You read it right. Florida is the only state with an embassy in our Nation’s Capital.
Appropriately named Florida House, it’s a beautifully restored historic 1891 row house, located across from the Supreme Court with picture-perfect views of the Capitol, just one block away. I knew about Florida House but had been unable to visit during the pandemic years. I finally got there a few months ago and couldn’t help feeling pleased to see my home state show off a bit.
Florida House serves as a meeting place, gallery, museum, and ambassador for the Sunshine State. Everyone who crosses the threshold is offered a free glass of cold Florida orange juice.
The beautiful work of iconic Florida environmental photographer Clyde Butcher is currently on display at the house. You can also enjoy old Florida maps, sports memorabilia from state championship teams, classic Florida furnishings, discover fun Florida facts, explore state-wide travel information, and visit the small gift shop.
Owned by the people of Florida, no state or federal tax dollars support Florida House. As a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, it is supported by donations from generous Floridians and Floridians-at-Heart. Funds collected from rental fees for meetings and events held onsite bolsters the annual budget to staff and maintain facilities.
During the 1960s Rhea Chiles and her family were on vacation in DC and found themselves lost on Embassy Row. One of her young children suggested going to the Florida embassy for directions. The kids had a lesson about only countries having embassies, but a seed was planted in Rheas’s mind. During her husband Lawton’s first term as a US Senator, that seed sprang to life when she walked past what was then a crumbling derelict – with a for sale sign in front.
Rhea (who eventually was First Lady of Florida), had the vision to purchase the site in 1973 and launched a volunteer army of supporters, and along with $5,000 of her own money, raised the necessary $125,000.
When originally constructed by Edwin C. Manning, an architect working on the nearby Library of Congress, the Supreme Court had yet to be built. There was an unobstructed view straight to the Capitol.
Industry groups, associations, and elected officials book facilities for meetings, school groups visit for tours, families on vacation stop by, and art lovers come to see the latest exhibit by Florida artists. A non-partisan venue, all visitors are welcome free of charge, Monday-Friday from 9 AM until 5 PM. The site is closed during Federal holidays.
I’ll be back with my family sometime soon. The next time you’re in DC, join the 10,000 annual guests and check out our Florida hospitality. www.floridahousedc.org
The rain has passed, the sky is clear, temps in the 60s and we are in another little slice of heaven. Linville, NC.
We made one more pass at seeing cherry blossoms during our last full day in Tokyo.
We hopped the ship’s shuttle bus to the Ginza district, which is the 5th Avenue of Tokyo. Once there, we headed off to Ueno Park, since my Sakura Navi app said there were full blooms. BUT, the information staff at the port, told us they were not full, and they weren’t. As we’ve seen these last few weeks, some trees were. It was still a charming scene since so many of the trees were coming into flower, and it was nice to see the families out celebrating Hanami (which translates to “viewing party”). Hanami picnics under the trees are traditional here during Sakura (Cherry Blossom) season.
We then headed all the way across town to the Shibuya area to see the famous crossing known as the Shibuya Scramble. It was crazy to see throngs of people crossing the intersection every which way.
After a great Tempura lunch where I ate Lotus Root for the first time, we took a quick subway ride back to Ginza for some shopping. I was going to buy some socks for my grandkids – but they were French and $20!
One Last Look
Our final day in Tokyo was a short one since we had a 5 PM flight at the distant Narita airport. Tokyo has two international airports, the other one, Haneda is much closer to town and is where we arrived. On the way to the airport, we took our first-ever ship transfer. This one included a bit of driving around with two interesting stops.
The first was for the iconic view and photo-op of the Imperial Palace and bridge. This view was not something that could be seen from our previous visit to the Palace Gardens, it is a huge complex.
And finally, a stop at Tokyo Tower, inspired by the Eiffel Tower, where we went up about 500 feet to the middle viewing deck, and admired the views of this beautiful city. Imagine what New York could be if there was no garbage, trash cans, litter, crime, graffiti, homeless, honking horns, or jaywalking.
BTW, now that I have experienced heated toilet seats, I’m not sure I can live without one!
Epilogue
This is such a nice and organized society. People are polite. If you have trash, you carry it away with you. You wait at crosswalks for the light to change, even if no cars are coming. Try to remember to keep left (like traffic) on stairs and escalators. No eating while walking or blowing your nose in public. Everyone appreciates our awful attempts at Japanese phrases. It was a wonderful experience to spend some time here.
On this. our final day, I knew we would be tired and want minimal chaos with luggage, etc, so this transfer made sense and was a good plan. But as of this post, our plane is delayed, and we will probably miss our connection through LAX for Miami. At least we are in the respectable ANA Lounge, with food, electrical outlets, and good wifi, and have just enjoyed the newest Japanese KitKat* flavor – banana.
*Have I mentioned this before? They are crazy for Kit Kat bars here and different regions often have special flavors as well as seasonal, special edition, and new flavors. In addition to the chocolate we know so well, there is also a dark chocolate version, matcha (not my fav) wasabi, strawberry, sugar, and apparently, others.
Spoiler alert – my pic gives it away.
Today we had an adventure that turned out to be a very expensive lunch and a photo op at a truck stop. Not our best day.
Our quest – Mt Fuji and Hakone National Park.
The weather looked beautiful until we got up into the mountains and the rain started. It was not supposed to rain. So we went to lunch. It was a nice (American-style) lunch at a lovely Hyatt. We were scheduled to take a gondola over a geothermal area. That was canceled due to fog and winds.
So, we went to an art museum. The Pola Museum of Art is a private collection of Western Masterpieces, sculptures, modern art, and an exhibition about Art and Design in the Machine Age, focused on Paris in 1925. I particularly enjoyed the Lalique perfume bottle display.
It really was a lovely museum, but I was ready for nature, not art, today. In any case, it did turn out to be a highlight.
The sun came out, but Mt. Fuji was still hiding. We had a pretty worthless, short boat ride on Lake Ashi, a crater lake formed 3000 years ago when Mt. Hakone erupted. It’s still a school holiday here, and even though it was during the week, the area was very crowded. Our tour leader managed to lose part of our group- it was a chaotic scene. I did feel sorry for her, she actually cried at the end and begged our forgiveness.
Finally, on our long ride home, Mt. Fuji began to reveal herself. Believe it or not, one of the best photo spots, was at a truck stop, behind a Starbucks. (Starbucks are everywhere here).
She remained visible until dusk, even, ironically, from our stateroom balcony on the Azamara Journey.
PS – By the time we got back to our ship, we had a notice of a partial rebate for the day’s adventure.
