One beautiful April morning I considered the possibility of spending a weekend in Florida. I used to play with this idea in Sochi but being in Raymond, MS, made my fantasies more realistic. Mississippi has a common border with Alabama and from Alabama, Florida beaches are within a stone's throw. (see the map) Furthermore our college bus was going to take a visiting group of British students there and I couldn't help but take advantage of it.  

Having been raised in the Russian sea resort Sochi I was eager to see the gulf coast and compare it to our Caucasus coast. Florida beach turned out to be quite different and reminded me of Baltic coast - the same wide beaches with the white fine sand. There were no breakwater constructions as on our beaches which tempted me to try surfing. Sea water temperature in April was already +74 F and after a nice swim I allowed myself a soothing sunbath. There was something missing there... suddenly I realized that there were no fences. I am pretty much used to our beaches where every hotel has its own part of the coast line where no strangers are allowed. I wandered along the beach for more than an hour and found no fences at all. There were not many people either. I even pretended that I was Robinson Crusoe on a desert island. I guess absence of people is good for local birds and animals. I saw herons, pelicans and many other birds that I couldn't identify. And of course local crabs that are always a big hit.

Who lives here? Like in Russia these kind of places are popular among retired people though I met some middle-aged guys who had enough money to take their early retirement. The other night I was out on the beach to see how it looked like under the moonlight. Once I saw in a Hollywood movie how surfers come down to the beach at night, light a bonfire, drink something that makes everybody merry, then go surfing. So I made up my mind to walk over there and have a look at what was going on when the sun goes down.

  The whole beach looked quite different at night compared to what we see during the day. Under the moonlight every single thing turned into something mysterious and enigmatic. I was walking barefoot on the beach watching for adventures when I spotted a fire with some guys. They turned out to be night fishermen. Our acquaintance started like this:

- Hey, guys! What are you using for a bait?
- Shrimp.
- Really? We often use shrimp for fishing in Russia!
- Really? Are you from Russia?

Little by little we got acquainted and had a nice talk. They were ordinary friendly Americans who were genuinely eager to learn what ordinary Russians thought of them. An average American knows about Russia as much as is shown on TV, which is basically all snowy streets and old women in scarves (babushka) standing in long lines. Here is a quote from one of my conversations where I was talking about St. Petersburg:

- St. Petersburg is celebrating it's 300 year anniversary...
- Oh, yes! It was called Moscow before and now they returned its original name, didn't they?
- ???

Now back to the guys I met on the beach. One of them turned out to be a dental mechanic. According to him, he wasn't good at studying at college though he always wanted to live on the coast, drink an occasional beer and fish at night. Somehow he managed to move here from Atlanta a year ago, rent a condo on the beach (which is $850 a week) and enjoy his quiet coastal lifestyle. Isn't it fantastic? Too good to be true...

  In Florida I got an idea what the beach volleyball is like. I have to admit that I am no good at it and the British obviously were sorry to have invited me to play with them. The best thing about beach volleyball is that one can bravely dive for a ball and not be afraid to fall and hurt yourself. That's why I kept falling on the sand as often as I could. The next day the British taught the Americans and me how to play rugby. I liked it because I was supposed to tackle a player with a ball. Now I understand that beach sand is cool when you go in for sports!
  After Florida we returned to Alabama and spent two unforgettable days on Dauphin Island. It has the same climate as Florida and lower prices. Local facilities are for those tourists who'd like to stay in a condo on the beach instead of a hotel room. There is practically no traffic and city noise. All the houses are hiding under vivid tropical vegetation and the best way to travel around it is to ride a bike. In fact I couldn't get rid of the thought that I was somewhere in the Caribbean. Our condo was connected with the beach with the wooden staircase and if the ocean water was too salty for us a private pool was at our service. What a life!
 

I found my condo very comfortable and cozy. The view of the Gulf of Mexico from the window was marvelous! You know what... I wouldn't mind living here after I retire! :-) Check out this cool island panorama (it's quite a big file, 137 Kb)

   
  these pictures surely bring back fantastic memories of my staying in condo on the Mexican coast...

Next evening we all got together on the beach where we had a farewell party and a bonfire. That reminded me of my childhood when I was a student and had similar field trips. Actually there was no difference between them - the same boys and girls sitting around the fire, the same jokes and guitar songs, except in English, of course. To my left was a Yorkshire accent, to my right I could hear a low Mississippi growl... this exciting linguistic mixture definitely needed my Russian English pronunciation! ;-)

I guess Russian students would find this little chitchat a bit difficult due to the language barrier but our guests were the English so we all laughed at really funny jokes no matter whether they were British or American.

Even though I live in the most picturesque Russian sea resort I was indeed impressed with that journey. Are you still not sure whether to spend this weekend in Florida or not? If I were you I'd go for it without a slightest doubt! Take my word for it, I know sea resorts... ;-)

I appreciate Kristi Sather-Smith's kind invitation to join her group in that gorgeous trip!