In May 2013 my husband, almost 1 year old son & I moved to middle-of-nowhere, Florida (Silver Springs) from a Maryland suburb near DC. We took the auto train from Virginia to Sanford with our cars filled with our belongings.
After arriving in Sanford we waited for our cars to be unloaded, then we were off to our new home! Half way home, my husband called on my cell and said he needed to stop for coffee. Unfortunately the GPS took us the forest route, so I told him the only thing remotely close to us was a BP station 1.5 miles away.
"I feel l like getting some coffee from McDonald's".
"There ARE no McDonalds! The closest food is 5 miles away in the opposite direction!"
We decided to keep going. We came across
Brooks Buck & Does Grocery where we got some drinks. Stepping out of the car we were greeting by Love Bugs. Hundreds of them. "What in the world!"
After getting our drinks we were on our way again. I wasn't paying attention to how close we were to our new home. I was in a slight trance from miles & miles of trees, trees, trees. I finally heard "in point three miles, turn right then arrive at destination on left." It was a long drive, but I thought, already? Wow, a few more seconds before our new life begins!
Our first night we went to Walmart in Ocala for supplies. I told the cashier we just moved here and she exclaimed, "Why would anyone want to move here?!" We drove home a little anxious and turned the car off, then the headlights. It was pitch black (our street didn't have street lights). My husband said, "I never thought things would take such a turn."
I don't want to go into great detail about why we moved, but to make a long story short, it was to save money and to start over.
I'm writing this for those who may have just moved here or who are visiting and looking for something to do. Here you can discover primitive Florida the way it was 100 years ago! It was a difficult adjustment and a culture shock, but slowly we have become comfortable in the Ocala/Silver Springs area. Some friends from up north just visited and we had fun exploring the area springs and other happenings. I'll share our photos, stories and reviews!
