From the Buffer State to the Sunshine State

Georgia's role as a Colony was to buffer the rest of the Colonies from what the British saw as the no-man's land of Florida. And not just because of the oppressive heat and the alligators. Florida was controlled by Spain, who they apparently didn't get along with. And of course, there were the original inhabitants...the elderly the Native Americans, who already didn't appreciate the Spanish conquest of their lands, let alone the British incursion. So, a couple hundred years later, we found ourselves driving through the former buffer colony to our main destination, Kissimmee, FL and a three day agility event.  Today, I wouldn't say that Georgia serves as much as buffer as more of an end-point of the South on the East Coast. When you enter Florida, it's as if no one is actually from there. The only other place I have really observed that is Washington, DC. And of course by that, I mean the only the places that the Metro goes.


We started out early, intent on making it there in time to set up for the agility trials that would follow over the next three days.

The drive was uneventful, with the roadside business offerings repeating themselves, exit after exit. In Georgia, this consisted of the following:


1. Gas
2. Food
3. "Adult" superstores
4. Pecans


In Florida, it was:
1. Gas
2. Food
3. "Adult" superstores
4. Citrus Fruit
5. Discount Tickets to various theme parks


It was about 1 when we crossed the border:

We arrived @ our destination, an air conditioned arena around 3, and set up our crating area:

By 4, we were pretty exhausted...

Some of us were more tired than others... 

We got to bed early, ready to begin 3 days of agility heaven.