We spent a week in Tallahassee, the capital of Florida. It was as if we were in a completely different part of the country from Jacksonville, Tampa and Ocala. The folks in Tallahassee were much more of what we "Yanks" have come to expect of the Deep South. There were lots of "Sirs" and "Ma'ams" and friendly, polite people with the Southern drawl that I have always associated with Alabama, Missouri, etc.
The odd thing was that the campground (Big Oak RV Park) was beautiful and had bells and whistles like fast internet and cable but the people were not as friendly as most we have encountered on our journey. They were nice, just not so outgoing.
Since we were there so long, we actually spent two full days sight-seeing. The first day, we went to see the Tallhassee historic capitol. The city (state?) has restored it to its 1902 appearance, as much as possible using the original fixtures and materials. It stands directly in front of the current capitol building which is an extremely modern, 22 story building with an observation deck on the 22nd floor.
I had no little knowledge about much of Florida's history other than regarding St. Augustine, the Everglades and the impact of Mr. Walt Disney. The historic capitol provided tons of information, not just about Tallahassee but the state's struggles as a whole. I knew there was a strong Spanish influence but I guess I forgot all about the French and Indian War. I am now re-educated. I would encourage any visitors to Tallahassee to take the time to tour the historic capitol as well as go to the Observation Deck of the new one.
About halfway through our tour, we decided to look for some lunch. The National Guard had a pretty good sized display set up in the courtyard between the two capitol buildings. We walked through that on our way in (we both love military vehicles). While we were looking at a map trying to figure out where to have lunch, the nicest man came up and offered to help. He was dressed very professionally and had a Southern accent, but not the strong drawl of many of the locals. Not only was he helpful in steering us where to get some food, he was so knowledgeable about the history and the current status of the state legislature that I wonder if he was a legislator. He even told us where to go to see the Senate and House and described the differences in their chambers to us (Senators have a much cushier environment). I will always regret that I didn't ask him what his position was....and yes, he was very good looking. The rest of the time we were in Tallahassee, I kept waiting for him to pop up on the news, ha ha.
I love that Jeff has the patience to take me to these places. I love history so much and my brain is like so much Swiss cheese lately, that all of this is a good refresher course for me.
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