ORLANDO 'BLOOM~ING'

A series of essays.....

.....as seen through my eyes!

"Home. Home tastes like the first bite you take of your favorite dish. You, then, open your eyes to see that family and friends are all seated at your same table."  JEH

By: Jacqueline E. Hughes

Living and working within the sun-drenched, palm trees swaying, culinary delightful, and culturally diverse area that comprises my adopted city of Orlando, Florida, does not come without its many daily challenges, as well as some amazing rewards!

Yes, we have our own 'growing pains' and they can sting us with a preponderance of furor that can be unsettling to the faint of heart yet, curiously, encouraging to those who learn to thrive on overcoming adversity in an attempt to make our tiny 'dot on the map' a better place to live in.

Sitting here in my home office, i-Pad at hand and in the pleasantness of my own home, I feel safe and comfortable. For years I had been what I call a 'commuter warrior!' Joining the thousands of others, I would set-off each morning armed to the teeth with, what I hoped was, armor plating set on wheels, four rubber tires to assist in absorbing the shock of minor road moguls and ruts, tinted glass helping to protect me from the sun's heat and glare, and plenty of hot, black coffee to fortify me until I reached my office. Oh, and did I mention with plenty of A.C. pouring out of the vents with the intent of avoiding possible heat exhaustion while attempting to keep my hairstyle fresh and perky during the forty minute drive into work?

My saving grace: I really, really liked my job!

'THE I-4 CORRIDOR' INTERSECTS CENTRAL
FLORIDA FROM TAMPA TO DAYTONA BEACH

I consider my alternate 'saving grace' was not having to spend too much time along the I-4 Corridor, affectionately known to locals as the I-4 parking lot. Often considered the bane of motorists driving through Orlando, Interstate 4 stretches from I-275 in Tampa to I-95 at Daytona Beach and can be a bit confusing to our out-of-town guests as it maintains a diagonal, northeast-southwest route for much of its length, although it is signed east-west.

I-4 PARKING LOT THROUGH
DOWNTOWN ORLANDO

Throughout my twenty years of living here, I have often believed that my beloved Orlando is as quirky as quirky can be and I don't think I would have it any other way. I truly enjoy living here.

However, as with the changing times happening in our world (our country) today, I liken them to the struggles of our very own Interstate 4: No matter how many engineering improvements take place today, you can count on each one of them being outdated by tomorrow! Whether the excuse is politics, power struggles, lack of insightfulness or funding, we always seem to be one step behind and a day late instead of well ahead of the game.

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
~BLUE MAN GROUP~

For an area that depends on the reliance of imagination (imagineering) and the enormous amount of tourists it can attract in order to keep our 'La La Land' attractions lucrative, Orlando and the surrounding areas have never been able to keep up with the high-traffic demands placed on our roads and highways. 

It's as though Orlando continues to operate ten years in the past with regards to its infrastructure in ratio to the permanent residents it has attracted via employment opportunities, especially within the medical profession. Add in the influx of tourism in this area, and you now have a recipe for transportation chaos and ongoing nightmares.

GAVIN & BRENNA ABOUT TO BOARD
ORLANDO'S SUNRAIL

Adding SunRail, Orlando's commuter rail line, several years ago, represents exciting new travel for locals traveling to and from work, dining, and shopping. SunRail now runs from the town of DeBary north of Orlando to Sand Lake Road and the attractions of International Drive located on the south-west side of the city, with expansions of the rail projected in the near future.

Despite everything in its way, the Orlando area has certainly bounced back with a flourish after the economic recession beginning in 2008. She keeps attracting tourists from all over the world as judged by the air traffic associated with the Orlando International Airport (MCO) as being not only the busiest airport in Florida, but the thirteenth-busiest airport in the United States.

FOUNTAIN LOCATED IN ORLANDO'S BEAUTIFUL
HARRY P. LEU GARDENS

Speaking as a local, I will be the first to tell you that I agree with the fact that the, nothing less than, sketchy driving rituals of many of our tourists leave numerous safety habits to be desired! From International Drive to all of the attractions on the west-side of Orlando and heading east towards Cocoa Beach and the Kennedy Space Center, tourists abound, twelve months out of the year. So, we locals do learn to adjust, look out for the 'other guy,' and hope for the best while navigating to and from work, shopping, or play.

Now, let's get off of the streets, park our vehicles, and have a look around at our fair city dubbed, The City Beautiful. 

We are a good-sized city with a population of around 1,998,000 souls living within close proximity to one another and, like all major cities, we have our share of crime, homeless citizens, and (sadly) a terrorist act that devastated the world let alone our close-knit community. Pulse Nightclub was horrendously attacked last year on June12, 2016, and was the scene of a mass shooting killing forty-nine people and injuring fifty-three.

I apologize. That was not the 'upper' story I had intended to tell. However, the event at Pulse Nightclub is a fact and has been written down in the history books as the scene of the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman in U.S. history. We will never forget our fallen heroes.....

THE CITY BEAUTIFUL

Fun history fact: According to Neil J. Young in his blog entitled, Public Seminar, the nickname of The City Beautiful dates back to at least 1908 when local officials borrowed it from the "City Beautiful" urban planning movement transforming places like Cleveland, Detroit, and Denver. In those cities, progressive city planners designed parks, museums, and public plazas to beautify and organize the urban landscape. In Orlando, a rural cow town at the time, City Beautiful represented something different, an aspiration rather than a reality. A hope that the small assortment of ranchers and citrus growers could one day develop into a full-fledged city.

Orlando is the home of the University of Central Florida, UCF, an American metropolitan public research university. It's diverse student enrollment currently stands at over 63,000. The university opened the UCF College of Medicine in 2006 and it is one of the first U.S. medical schools in decades to be built from the ground up. The college is a founding member of Orlando's growing Medical City at Lake Nona.

Rollins College, located in Winter Park, is the alma mater of Fred Rogers, the noted figure on the Public Broadcasting Station (PBS) who is best known for creating the educational preschool television series, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, which featured his kindhearted, gentle, soft-spoken personality. 

STROLLING AROUND ROLLINS COLLEGE

Rollins College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in Winter Park, situated along the shores of Lake Virginia. The small campus defines Southern charm between its architecture and moss-draped live oak trees, to the boardwalk that meanders the shoreline of the lake. This has been a special place for us to take our own visitors to for a slow-paced afternoon walk, a visit to the Cornell Fine Arts Museum, or a current production by students and staff being performed at the Annie Russell Theatre on campus.

Ethnic restaurants abound in Orlando, the surrounding area, as well as in the theme parks themselves. With our current emphasis on eating fresh, eating healthy, many local chefs gear their menus toward seasonal choices of locally grown fruits and vegetables, grass-fed meats, fresh non-farmed fish, and desserts that guarantee not to enlarge the waistline. Season's 52 is a prime example of eating well, eating healthy.

HEALTHY SELECTIONS AT SEASONS 52

In addition to the many themed attractions located on International Drive, such as WonderWorks (the upside down building) to Ripley's Believe It Or Not, eating tapas delights at Cafe Tu Tu Tango to juicy steaks at Charley's Steak House, this is a great spot to spend time at. Comedy Clubs, shopping, and catching your favorite movie are adventures available along this very busy, exceptionally touristy, location.

Yes! We do have our very own Orlando Eye that was completed in 2015! We have yet to venture high above the maddening crowd in one of its suspended, swinging boxcars....by choice. This may be something we will gladly scootch over and allow the tourists to enjoy all on their own!

THE ORLANDO EYE

I haven't even gotten to the topic of sports and entertainment yet. What was I thinking? In addition to our football stadium, which tends to change its name every few years or so, Orlando is proud of its new soccer team, Orlando City Soccer Club, who recently opened their brand new stadium located downtown. Nearby, The Orlando Magic live and play basketball in their own 'new house,' the Amway Center, which often hosts live entertainment performances, as well.

My favorite addition to the newly blossoming Orlando scene is located just across I-4 from the Amway Center and, in my estimation, is the crown jewel of the entire City Beautiful. Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts looks as stunning in the mid-day Floridian sunshine as it does all dressed-up in a myriad of bright lights in the nighttime! Stage, acoustics, lighting, sound....all based on perfection on the inside. I was fortunate to have experienced the amazing sounds of Joe Bonamassa, the great American Blues and Rock guitarist, here within the first year of the Center's Grand Opening which was on November 6, 2014.

A 'GEM' IN THE HEART OF ORLANDO
DR. PHILLIPS CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

Well, there you have it, my home in this moment and time. A place I have grown to love, hate, feel sad for, happy to be a part of, and always, always, delighted to have my own, small niche in for the past twenty years. 

Sure, we've been scared as hell by numerous hurricanes along the way. We've had to say good-bye to our daughter and her beautiful family when the four of them moved up to Michigan a few years ago to begin a new life. In our forty-three years of marriage, this has been the longest time Dan and I have settled down in any one location. Orlando has, truly, become 'Home' to us.

Since our future appears to be heading back up north to be closer to family and friends, my life will be changing once again. Will I be ready for the change? I certainly hope so. Until then, I will continue to enjoy every aspect of my adopted hometown of Orlando and, like observing a small child, continue to marvel at how it has grown-up these past twenty years.....right before my very eyes!

Copyright © 2017 by Jacqueline E. Hughes

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