Florida

On a cool December day, I stepped out my front door and walked 3 miles to downtown Orlando. I took with me a camera, a voucher for a free meal at a restaurant, and a can of pepper spray just in case the neighborhood pitbull Cujo was off his leash again. I could have taken my bicycle, but I chose to go slowly to see what might present itself to me....

Twelve years to the day, I backed my car into campground 14 in Torreya State Park near Tallahassee, Florida. As my wife unloaded our camping gear, I went for a short walk to survey the area. The grounds were as I remembered them: the “pets on a leash” sign I posed in front of with my dog; the outhouse and ranger’s station; the wooden platform on the bluff overlooking the Apalachicola River....