D.C. Diary

States I know nothing about #20: Florida

The temperature in Washington has fallen below 50'F, the skies are cloudy and grey and there is a light drizzle outside. So Alex and I are off to Florida for the weekend, in the hope that The Sunshine State lives up to its reputation. We're heading to a little resort named Amelia Island, a short drive from Jacksonville. I've been to Florida before, to Tampa and Miami, but this will be Alex's first taste of winter warmth - and I'm delighted to report that the forecast is sunny with temperatures in the high 80s.

Florida is famous for: DisneyWorld, Universal Studios, SeaWorld, St. Augustine (the oldest city in the US, founded in 1565), Florida Keys, Everglades, Cape Canaveral/Space Shuttles, Beaches, Alligators, Oranges, Key Lime Pie.

State capital:                                           Tallahassee
Nickname:                                               The Sunshine State
Population:                                              18,537,969
State flower:                                            Orange blossom
State tree:                                                Palmetto palm / Sabal palm                                        
State reptile:                                            Alligator         
State mammal:                                         Florida Panther
State bird:                                                Mockingbird 
State insect:                                             Zebra longwing butterfly 
State marine mammal:                              Manatee           
State salt water mammal:                          Dolphin/porpoise              
State freshwater fish:                               Largemouth bass        
State saltwater fish:                                 Sailfish            
State shell:                                               Horse conch
State stone:                                              Agatized coral   
State gem:                                                Moonstone          
State fossil:                                               Eupatagus - an extinct type of sand dollar         
State song:                                               "Swanee River" ('Old Folks at Home')
State motto:                                             "In God We Trust"
State beverage:                                         Orange juice

Famous Floridians: John James Audubon, Fay Dunaway, Butterfly McQueen, Jim Morrison, Sidney Poitier, Thomas Edison, Harriet Beecher Stowe (a bit of a stretch but she wintered near Jacksonville for many years and wrote extensively about Florida), Ernest Hemingway (who seems to sneak in everywhere - Illinois and Idaho also claim him as a native), Dr. John Dorrie (the father of those two most important of American essentials: air conditioning and refrigeration). 

Random fact 1: Florida is the only state that has 2 rivers both with the same name. There is a Withlacoochee in north central Florida (Madison County) and a Withlacoochee in central Florida. They have nothing in common except the name. And the fact they are rivers.

Random fact 2: Miami Beach pharmacist Benjamin Green invented the first suntan cream in 1944. He accomplished this development by cooking cocoa butter in a granite coffee pot on his wife's stove. (I bet she was furious).

Random fact 3:  Venice is known as the Shark Tooth Capital of the World. Collecting prehistoric sharks teeth has been a favorite pastime of visitors and residents of the Venice area for years. It hosts an annual festival, the Shark's Tooth Festival, to celebrate the 'millions of shark's teeth that wash up on its sandy white beaches'.

(With acknowledgement to www.50states.com).

Island in the Sun

This weekend marked the annual Shercliff pilgrimage to Tilghman Island, impeccably timed once again to coincide with Tilghman Island Day - a  fundraiser in aid of the Tilghman Volunteer Fire Company best described as the Chesapeake equivalent of the Highland Games (with less haggis and more crabcakes). And, unlike last year, this time the weather cooperated.

First, for loyal readers, an update on the local Tilghman gossip. I can exclusively reveal that the flasher has been 'run off the island', Michael is now in the process of becoming Michaela and the local oyster-shucking competition is still going strong. A property has been acquired which will house the Tilghmen Watermen's Museum, once enough cash has been raised to renovate it, and I finally know what a jigger is. (A small grappling anchor used during oyster season which seems to have been designed with the express purpose of Tilghman Islanders chucking it into the water for fun. This year's winning throw, by a Mr. Jeff Harrison, measured 65.3 feet).

There was no Greek dancing for us this time so we got our kicks watching the boat docking contest that we missed out on last year. This ingenious sport involves reversing big boats into very small spaces at high speed. It's quite a thrill watching a skilled waterman trying to inflict ten thousand dollars worth of damage on a boat. The idea is to start on one side of the dock, whizz round to the other side, do a nautical version of a handbrake turn and reverse as quickly as possible between two wooden posts into an empty bay. I got too carried away cheering to note the fastest time, but it was 30-something seconds, with no crashes.

And the prize for the belching black smoke went to Bay Assist:

Other exciting events included workboat and row boat races, the crab-picking competition, an 'interactive' net-making demonstration and, my favourite maritime tradition, the all-you-can-eat seafood lunch. I regret that the food was so good that I ended up spending most of the afternoon dozing in an armchair and didn't make it to the oyster shucking contest this year. So apologies to those of you who have been awaiting the outcome of the blue riband event - I can only assume that Big Al carried the day once again. However, I can report that the fried clams, oyster fritters, oyster stew, crab cakes, crab soup, steamed crabs, steamed oysters, raw oysters, oysters on the half shell, softcrab sandwiches, french fries, cold beer, sodas and lemonade were all excellent. I heartily recommend that you note the next Tilghman Island Day (October 15th 2011) in your diaries now, by which time Tilghman's seafood stocks should have been sufficiently replenished to enable you to sample some of the Chesapeake's finest delicacies for yourselves.

Welcome to the Shark Cage

 'Have you ever seen a 2,000 pound bull buck, kick and throw a grown man around from just inches away? Now's your chance!'

I have just received an email from Resistol Arena in Mesquite, Texas advising me that I could be one of 8-10 lucky cowboys and cowgirls chosen to view my next rodeo from a unique vantage point: a shark cage. Who wouldn't want to sneak a peek at the action from within '1,500 tons of steel placed down on the dirt, only 20 feet from the bucking chutes'? I'm seriously tempted. Our night out in Mesquite was one of the highlights of our time in the States - even just thinking about it is making me chuckle. Whoever came up with the idea of sticking a shark cage in the middle of a rodeo in Texas is a marketing genius. This is the ultimate Surf N' Turf.

 

Leaf-peeping

 

                         

We are off tomorrow for a long weekend of leaf-peeping in New England. The north-eastern states are famous for their Fall foliage, but I had no idea what an intensely serious business this leaf-peeping was until I started to do a little research in advance of our trip. There are literally hundreds of websites devoted to the subject, all of which provide endless advice on the best deciduous drives, give tips about the Top Foliage Towns and point photographers towards the perfect autumnal panorama. Foliage Ambassadors (self-appointed roving reporters who can detect the slightest change in leaf colour at a hundred paces) contribute to the Foliage Network and submit digital dispatches to create a foliage forecast for the benefit of other visitors. You can even follow Foliage Central on Twitter (the very notion that anyone would do this makes me want to lie down in a darkened room for several days). 

This type of tourism clearly has to be planned in advance. As one site so succinctly puts it: 'Why leave your leaf-peeping to chance? Get out and explore Connecticut's eight best places to see autumn scenery as selected by the state's Bureau of Parks and Forests'. Of course! Why on earth would one want to drive aimlessly around the New England countryside admiring the views when you could head directly to the very same spot as hundreds of thousands of other foliage fans who have all been reading the same website?

Having said that, I have been obsessively checking the live foliage map to monitor the exact state of the leaves that we'll be peeping at. It's a race against time to see if the small fortune we're spending on B&B accommodation in peak season is worth it (hotels add an extra $50 per room per night at this time of year) and I am growing increasingly anxious that our trip may be spectacularly timed to coincide with the foliage map indicating that the 'moderate' and 'peak' leaves are 'fading' or 'gone'. To hedge our bets (no pun intended) we're flying into Massachusetts, driving up through New Hampshire and staying in Vermont, so we're bound to catch a glimpse of some pretty leaves at some point during our tour. And if all else fails, I shall log into one of the many leaf cams which apparently lurk in the loveliest locations and undertake a spot of Cyber Leaf-Peeping from the comfort of our New England B&B.

Pumpkin Patch Kids

Fall is officially here: the leaves are turning, the temperature has finally dropped below 80'F and Starbucks has re-introduced the Pumpkin Spiced Latte. (Sadly no-one has informed our friendly local mosquitos that it is time for them to depart - I cannot believe they are still bothering us in October). The shops are full of Halloween themed costumes and candy and my friends are already discussing how they are going to dress their babies for trick & treating. We won't be in the US for Halloween this year, so we thought that we should give Alex a taste of Harvest fun by taking him to a pumpkin patch. No, not a clothes store, but a working farm where one can take a ride on a hay wagon, pick one's own fruit and vegetables, pet some cute animals, transport young babies in wheelbarrows and spend a large amount of time debating whether a pumpkin is a fruit or a vegetable. (After extensive research, I can categorically state that Wikipedia says it is a fruit). So we headed off in beautiful sunshine to Homestead Farm in Maryland, about a 45 minutes drive away. We located our prize pumpkin, handed over a small fortune to purchase it, and brought it home for the ritual disembowelment.

I thought the pumpkins we bought were pretty massive, but I now realise that they were mere midgets compared to the serious competition. I knew pumpkins were a big deal here in the US but I'm only just starting to realise how highly they are valued. There is a pumpkin on sale in Whole Foods in Friendship Heights for $99. I'll need to check with Cinderella but as far as I know it doesn't do anything dramatically different from any other pumpkin - it's just quite big. Although even this shrivels into squashed insignificance when compared to the world's largest pumpkin which was grown by a lady called Christy Harp in Ohio in 2009 and weighed in at 1725lbs. Incidentally Ohio clearly has an enormous Pumpkin festish -  as well as producing the world record holder, the state is home to three of the country's most prestigious Pumpkin Festivals - held annually at Circleville, Barnesville and Huntsburg. But the 'Pumpkin Capital in the World' (presumably a title awarded by the same body as that which judges Belzoni, Mississippi to be the 'Catfish Capital of the World') is Morton, Illinois where 90% of the canned pumpkin sold in the US are produced.

      

But enough about giant gourds. We have two young friends staying this weekend - our neighbours Evelyn and Danae - who suggested we make a pumpkin pie once we had carved out our Jack O'Lantern. To be honest, it had not even occurred to me to bake a pie with the contents of a pumpkin - in the UK, I would usually just hollow it out, carve a face and throw away the contents. But add several pounds of sugar, some cinammon and a couple of cans of evaporated milk and, hey presto, a very bland fruit tastes like a very bland fruit with several pounds of sugar, some cinammon and a couple of cups of evaporated milk added. Nevertheless, we had an enormously enjoyable day and I must admit that there is something pretty special about picking your own pumpkin from its patch in the morning and eating it in a pie in the evening, with the Jack O'Lanterns flickering outside on the front porch.

More photos of our day here.