It’s been said what gets measured gets managed. Well, I decided to keep myself accountable in my quest to explore everything Florida by conducting a monthly report of what I got done, what’s going on in Florida, and what needs to happen next.
Travel
The first July trip was taking advantage of the Museums On Us program; we went to the Florida Aquarium located in Tampa and spent nearly the entire day there. One of the best aquariums and never gets old.
The second week of July was a family vacation in Pigeon Forge, right outside of the Smokey Mountains National Park. We drove straight up I-75 and saw a lot of Florida from the road this month. In TN, a lot of mountain hiking got done. I won’t go into it though because it’s not Florida.
I wrapped up the month with another visit to Busch Garden’s Summer Nights and I spent my 10 Busch Gardens Bucks on a new tiger coffee mug. Very cool.
Reading Florida
The month of July I actually didn’t read any Florida books. Part of the reason is I feel compelled to read all those random books on my personal bookshelf I’ve collected over the years. I’m sure you know what it’s like. I’m calling it my “bookshelf challenge.” I’ve also been working through a lot of the “I’ll read that someday” books.
Let’s take a look at July’s reading list!
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
You know the story: Thoreau builds a little cabin next to a lake called Walden and lives a simple life with a minimal amount of possessions and finds that simple living is very freeing.
I had a somewhat similar experience when I lived in a tent for 19 months in the FL woods. All my possessions I needed could fit into my backpack and my car’s trunk. The big lesson is that you don’t need as much as you think. Today’s hip term for this is minimalism. I call it common sense. It’s the easiest way to free yourself from the chains of everyday life.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbach
Another of the classics that I read for the month. This thin little book packs a big punch. IMO, the book is about a group of lonely people on the margins of society dreaming of a better future that will never be obtained. You should definitely grab this classic because, not only is it good, but you can read it in one or two sittings and feel really smart when you tell other people that you enjoy reading Steinbach, you know, literature.
The Golden Ball and Other Stories and The Patriotic Murders by Agatha Christie
I like myself some cozy English mysteries. The Golden Ball and Other Stories was a book of short stories which, honestly, were mediocre compared to Christie’s mystery novels. The Patriotic Murders (also printed as An Overdose of Death and One, Two, Buckle my Shoe) was a Poirot mystery (Poirot is her most famous sleuth) and was pretty good. I’d like to read all of the Poirot stories within my lifetime. There are about 35 novels and 15 short stories in the series and I estimate I’ve read about 7 or 8 of the novels.
Rage by Stephen King
This is a Bachman book, an alias King used earlier in his career because at that time book publishers had a weird rule that you were only allowed to publish one book a year, hence the alter ego. In some ways this is a forbidden book. Rage was pulled from the bookshelves a long while ago because it’s about school violence and this book was found in the possession of students, more than once, who perpetuated school shootings. I picked this up from my local library for 50 cents in the form of an old copy of The Bachman Books. Getting a used copy on amazon will run you a few hundred dollars.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
Yup, Harry Potter. I’m reading the series to my son for bedtime reading. He is really digging it.
The other big news is that Universal is going to open a new theme park in Orlando called Epic Universe. Central Florida continues to reign as the king of theme parks. Should be interesting to see what Disney responds with.
Thanks for reading my July 2019 report!
Until next time!
