Travel Experiences with Jeff Barganier
Micanopy...Okey Micanopy... Okey dokey At first, Cindy is reluctant when I suggest we hop in the car and drive 340 miles to visit a petite community just south of Gainesville, Florida. It’s named for once powerful Seminole Chief Micanopy (ca. 1780-1849). But she warms to the idea when I explain we’ll be staying at the majestic Herlong Mansion Bed and Breakfast. And that antique shops, interesting architecture, ancient moss-covered oaks, narrow roads and old churches adorn the small town close to where Marjorie Kennan Rawlings wrote her classic 1939 novel, The Yearling. We leave early. It’s a 5.5-hour drive from the River Region. An hour will be lost crossing into East Florida. Ubiquitous, depraved signs mar Interstate 75 South, advertising “adult” stores and the “Café Risque” that “bares all.” Sad and disgusting. But we press on. At Exit 374 we turn left, passing the Café Risque on our right. The parking lot is vacant and all’s quiet. In close proximity, we passed the local elementary school. I became fascinated with Micanopy, Florida (pop. 600) when the name appeared in William Bartram’s Travels. Reading Bartram’s 1770’s adventures for the umpteenth time, I learned the brilliant Quaker botanist had ventured near the present-day site of Micanopy. On the drive down, I keep referring to Florida’s oldest inland town as “My-Canopy.” But Katherine, Herlong Mansion’s attractive red-headed hostess, pronounces it correctly for me: “Micka-no-pee.” It’s helpful to remember that Micanopy rhymes with the adverb “okey dokey.” (See Merriam Webster.) Katherine shows us to our room,
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October 2021
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Herlong Mansion
Magnolia, featuring a king bed, claw-foot tub and period antiques. On the wall outside our door hang old photos. And framed letters from the 1930’s make for insightful reading. The mansion’s Cindy and a 1930's Era Ford interior floors and walls combine stunning woods, reflecting the original owner’s lumber trade. The manicured grounds include what Cindy calls a “Sound of Music” gazebo. A vintage 30’s Ford is parked by the porte cochere.
Pedestrian-friendly Micanopy is a delightful town with wonderful possibilities. But the commercial district leaves us scratching our heads. Omnipresent Buddha statues and the smell of incense detract from the historic appeal of an area where Florida’s aboriginal records indicate Hernando De Soto encountered an early Timucua Indian Village as far back as 1539. American history unfurled like a tsunami here over the ensuing centuries. Strangely, Micanopy is called “the town that time forgot.” Micanopy apparently has a dark side, too. Cruising neighborhoods, we find a beautiful old church close to an ancient cemetery. Someone has turned the structure into a residence and decorated the transom over the front door with evil images that appear permanent in nature rather than mere Halloween decoration. We visit Lotus & Buddha Art Collective where owner Chelsey Cook offers her guests excellent complimentary coffee and wines. Chelsey represents numerous local artists and features delightful handmade crafts. I purchase two sets of colorful hairpins for special nieces and gloat as Chelsey lovingly wraps them for me. As Micanopy’s stores begin to close, we
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