1,500 Miles in Seven Days:
What started as a last ditch effort for a school project evolved into the passion I have for the state of Florida and travel today. The whole thing began in October of 2010, when I was completing a videography class in the photography program at Daytona State College. I was tasked with creating a 10-minute documentary on any topic. After weeks of debate, I finally settl
ed on an exploration of my native state of Texas. I planned to take a road trip with my cousin and traverse the state from top to bottom; an incredibly daunting task considering I could only take off one week from work. We had been dating for about a month when my Texan adventure plan fell through and the panic that comes along with school projects ensued. Now all of my research, reservations, planning and vacation time was useless, and I didn’t have a back-up plan. I came to Scott with my anxiety about failing the project and he made what could be considered an absolutely insane suggestion for a brand new couple. He agreed to do the road trip with me, as long as we stayed in Florida. For the next two weeks we laid out the plans to willingly trap ourselves in the car for seven days – a potential “make-or-break” situation for a relationship and an easy way to drive each other crazy. We studied travel books at Barnes and Noble for hours, searched the web and obsessively DVR’d Scott Fais’ Florida on a Tankful in search of destinations. Shortly before departing a friend lent us what would become our Florida “bible,” Charlie Carlson’s “Weird Florida.”
We decided to hit as many off-the-beaten-path and unusual non-corporate locations that we could find, along with a few popular spots, to show the true quirky nature of Florida from top to bottom. We jokingly called it Florida or Bust. We loaded up my orange Chevy HHR, dubbed the Magic School Bus, to the ceiling with everything we could possibly need for seven days, including camping gear. We spent the night before the trip began in Savannah, GA so we could cross the Florida state line as a symbolic kickoff. We were almost immediately greeted with the most memorable of the many offbeat characters that we would find along the way. The rather large news reporter-style cameras we were toting were pretty eye-catching, and we quickly found that we were attracting every outlandish personality like moths to a flame. After 1,500 miles in seven days, our trip would culminate in Key West for their 36-year long tradition of a Keys version of Mardi Gras called Fantasy Fest. Looking back, I still can’t believe we took this crazy ride through Florida. The Florida or Bust idea has since evolved into my senior thesis project at the University of Central Florida, and eventually into this column, allowing Scott and I to take these fun trips throughout the state each month. We met people we will never forget and experienced things we still talk about to this day. Traveling 1,500 miles in seven days not only brought us closer together, but it taught me that the love for your state isn’t always about where you are from, it’s about where you want to be. I continue my trips throughout Florida, and occasionally other states and countries, to tell the stories of incredible off-the-beaten path oddities you can find in your own backyard. You can find these tales and more of my photography in the monthly edition of the East Coast Current, based in Central Florida. FLoBust provides an adventurous spirit through multiple services and products, including photography, writing, event coverage and hand-crafted products.
