I have often been to Florida. In fact, it was the first state I visited after college graduation because the second leg of my honeymoon was to Orlando. I have returned for a conference and to visit a friend (several times, a former co-worker) and the only Tennessee high school classmate I have any contact with, and, a first cousin that I had not seen in about 50 years.

This time it was to photograph several college campus signs all around the state. I planned to visit the friend former co-worker and high school classmate. My original plan was to visit only the northern half of the state. That would leave several colleges in the southern half for a future trip, if ever. But by adding just one day to my driving trip, I could cover the entire state. So the trip itinerary was changed.

The day before I was to visit my former classmate, she called to say that family from Indiana unexpectedly showed up thus she would be unable to get away to have a late lunch with me on Sunday. Unfortunate timing.

Something I got to do this trip that I had never done before was travel all the way across the panhandle of Florida. I was in Pensacola decades ago when driving from Alabama. And I had gotten to Tallahassee before when driving from Jacksonville. This time I drove some of the highway along the Gulf Coast through Panama City and on to Pensacola. Pensacola has University of West Florida but because of traffic and construction I was unable to actually get to the campus without taking a additional hour delay to the two hours delay it already gave me.

Because my two friends are still in Florida (ducking the more frequent hurricanes), I MIGHT (that is a BIG MAYBE) return at some point in the next few years. Also, I would still like to take the boat ride across the channel to the fort at Fort Matanzas that is about an hour south of Jacksonville (my Jacksonville friend and I went there but the boats are not running because of hurricane damage last fall that still need to be repaired). Those reasons but maybe actually get to West Florida University in Pensacola could bring me back to the state. Otherwise, because of traffic and the sheer volume of people, I would just stay away from this state.

My Jacksonville friend and I decided to visit St. Augustine and Fort Matanzas. St. Augustine is a gorgeous little town and the Flagler campus and the architecture of its buildings are incredible. Went to Fort Matanzas only to learn that the hurricanes of last year caused so much damage that the boats cannot run. We stayed and chatted with the young park ranger who has traveled quite a bit and is an expert in plants and insects and geology. Also, my friend and I struck up a conversation with a guy there who was semi-retired and has a camera with a $2,800 lense. He said he takes about 3,000 photos per month with his current "project" being the bird nest near his home that has eggs. Somehow my friend and this guy got to the conversation point where he is replacing all of the signs of the company my friend works for that was recently bought and is being renamed. Those two then had a long conversation about that while I continued talking with the ranger. She and I spent much time talking about travel and related topics until my friend finally interrupted to say time to go. It was such a pleasant place to be standing on the water's edge in the shade of a sunny beautiful day. Too bad we had to leave.

And in case you are wondering about the name of Stetson University in DeLand FL, yes, it was named for the cowboy hats. The guy who owned the hat company was a large investor in the school when it began. So the person who started the school named it in honor of the donor.