The Wilderness of Florida

Graffiti on a RR bridge

This past summer, I took a trip to the east coast of Florida. I have been there many times before. I grew up there. 16 years ago, I left home and moved to Los Angeles. I have been back many times since, but this had been my first trip since 2007. While in Florida, I couldn't get over how much things had changed. The place looked beat up. I'm not sure if it was the poor economy, or if a decade and a half really puts that much wear on a place, but it looked beat.

Boardwalk: Turkey Creek Florida

I found myself photographing the natural landscapes more then city itself. Nature has a way of enduring. The undeveloped lands look the same as I remembered them. (maybe a bit less foreboding now that I have GPS in my pocket). I'm sure this wilderness looked much the same when Spanish explorers first walked through these woods 500 hundred years ago. (Some historians say Ponce De Leon first landed in this area, and may have walked through this same wilderness in search of his fountain of youth).

Birds Congregating on the Indian River

I think there is a lesson to be learned in this. You see, the Birds aren't stressed about the economy. They are not affected by the constant advance of progress. They still find places to perch, food to eat, and a place to spread their wings and fly. I imagine ole Ponce, pushing through the wilderness (like I did as a child), coming out to the shore of the river, and seeing birds congregated in the trees much like these birds. So to, must the sights have been the same for the early pioneer families and former slaves that settled the area in the mid 1800's creating the town that is there today.

Pelicans on the remnants of a dock

Yes, the birds were there when we showed up, and they don't seem all that bothered with the concerns of society now. Some things change, others do not. but as long as you have a place to spread your wings, you'll be okay. And sometimes, the decay of what was, just brings us something new.
So in retrospect, maybe it wasn't the town that looked beat. A little more weathered, sure, but not beat. I just wasn't viewing it from the eyes of a 20 year old kid anymore.

Pier on the Indian River. Melbourne Beach Florida

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