Visiting the Grands

One of the benefits of living where I do is that I can get just about anywhere in FL in about 2 hours. Wanna go to Disney? no problem? Wanna see the space coast? come on over. Wanna see the bay area with the white beaches? it's here too. My parents also live in the Tampa Bay Area so we decided to head out to see them for "my" weekend. My weekend never includes Sundays so I take Fridays and Saturdays off when I can. It's not always possible, though. But this weekend we've done it. We've gotten away -- away from Arbuckle Creek, the land of golfcarts, carnivores, and alligators. And we've entered . . . a city. The coasts of FL are unreal. There is literally NO vacant land as residence upon residence upon shopping center upon etc. has taken over this beautiful land. I'm hoping to head out to the beach this evening to escape the intensity of the lack of landscape that has emerged here. And it's sad, really. My parents' neighbor has just built a house between the two houses -- that was the only way land could be found. Why do we have to live so compartmentalized? Why must "my land" be "my land" and "your land" be "your land"? At what point did this become the American dream? What happened to community where you share a backyard or a porch or even the tomatoes off the vine? Well, I guess it's still around in Arbuckle Creek. So it will be nice to return. But in the meantime, it is nice to at least be near a Target, for that too is 2 hours from Arbuckle Creek.