It is a place that envelops like a warm familiar embrace; the mood is gentle, the townspeople… open and friendly.  Restaurants with outdoor seating abound; dogs are welcome.  Downtown on Main is dressed for the holidays with tinsel wrapped street lamps adding flash and sparkle amongst the abundant flora;  interesting, weird and wonderful offerings entice one to linger in front of store windows… I step into the first… a calmness takes over… it is a vintage store with linens, china, jewelry, books, hats and scarves… I have stepped back in time into my mother’s home…  I move onto the next and am struck by the menagerie of …. well… the exotic…. mermaids in particular…  lots and lots of mermaids… made of glass, clay, some made with tin, many are painted, in pictures, on calendars or take form as a stuffed toy…
 
We explore the side streets and discover small cottages hug the village lanes that surround Main. A few larger homes are to be found but they don’t dominate. These mostly modest homes are well kept, their gardens perfectly manicured… there is an obvious pride of ownership exhibited.  It sparks a thread of envy… desire… oh to be the person who lives there….   
 
We have spent considerable time walking this little village, following brick roads through the surrounding neighborhoods… strolling the shoreline, stumbling upon brewpubs and the most wonderful fruit and vegetable stand.  We discovered the marina at the end of Main which serves as an anchor to the little downtown,  providing safe harbor to an assortment of sail boats and yachts…  we have enjoyed ‘brekkies’ at an authentic British café and delighted in finding authentic ‘colonial’ fare at the grocery store… birds custard, HP and chutney, PeriPeri condiments, curry sauces and English tea and chocolate covered biscuits.  There are islands here too, Honeymoon and Caladesi … we have yet to explore them… tomorrow maybe.  The town is infused with a Scottish heritage, the founders being of Scottish decent; the school band is a pipe band and there is an annual Highland Gathering…  





I am struck by how familiar this town feels, so different and yet oh so similar to the coastal towns where I grew up… I think I could live here… I really think I could live here…  except…. except for those ‘Dragons’…  the Sink Holes come with little or no warning, they are sudden and all consuming… the Hurricanes… well at least there is always news of their impending arrival… one has time to plan…  and then there is the threat of floods… and the insurance that one must pay to protect.  Our Congress up north has recently given passage to an exorbitant and potentially devastating increase in the rates… it is the biggest dragon of all, threatening the very existence of coastal towns all across America…  They live underground, and far out to sea, and there is a big one rumored to be coming in soon from the north… the ‘Dragons’… they are monstrous…  they swallow one whole, they rip and tear and thrash they tails, bearing water and waste to the lands that lay in their path…  Tis these ‘Dragons’ that give me pause. 
 
Dunedin is a small village on the gulf coast of Florida, she has cast a spell on me and I find I am being drawn into her enchantment… I think Alan is falling in too.  We are scheduled to leave here Monday but have already made plans to return… who knows… maybe we can find a way to slay the Dragons… maybe we can find our ‘happy ever after’ in this quaint little village, this land of enchantment that we have found by the side of the sea.  
 
We are off to Disney next …  so very excited to let the inner child in me out to play.  Wishing all a wonderfully festive holiday season…  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 
 
A special call out to my niece, the most wonderful and beautiful Lisa Ann Patterson, all the best for a fantastic and memorable wedding day sweetie… so very sorry we could not make it over … I know it will be a lovely occasion and I look forward to seeing the pictures.  
 
Love and hugs
Ann Morrison