you can take the girl out of Florida ...

... but you definitely can't take the Florida out of the girl! And don't I know it by the time March arrives each year ... I just wasn't cut out for these New England winters. As for me, I was lucky enough to have been born and raised in Palm Beach County Florida - and not many people my age can say that they were born in South Florida ... I'm not even sure that the small pink hospital I was born in had an official maternity ward back in the day. What's more amazing, even my parents were old timers to Florida: my mother was born in Key West 64 years ago - so she's a true original.

Unless you knew it first hand, it might be hard to picture the Florida of my childhood because these days, South Florida has become so overgrown that even I hardly recognize it. What we considered to be the useless swamplands waaaaaay west of town beyond the miles of orange groves that flanked the empty 2-lane roads have now become overbuilt with 6-lane roads flanked by strip malls and box stores as far as the eye can see. A total transformation. But when I was little, there were no highways and no traffic - just lush tropical surroundings and a neighborhood dotted with a handful of charming bungalow style houses. The coconut palms seemed to grow sideways, so this is what the tree climbing of my childhood was like:

(photo courtesy of alexandra rita)

We kept gorgeous tropical parrots in an outdoor aviary ... macaws, an african grey, and even a toucan named Valentino. We had a green dune buggy to drive on the soft sandy beaches. And my father's mother even had a wild monkey that lived in the giant banyan tree by her bedroom window ... he loved to take treats right out of your hand. I remember the beauty of the bouganvilla plants that grew everywhere ...

(painting by Mary Ann Ohmit)

... and the smell of the gardenia flowers in the air at nighttime as well as the sound of the coconut palms as they swayed and creaked with the wind - it was a really magical way to grow up. I'll always treasure it not only because it was so unique but because for the most part, that 'old' historic Florida is gone these days ... but in spite of all the development, a handful of the original buildings and businesses in my little town by the ocean still exist and in spite of the decades that have passed there are even a few members of the oldest generation who still frequent the beach clubs in their vintage Lilly's ... and every time I'm there I still feel at home. And in just 10 more days, I'll be home again ... 10, 9, 8 ...