve barely scratched the surface in exploring all these places and when I come back to visit these are what I’ll be looking for.

As I prepare to uproot myself I am acutely aware that there are some things about central Florida that I will miss a lot. One of them is my Tai Chi class. I’ve been studying with Master Chang for eight years and my classmates are wonderful people. There was much sadness when I told them I will be leaving in a few weeks. They want to have some kind of celebration before I go. [As a naturally shy person, I was a little tempted to just slip away without saying anything....]

Anyway, I figure I’ll be able to find another group to study with whenever I get resettled. One of the first things Master Chang said to me though after I told him I am leaving is that he wants me to teach Tai Chi in my new home. [He has talked to me before about how he wants his traditions to continue here in central Florida and that would mean that I and some of the other students would be taking over the teaching.]

“Okay,” I said, “I’ll try teaching it.”

“No,” he told me, “you will teach.”

“I will teach Tai Chi,” I agreed.

“And some day you will bring your students here to visit.”

Won’t that be a hell of a field trip?!?

Master Chang