“We just don’t have places like this where we are from!”
I can’t stop thinking about that line which was said to me by a nice lady visiting Tallahassee from South Florida. I ran into her and her family last week while I was out walking my dog Leon in Myers Park. She said, “There’s something about these trees and homes that we can’t help but visit anytime we come here.”
I noticed these visitors a few blocks from my house on a Saturday morning. Along with her husband and daughter, the nice lady was taking pictures in front of one of the historic homes that cover our neighborhood. Taking pictures always blows a tourist’s cover.
Maybe it’s my Chamber of Commerce DNA or all the years I spent working at the visitor center, but when I see the tell-tale signs of a wandering tourist, I can’t help but interject. As they were gazing through their camera, I approached and asked what brought them to town.
Turns out their daughter was coming back to FSU for Law School after taking a year away post-graduation. They told me they had taken many trips to Tallahassee over the years and during that period discovered our neighborhood. “We never miss an opportunity to come take a walk here and see all these amazing places,” she said.