October 31 - November 5, 2022
I have arrived… in Florida. Here is what happened in week one.
I arrived in Orlando at 7:00 a.m. on Halloween. I deplaned and picked up my luggage with relative ease, then struggled to find my rental car. It took WAYYY longer than it should, but maybe I was just tired and made it harder than it needed to be. However, that experience made me consider my next career as a process improvement consultant, where I would help places (like Orlando International Airport) redo their signage in a way that was more user friendly.
Once I arrived at my rental car, it was fairly short work to get out of the airport and on the road. I had told Paul to expect me sometime in the early evening, so I had the whole day to make the leisurely drive down to Fort Pierce, which was a scant 120 miles away. Two hours would have been MORE than sufficient time to get there, but I had planned several stops along the way…
In the first hour and a half, I was able to stop at three different labyrinths:
- Colonialtown Park (on Fern St.)
- First Unitarian Church of Orlando, and
- Unity of Central Florida
As always, I share my labyrinth walk revelations in my Labyrinth Lessons posts, but I will share a little about these labyrinths, as well as my other experiences and observations.
Colonialtown Square Park
My first stop was at Colonialtown Square Park. The project to build a labyrinth there was already underway at the time of the mass shooting at the Pulse Nightclub on June 12, 2016 in Orlando.
After the tragedy, Commissioner Patty Sheehan proposed encircling the labyrinth, which is located at small park at 820 N. Fern Creek Avenue, with 49 white granite pavers, each inscribed with the name of a victim who was killed that night. Her proposal was unanimously approved by Orlando commissioners. In addition, they added a fractured heart made out of the stone pavers in the middle of the labyrinth. The fractured heart mimics the #OrlandoUnited Heart.
I walked the labyrinth in quiet contemplation, then sat on a nearby bench for a bit, processing. Before I left, I decided to take the time to read the name of every single victim killed in that mass shooting. There were other victims, too- the survivors, loved ones left behind, and an entire community who continues to grieve the senselessness- but these names, THESE names, I wanted to take the time to read, one by one, and document here.
After leaving Colonialtown, it was a quick ten minutes later that I arrived at First Unitarian Church of Orlando, walked that labyrinth, and then continued to my third stop at Unity of Central Florida. I walked that labyrinth before departing Orlando.
From there, I drove non-stop until I reached Melbourne, Florida, where I walked the labyrinth at Crossroads United Church of Christ.
As I slowly made my way south to Fort Pierce, I was considering the labyrinths I had visited and how they differed. I was especially curious about one of the future stops on my road trip- the Kashi Ashram in Sebastian, Florida. I’ve never been to an Ashram before, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. Unfortunately, I hadn’t been paying attention to my my cell phone battery, so it died after just a couple photos at the Ashram. and I didn’t want to sit in the car waiting for it to charge.
The labyrinth location website said to stop into the Ashram office to let them know I was a visitor who wanted to walk the labyrinth. Unfortunately, the buildings weren’t labeled clearly, and I had no idea which of the buildings on the property were the office. I ended up just stopping and asking some friendly folks who were standing around outside a building, talking.
A gentleman who introduced himself as Swami David kindly offered to escort me to where the labyrinth was located on their property. Swami David told me he had lived at the Ashram since he was ten years old. (I would guess him to be in his 40’s or 50’s now) and he loved his life there. He exuded this tremendous sense of calm and peace- I quite enjoyed our brief time together. Once he had delivered me to the labyrinth, he told me to stay as long as I wanted, and invited me to come visit again in the future.
He walked away, then returned, passing me a small red seed. He said it was a rudraksha see and that he was giving it to me as a reminder to be kind to myself and to be kind to others.
I thanked him (somewhat puzzled- do I have a reputation for being unkind to people?) and put it in my pocket.
I looked up the rudraksha seed later to learn more about it. They are very prevalent in Hindu culture. Rudraksha seeds are believed to protect individuals who are constantly traveling (hey, that’s me!) and are also believed to hold strong healing properties. They are often used as a tool for awakening consciousness, and have properties used in Hindu medicine.
I still have that rudraksha seed- It sits in the little alcove in my berth.
I spent just over a half hour at hte Ashram, then left and continued south along the coast. My last labyrinth stop was at the Unity Spiritual Center of Vero Beach. I was excited to check out that labyrinth because it was my first octagonal labyrinth. It did not disappoint!
The Unity of Vero Beach has a beautifully landscaped campus and their labyrinth is set out in a highly visibly location on their back deck area. They also had some great signage to help guide a novice labyrinth walker on their journey. I enjoyed hanging out there in that tranquil space.
After walking the labyrinth in Vero Beach, I found myself exhaling slowly as I walked back to my rental car.
In retrospect, I realized I had focused so hard on walking as many labyrinths as possible on my drive from Orlando to Fort Pierce that I didn’t really take as much time as I could have (and should have) to enjoy what each experience offered me. That lesson is driven home when I look at the lessons from each walk- however, those lessons are for future (Labyrinth Lessons) posts.
Still it seems crazy to look back and realize I completed six labyrinth walks (in four different cities) in one day. I think I set a new PR!
And while I was pleased with my accomplishment, I was also ready to be done driving for the day. Fortunately, it was less than 15 miles from Vero Beach to Fort Pierce- a straight shot down US-1 S/N US Hwy 1, and I was there less than 30 minutes later.
In all honesty, I had arrived much earlier in the afternoon than I had predicted.
As I pulled into the parking lot by the marina, I looked around curiously. The marina is part of downtown Fort Pierce, and their downtown is small- just a half dozen small blocks in either direction. There is a decently sized parking lot with free parking right at the marina. In fact, all the street parking downtown is free. It’s full of wide sidewalks with outside seating at just about every restaurant downtown. I could immediately see that it is extremely pedestrian-friendly.
I parked in the lot and crossed the street to the marina. I was pleasantly surprised by their downtown and the Fort Pierce City Marina. I didn’t know what to expect, but on first glance, I saw that it was clean with no garbage or litter. Another thing I immediately noticed is that there are garbage cans EVERYWHERE and city workers were fastidious about emptying the cans regularly.
The pace of Fort Pierce seemed languid and relaxed, but that may have been because I arrived mid-day on a Monday. Time will tell.
Once I met up with Paul at the marina, things hapened fairly quickly. I unloaded all my stuff into my cabin while he finished up his laundry, then we went to drop off my rental car and returned to the marina in his truck, stopping to pick up a few groceries along the way.
We celebrated my arrival with dinner and cocktails at Cobb’s Landing, which was already busy and crowded with mid-day and early evening patrons.
Over dinner, Paul gave me the lowdown on what to expect around the downtown/marina area- A small market every Wednesday afternoon, a big Farmer’s Market every Saturday morning from 8:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m.. and on the First Friday of every month, a giant family-friendly downtown street party with vendors, games, food and drinks that they call Friday Fest.
Since I had arrived Monday afternoon at the end of October, I got to experience the Wednesday Market, Friday Fest and the Saturday market all in the space of a few days. They were all fun.
All of the markets (and Friday Fest) were low-pressure events. I appreciated that I could walk around and see what was being offered, but the vendors weren’t pushy. And since I knew most of them would show up week after week, I was in no rush to make any purchases.
I spent the first week just taking in the sights and sounds around me, reveling in the constant 70+ degree weather, and adjusting to marina life.
All of the marina staff are friendly, responsive and attentive. Paul knows everyone by name and there’s a lot of good-natured ribbing on the docks.
From what I’ve seen, the marina is well- equipped to accommodate both live-aboard and short-term transient boaters. Boats with a slip are assigned a key that grants access to an office/lounge area, showers (separate for men & women), and a coin-operated laundry facility.
Since fresh water on a boat is limited, showers tend to be brief. So I quickly came to appreciate the option to take a long, hot shower that lasted more than 3 minutes. It quickly became my routine to go up and use the marina showers. The women’s bathroom has two shower stalls, and and I found that I never had to wait long, if at all, to get a shower.
The laundry area has four washers and four dryers, so I’ve never had to wait to do laundry, either. I haven’t checked out the office/lounge area yet, but I’ll have to give that a look one of these days.
The area around the marina and downtown Fort Pierce feels relatively safe to me, though I have been cautioned by a few locals to be careful. Fort Pierce has a visible homeless population, but it does not appear to be as prevalent as it was in Anchorage, and I haven’t seen rampant signs of drug or alcohol abuse (not that I’m looking).
I’ll continue to explore the area around me. It feels like a safe and comfortable place to spend some time. I’m looking forward to my time here. All in all, I think things are off to a good start!
Well, that wraps up the first week of life in Fort Pierce.
To sum it up neatly, I’m now living on a sailboat in Fort Pierce, Florida under the tutelage of my friend and mentor (and former boss), Paul, trying to sort out what I want my life and future to look like.
Have I made much progress in that arena? Not yet.
But there have been a lot of changes in just a few months, so who knows what the future will hold.
Thank you for stopping to read about my adventures and experiences along the way. I am constantly reminding myself that after most of 40 years in (Anchorage) Alaska, I’m barely beginning to scratch the surface of this great big world. I’ll keep you apprised of my adventures, but in the meantime:
- Be kind,
- Love one another,
- Have some adventures, and
- Make memories you’ll be happy to remember.
