Florida Americana

The past week in Tampa and Orlando was an immersion in Americana. Here is a sampling -

* Patriotism is hard to miss. We dined at a local diner, which had 9/11 murals on every square inch and table mats with quotes from George W. Bush.

* Driving in Tampa felt like a Hitchcock movie. Often for more miles on end, all we saw were strips of shopping malls with flickering fluorescent signages followed by RV and trailer parks.

* City-dwelling-gourmet-food-snobs that we are, we had little choice but to patronise not one, not two, but *five* all American fast-food/casual dining chains! We indulged in saturated fat gluttony at (drum roll please)...Denny's, Waffle House, Cracker Barrel, Chili's and Sweet Tomatoes. The food was underwhelming and at times resembled a penitentiary meal. Never the less, you can't beat southern comfort food - grits, buttery biscuits and breaded steaks.

* We saw some breath-taking wildlife at Homosassa Springs State Park. Manatees lolling around in the warm spring waters, flamboyant flamingos resting on one leg and America's national bird - the bald headed eagle. Like the park ranger said, "This is the real Florida". Move over Miami!

* Florida has always been a winter haven for retirees, but I wasn't expecting to see so many polite 70 year old toll booth attendants along the highways. Clearly retirement in Florida isn't just about wealthy old men playing golf or angling in some river like I had come to imagine.

* And the quintessential Florida experience would not be complete without a trip to Disney World. For Tariq and I, it was a trip down memory lane, remembering our respective first visit to Disney World in the 80s. Little has changed in 20 years. I had flashes when I could recall what it felt like to be a squealing 8 year old again.