Have you ever sat with friends swapping stories from your childhood? Since I’m usually the only person in the room that spent their entire childhood in Florida, I’ve begun to realize how unique and special some of my experiences were as a kid. Our family moved to Sarasota when I was 18 months old, and in many ways, I feel like I’ve grown up right along with this community. Here are 5 unique experiences that were special growing up here in sunny Sarasota:
Eating fresh oranges right off the tree.
When I was a kid, nearly everyone I knew had citrus/fruit trees in their backyard; usually oranges, grapefruit, mangoes, or starfruit. It wasn’t unusual to have someone share their backyard bounty with neighbors or coworkers, so I grew up with grocery bags of fruit randomly appearing on our dining room table. Our family had a grapefruit tree, an orange tree, and a tangerine tree, and it was my job to climb into the trees and pull down the fresh fruit. Some of my happiest memories are pulling a tangerine or orange off a branch, peeling it right there, and chowing down. My brother and I would sometimes try to see who could spit the seeds the farthest. Juicing the oranges was also a blast! Here’s the thing about really fresh orange juice: it separates quickly, so you’d have to shake up the juice pitcher before pouring it. I actually prefer orange juice with a little bit of pulp because it tastes more like what I had as a kid.
Tree climbing was an obsession. My parents grew aloe plants in the front yard and taught us to break off a piece when we’d get scraped knees.
Catching lizards with your bare hands.
Ah, lizards. They’re everywhere here. While we certainly taught each other hand clap rhymes and how to give cootie shots, Sarasota kids also taught each other how to catch these little buggers (which are technically called anoles, btw.) If one got into the classroom, the teacher would ask someone to catch it and take it outside; a major honor that was only surpassed by being chosen to take another student to the clinic office. The kids I grew up with were particularly skilled at catching them, getting them to open their mouths using a blade of grass, and wearing them as earrings. Yes, you read that right. We wore lizards as earrings. (Kids are weird. Florida kids are a special kind of weird.)
Me and my grandmother at the beach. So glamorous.
The “Stingray Shuffle”.
Summer camp in Sarasota meant weekly field trips to the beach. To this day, I typically only bring to the beach two items: 1) a towel, 2) sunblock. As a kid, I usually forgot the sunblock. Before we’d head out to the water, the camp counselors reminded us to do the “stingray shuffle”, and we knew exactly what they meant. You see, stingrays like to bury themselves in the sand, particularly in the shallower waters. To avoid getting barbed or stepping on one, you shuffle your feet into the sand as you enter the water. This sends vibrations through the sand and scares away the stingrays that may be in the immediate area. People who bound into the ocean make me so nervous–especially if there are not many other people around.
I will note that some of the coolest shells I’ve ever found were discovered doing the stingray shuffle, so win-win.
Hurricane Days were the best days.
I LOVED hurricane days as a child. There’s an old legend that Sarasota is protected by hurricanes by a Seminole prince that sacrificed himself after his beloved Sara De Soto died, and he buried her out to sea (nevermind that this legend was fabricated by a school teacher from Ohio, but that’s a blog post for another day). So needless to say, I grew up hearing that Sarasota would never be directly hit by a hurricane.
But we’ve certainly had a lot of fun watching them head toward us. Now hear me out: I do think hurricanes are serious business, and everyone should be fully prepared. However…I had a blast when we’d get off of school because of a hurricane. My brother and I would make forts in the interior room of the house. We’d hear our local weatherman, Bob Harrigan, say on TV, “it’s time to hunker down”, and seconds later the college kids a few doors down would shout and holler because that meant it was time to drink. Our family put together puzzles and ate dinner by candlelight. We’d watch the sky turn deep navy through the little pane of glass in the front door as the storm neared. When the lights would come back on, I’d get a little sad, because it was kinda like camping in our own house. Hurricane days brought our family together. Of all the natural disasters, this is the one I feel most equipped to deal with practically and emotionally. It’s also probably the most “Florida” thing about me.
I went to the beach a lot as a kid. As an adult, it’s been YEARS since I’ve stepped foot on the sand. But I still really love looking out at the water whenever I can.
Being completely unfazed by prehistoric-looking wildlife.
I can’t tell you how many people I’ve met that are freaked out by the flora and fauna when they first come here. In addition to the hoards of lizards, Sarasota is also home to creatures like sandhill cranes, manatees, alligators, ospreys, and spoonbills (that happen to be pink). When I was a kid, I saw all of these and more on a relatively regular basis because Sarasota was still pretty undeveloped at that time. I haven’t seen wild boar in a really long time, but their babies are pretty cute!
One summer, our camp sent us on an eight-mile canoe trip where they put two kids per boat with life vests and said, “see you at the end”. At certain points, you’d look down into the water and see gators lounging on the bottom. This did not phase me in the slightest, because I was taught at an early age that they won’t bother you if you don’t bother them. Besides, they were here first. What DID freak me out was when my canoe partner (who was less-than-enthusiastic about the whole trip) steered us into a bush along the bank, and a bunch of spiders fell into our canoe. I’m still mad about it, to be honest. Yes, alligators end up in people’s pools, on golf courses, and all sorts of places you’d rather not run into one; but I grew up with such a healthy appreciation and admiration for them. In the summers, our community college reminded us not to get too close to the alligators that would roam across campus from time to time. Alligators make me happy when I see them unexpectedly basking by bodies of water, and yes — I do say “awwwww!” like a true Floridian.
Though I love most of Sarasota’s wildlife, I’m not a fan of some of our bugs. Though we do have gorgeous (albeit huge) dragonflies, we do have some spiders that can be kind of dangerous. Don’t even get me started on palmetto bugs; essentially the larger, meaner cousin of the cockroach. And a word of wisdom from a Sarasota girl: please don’t play with the Spanish moss. Chiggers are unpleasant and painful. We also have giant stink bugs, massive mosquitos, and love bug season.
If there’s any advice I can give to someone moving to Florida: learn about our wildlife and how to live with them. I’ve literally had sandhill cranes walk next to me, and they are the coolest birds ever. But because I’ve lived here nearly my whole life, I know how to enjoy a moment like that rather than being scared myself or scaring them.
What unique childhood experiences has connected you to your hometown? Let me know in the comments below!
Love,
I grew up on Anna Maria Island. We had a huge sea grape tree over our back deck. The unripened sea grape strings lent themselves perfectly to games of tag peppered with sea grape fights. We would run past the tree, wrap our open fist around the top of a bunch, swipe downward to drip off the small, hard, green grapes and peg our opponent as we ran past. When they ripened, they were tart and delicious. When they over-ripened and covered the deck they were severe slipping hazards, like greased ball bearings, and would stink, like a sickeningly sweet wine.
Kumquat fights, provided for by the neighbor’s tree, were also a favorite! Too tart to enjoy, but they really packed a sting when flung by your older sister.
That’s fantastic!