f all goes as scheduled, I'll be in
Miami as you're reading this. I've got a date with a cruise line
today, not to take a cruise but to have a chat.
Florida became a second home to me nearly 30 years ago. My
parents moved to West Palm Beach in the mid-'70s and for nearly 20
years I spent quite a bit of time there.
After my father died, I would travel to my mother's place every
few months and take her on visits to the rest of the family, most
of whom lived in the Miami area. She remained in Florida until
illness required our family to move her back north in the early
'90s. She died in 1998.
Nearly five years after her death and almost a decade since she
left Florida, I still feel that in some way I'm returning home each
time I arrive in the state.
My younger brother has gone a step further, buying property near
Fort Myers, where he takes winter vacations. He plans to retire in
a year or two and spend each winter there. He says his guest
bedroom is available whenever I am.
I think if I were to settle in Florida, at least part of the
time, I'd be drawn back by sentimental attachment to West Palm.
In the years I visited there, I got to know the town pretty well
and could see myself returning to it one day.
The one thing I would miss is the baseball spring training
season. West Palm used to be the spring-training home of the
Atlanta Braves and the Montreal Expos but both teams have left town
and there's no major-league presence in March.
My hometown Yankees also left Florida's east coast several years
ago and moved to Tampa, where their owner George Steinbrenner
lives. It wasn't the first time a business was relocated closer to
the boss's house.
For the relatively short time I'll be in Miami this week, I'll
enjoy the weather and the memories of family gatherings a few
decades ago.
And maybe one day I'll apply to be Travel Weekly's Florida
correspondent.