The idea sounded simple enough and fun - deliver a bunch of artwork to the Armory Art Center in West Palm Beach and return in time to watch the sun set while crossing the Sunshine Skyway. My friend Melissa and I had hopes of success, but rain, photo opps, and detours in Belle Glade conspired against us.
Landscapes along the way more than made up for the missed sunset. Seeing the Gulf of Mexico, Lake Okeechobee, and the Atlantic Ocean in one day became the icing on my journey. In between, massive thunderstorms rolled over endless fields of sugar cane. And the stark contrasts of Palm Beach County - rows of migrant worker shacks in sugar cane towns and thirty minutes further on, the million dollar mansions of Palm Beach.
As a lifelong Cracker Boy, I thought I had seen most of this fascinating state, but drive away from the crowded coasts and bits of Audubon's Florida still exist. The Fakahatchee Strand lies in wait.
