I had never really been to Florida before last week. I spent a few days at Disney World in early 2002, but that's not real Florida. That's not even real Earth.
I've always had a view of Florida as being full of old people who are simply waiting to die. How wrong I was.
Sure, Florida does have a lot of old people, but these old people are not waiting to die. In fact, it's the opposite. The old people who move to Florida are those who are keenest to go on living life to the full. They don't want to be cooped up for a few months of the year, so they relocate to Florida and enjoy life year round.
Many of the people I saw were only spending part of the winter in Florida and will return to the north when spring arrives. I don't blame them in the least.
I spent 8 days in St. Augustine, which is not hot at this time of the year (although the weather was comparable to mid-summer in Ireland). The warm weather, the ocean, pelicans gliding along just above the waves, palm trees - I thought the place was fantastic. I'm all ready to sign up when retirement comes my way.
