Today we drove 90 minutes north to the Dental Department of the University of Florida in Gainesville, so Diane could undergo another phase of her complex and seemingly endless dental work. While they work on her for three or four hours, I sit in a comfortless chair in the waiting room, which is really a narrow hallway, and try to do some work on my iPad as masked dentists, nurses, technicians, office workers, and patients scramble by and try to avoid kicking my feet. The only redeeming value of these too frequent visits to UF relates to my long walks to the coffee shop at the other end of the building. There I buy coffee and a tasteless but supposedly nutritious muffin from pretty, young coeds (do they still call college girls coeds?), all for an unreasonable price.
For Sale in Micanopy
Anyway, on the way home, we stopped by the little town of Micanopy, Florida. Micanopy is one of my favorite Central Florida towns, a place with a collection of cafes, gift shops, galleries, and other small businesses that sell the kind of unique objects we find interesting. The little town exudes that “old Florida” ambiance that can still be found if you wander off the beaten track. We ate a nice inexpensive lunch at one of those little cafes and enjoyed sitting out on the covered front porch. Diane decided on the chicken and dumplings — good but not as good as her grandmother’s — while I wolfed down two excellent hot dogs. What was especially surprising was the cost of a can of Diet Coke and an ice cream cone: each cost only $1.00. Out on that porch we were also serenaded by a trio of folk-singing musicians who played their instruments well, sang well, and triggered our musical memories with folk songs from 60s and earlier. Of course, that was expected since all three looked to be about our age. I took the below photo of Diane as we sat awaiting our lunch. I guess she decided to read her book because of the quality of the conversation.
We had a good time.
