Suwannee Refugee

Well, I’m making a move.  I had to do it.  Even though I have a crush on WordPress the relationship was starting to get rocky.  I wanted to do more and more things to enhance the blog, but couldn’t without purchasing a domain name, which is not high on the list, yet.

One of the reasons I waited until now to say anything is I wanted to get my new Blogger blog, Suwannee Refugee, up and running and for the Outdoorsy Blog Carnival to post my link on Florida’s Nature Coast.

So, here ends my days on WordPress.  But it isn’t a sad one.

Florida’s Nature Coast Addition

A little Manatee Springs wildlife.

Just after I posted my blog on the Florida’s Nature Coast, our blog friend, Dave’s Yak Tales, pipes in with his journey around Cedar Key and Manatee Springs.  Both of these are memorable and informative places to worship.  Manatee Springs is my favorite state park next to St. Joe, because it was so idyllic and peaceful.

Florida Blog Linking: Sanibel Toot

Courtesy of Sanibel Toot

Another blog that has recently come to Orange Blossom Trail’s attention is Sanibel Toot.  Toots is a retiree living on Sanibel Island on the Culture Coast of Florida.  She seems to be in touch with nature on the land and in the Gulf of Mexico.

So, Toots is worthy of making it to the Florida Blog Cast Net.  Do you have any Florida/Southern blogs worthy of mentioning?  If so, please do share!

Florida Blog Linking: About Florida

I’ve mentioned Dawn Henthorn a few times as I’ve articulated the Florida coasts.  She does a nice job of outlining these coasts and even going a bit more in-depth providing some links at the bottom of her pages.

So, I’ve added her to my Florida Blog Cast Net, hope you do too.  I’d love to hear from anyone who has other Florida/Southern blogs they would like to share.

Florida’s Nature Coast

I’ve saved the best for last.  This is the cherry in a bowl of ice cream.  A piece of bacon in a bowl of mustard greens. A ham hock in a bowl of black-eyed peas.  Come to think of it, maybe all the good stuff in life comes in bowl.  Deep thoughts to ponder for another day.

Florida’s Nature Coast holds a special place in my soul.  I spent many summers of my boyhood fishing the Suwannee River (pictured in the header of the this blog) with my grandpa mostly and my dad occasionally.  I remember tying multicolored string into jelly beetle spins because Papa thought that they would catch more fish.  I remember always trying to outdo Papa fishing, one time to my detriment catching 40 bream and having to clean every last one of them buggers.

There is something about this area that is as old as creation and speaks soft words to my soul.  I read Siddhartha by Herman Hesse a few years back.  One of the characters in the book sat by the river his whole life, the river as his teacher.  William Kelly alludes to this in his blog post on Suwannee Time.

Now, even though the Suwannee is my favorite doesn’t mean that there aren’t other things to do along this magical coast.  Here’s a list of bloggers and loggers who have rambled about this picturesque section of Florida:

• Softkee Times posts about the book, The Nature Coast & Big Bend.
• Natty Michelle talks about her time in Dunnellon, Florida and Rainbow Springs.
• Barbara Weibel scribes her time in the historic Cedar Key.
• Next Steps held a gathering discussing how to preserve The Nature Coast.
• Our oft blogged about Dawn Henthorn writes another all around good post on this coastline.
• Chuck has a few things to say about biking the Nature Coast Trail.

So there ya have it folks.  My take (and other’s take) on Florida’s best coast.  I wish we could rename it that, but then it would get overrun by tourists, which is what we definitely don’t want.

Do you have any adventures along the Nature Coast you want to share?  Thoughts on my thoughts?

Wastin’ Away…

“Wastin’ away again in Margaritaville.  Searching for my lost shaker of salt (SALT, SALT, SALT!). Some people claim that there’s a woman to blame.  But I know, it’s nobody’s fault.”

We all know these oft sung words by Floridian/Caribbean/Southern cult leader , Jimmy Buffet.  I’ve been listening to this man for the better part of 15 years, loving his songs more and more, realizing that he is sucking every last bit of marrow out of life.  JB grew up in Mississippi and Louisiana, but has spent the better part of his life in South Florida and the Keys, specifically Key West.

His songs have done so much for Florida beach culture.  His songs have also kept Florida musicians employed.  I stumbled on this article by Wade Tatangelo in the St. Pete Times articulating the profit being made of JB’s songs.  I have a feeling that he would admire these folks who are using his songs, as this is way he got his humble beginnings, starting with Come Monday.

Are there any parrotheads who would like to share your thoughts?  Any of you making a living playing JB’s tunes?

Inviting Southern/Florida Bloggers

Living in Africa has brought me to a more contemplative mood, pondering what is happening back in the greatest state in the Union: Florida, wondering if I’m doing any good here–although this thought comes and goes like a Florida rain, and thinking about the vagaries of Africa.  And while I’m away I can only do so much good writing this blog, this Orange Blossom Trail.  So, here’s the deal.  If any of you out there, have a story about the South or Florida culture, history, towns, or just plain crazy snowbirds, come be a guest blogger on my blog.

You can drop me a line at missionalan@yahoo.com.  Make it good.  Make it decent.  Make it worthy of walking down an Orange Blossom Trail.

Florida’s Cultural Coast

I don’t like it.  Not the place–the name, gomer.  C’mon, to those Floridians reading this blog tell me that you would call something cultural.  Most Floridians would laugh if you called something cultural.  They’d probably look at you a little sideways, while the tobaccee runs down the side of their mouth.

But other than the name, I ain’t got a bad thing to say about this coast.  There are so many things to do, from eating on the beach, to fishing in the Gulf of Mexico while looking at the grand monument to Florida: The Sunshine Skyway, to partaking in the, yes, cultural events.  I have fished so many times on both sides of the Skyway.  Both are great.  For me it was closer to fish from Cockroach Bay, but Holmes Beach also has its beauty.  I’ve fished by with buddies and with fishing guides Shawn Crawford and Matt Ercoli.

Dawn Henthorn, who we’ve mentioned in other blogs, writes another nice article on this coast.  One of the quaint places–well, I guess that all depends on if the place is overrun by snowbirds or not– to eat on the beach is The Sandbar.  For you pancake aficionados, there is Cafe on The Beach that serves all-you-can-eat pancakes.

Here are some other links I stumbled on:

• Top 10 ways to discover Florida’s Cultural Coast.
• Sands of Sarasota gives a precise rundown of the happenings along this coast.

Do you have any special places along this coast that I missed?  Do share.  Its not Southern to do otherwise.

Rabbit Hutch

I love NPR!  No, really, I do.  There is so much to listen to and learn from on NPR.  This American Life is one of my favorites.  Ira Glass does a superb job narrating this show.

I also subscribe to NPR on Facebook.  This allows NPR to post updates on my wall.  They posted this post about Venz’s Rabbit Hutch yesterday or the day before–some days run into others.  Just their story about this shack in Alabama makes we want to eat there.  Too bad it has passed on into our memory.

Okra–African and Southern

Supplied by The Bitten Word

I was in Togo yesterday fulfilling a visa requirement for Ghana.  I wandered the markets, bought some poulet (chicken) and saw tons of nick naks, most of which wasn’t worth buying, as I’ve been in many African markets and they are beginning to meld into one big pot of fufu.

One of the items I saw was Okra.  My experience in Africa has been that okra is as long as a yellow banana and as tough as the banana peel.  I’ve tried to fry it like we do in the South with little luck.  It turns out even tougher than when we started.  It appears that as the okra grows bigger it gets stiffer.  In the South, we pick ours at about 4 inches, roll in it in flour or cornmeal, and deep fry.  I used to to do it all the time when I lived in Florida.

South in My Mouth writes about her experience with Southern fried Okra or okree as she and my grandpa call it.  And The Bitten Word gives ya’ll a recipe to experiment with.  What’s your experience with okra in Africa or the South?