I’m officially a Washington State guy again. I got my driver’s license, and I still popped back up in the system so it took a grand total of about 10 minutes to get it. It was nip and tuck fo a moment or two, because the clerk at the DMV asked me if I had any mental health issues, which she thought was obvious because I had moved to Florida (I am not making this up).
For those keeping score, my time in residence goes as follows: 45 years in Washington, eight in Florida, one month in California. Yes, I am a Northwest boy it turns out. Even the gray and damp doesn’t really bother me.
But that’s not to say that there are things I don’t miss about my old homeland, 3,000 miles from where I am now. And while it was never truly home, I still miss things there.
The same could be said for here as well, for when I was in Florida, there were things about Seattle I missed. So, I decided to put them all down on paper, well, iPad actually, so I can set the record straight that I didn’t really hate Florida, even though I went there for what turned out to be the wrong reason. And it would still be wrong if I hadn’t had met the Janmeister.
Let’s start with Florida. What did I miss? (Cue the going back in time harp music).
Ready? Go! The palm trees. The manatees, the dolphins (not the football team). Conch fritters. The amazing and ever changing colors of the ocean. Drive through liquor stores. Dining outside in the winter. 75 degree Christmases. Being able to drive to Key West. Rocket launches. Thunderstorms. Sunshine. 90 minute flights to Jamaica, 35 minute ones to the Bahamas. Uh. Um.
OK, I admit to coming up a bit short here. I was going to add the theme parks, but that enthusiasm wore off after the first three years. I certainly could mention some of the people I’ve met. But if I list them, someone is going to notice that they weren’t listed and think I didn’t like them. Which may or may not be true. I may have just overlooked them accidentally. So no list.
And I only really lived there for a relatively short time. So, let’s compare.
Seattle. The mountains, the ever changing scenery as you round a turn and head up or down a hill. Scones. Good coffee. Salmon (sorry, Atlantic salmon is nothing like real salmon). The Pike Place Market. Day trips that don’t take an entire day to drive there. Hydroplanes, summer festivals, Leavenworth, wineries that actually make wine from grapes, not tomatoes and citrus). Mt. Rainier, the rockiness of the Pacific Ocean. The views of the Puget Sound and the OIympic Mountains.
Things I won’t ever miss about Florida: bugs on my counters and in my food. Mosquitoes and no-see-ums. Horribly humid days in the 90s where you just want to die. Air conditioning bills. Hurricanes. Tornadoes (I know, they’re just little ones, but I just don’t like them in general), Snowbirds, old people, poisonous caterpillars.
Things I still don’t like in Seattle. Traffic. Rain. People on the bus. Bicyclists who think they own the road. The lack of palm trees (though there are some. Winter. Horribly humid days in the 90s where you just want to die. Heating bills. Earthquakes.
As you can see, I am not the Florida hater everyone thought I was. Mostly, I was just a fish out of water. I never really got Florida. I mean, love the fun in the sun thing, but I never really got into the Florida Lifestyle, except when I went to Bealls. And yes, that’s a local’s joke to my readers in other climes.
I know others can make anyplace their home. I marvel at that. I thought I did. And quite frankly, I’d still be there today if it weren’t for a chance to work for the State of Washington here and move back to the Northwest.
I would have been in Florida for the rest of my life, I suppose. Not particularly thrilled about it, perhaps. But not unhappy about it either. I guess it’s the way people feel about living in Kansas. It’s not the first place you would choose to live, but there are worse places you could be, like Oklahoma.
Sure, the Northwest is a gorgeous place to be when it’s sunny. And there are actually parts of Washington that get more sun annually than Florida does, believe it or not. The Tri-Cities can claim 300 days of sun a year.
But I can’t say Florida was such a bad place. True, it’s no Hawaii. But it’s no Alaska either. And it’s certainly not New Jersey. Hey, I had to get a New Jersey joke in here somewhere. It’s a quota thing that all writers have to abide by.
And yes, there will always be things I miss about Florida, just as I missed the things about Seattle when I lived in the sunshine.
Funny, as I think about it, I realize that I am more of a home body than I thought. I guess I’m not as much of a true gypsy as I once believed I was. Seattle, was, is, and always will be my home.
I guess it’s all the rain. Somewhere along the way, I put down roots that I didn’t know I had. And they are strong roots. I know. I pulled them up a time or too and tried to transplant myself. But they just never flourished.
I feel rooted once again. And I thank my lucky stars that the Janmeister is more gypsy than I, uprooting her own self to follow me back here. It will take time for her roots to grow. Fortunately, there’s lots of rain this week to help her along.
Me? I can’t be anything else than a guy from Seattle. It feels good to be here. I know my Florida friends don’t get it. Why go to the rainy gray Northwest?
All I can say is that it’s a very special place to be from. I can’t even begin to articulate it. But obviously I’m not alone, for even those who move here eventually get it. I know this because I was talking to a co-worker from Texas yesterday. She would never go back. She loves it here. It’s home.
Yes, it is home. And I’d like to thank my mom and dad for getting it one cold night in 1957 so I could end up in such a cool place.
In the Emerald City, getting all teary eyed,
– Robb