Locative Media & The City

Paul's entry made me think about traveling and visiting parts of Florida. I helped 2 friends, on two different occasions, move to Florida. The first moved to Orlando. I was down there about 2+ weeks. In that time, I saw the area my friend lived in and got an overview of Orlando. Note that she lives on the outskirts of Orlando, actually near Kissimmee (Disney area - Mickey is not far away), and not in Downtown Orlando. Most of my views of the area took place while riding in the car with my friend. The lovely weather and sun was of course nice. However, it felt so... industrial or impersonal at times. Almost everytime we headed somewhere, we'd either be driving on these huge boulevards or have to travel on the highway. It felt like it was cutting you out of the area. I often take the thruway and the expressway in the Buffalo area to get from A to B, but the side roads exist, are pretty straight-forward and offer a diversion from the highway setting. When I had mentioned this to my friend, she said that "of course you can take the side roads" but that it took forever to get anywhere. Perhaps it has something to do with Florida being more spread out? I am not positive. It kind of seams like it, at least in that area. There are large groupings of buildings and complexes, then stretches of what seems like endless roadways/highways connecting them. (Of course, the Orlando area is very commercial and tourist-y, so this plays a role in many things, I am aware.)

The second friend was moving things from her Buffalo home to Sarasota (bringing her father down as well). We drove from Buffalo to Sarasota. I actually stayed down there several weeks. It was a great visit. I explored the area my friend lives in, I explored Downtown Sarasota, and I visited Orlando area again while there. Regarding driving, it is a much different experience driving yourself than being driven. The streets and their connections begin to make more sense when you put yourself in the driving seat.

I found the downtown area of Sarasota to make a lot of sense the way it was set up. The city is quite pretty. I enjoyed spending a full day there. I took my friend to work, then took her car and headed downtown. I parked, went in some stores along my random path that I took. Certain buildings and settings around the city caught my eye and I took some photographs while walking. (A huge section/leaf of a palm tree almost fell on me as I was walking under it. That was quite shocking, but funny in retrospect.) One might connect with a city and its streets while sitting in the driver's seat, but the only true way to take it all in is to experience it by foot. That was an enjoyable day.

Paul - I think people feel overwhelmed sometimes because it really is a very large town. Some people have never heard of it and think it's some hick town or village, when really it's quite the opposite.