Activity Increasing in Gainesville with Impending Fall Classes

My hometown of Gainesville, Florida has a seasonal nature to its population, which tends to swell and dwindle with the University of Florida...situated smack-dab in its center...as that institution's calendar progresses from breaks to classes...and back again.  Right now, I'm seeing an increase in the traffic around me...both on the roads and in places like this Starbucks that I'm writing from.  Some of it has to do with the out-of-town UF students arriving for their Fall 2016 term, but also I'm seeing a lot of families with little kids out and about...no doubt taking advantage of the ongoing tax-free school supply shopping period that our state of Florida provides them before they begin the new school year.  We also have a community college, Santa Fe College, that is preparing for its Fall classes...that is one great school!  With the two colleges starting their Fall classes on August 22nd and the public schools beginning on the 15th, I expect to see more and more activity and congestion in my fair city.  Along with, of course, a lot of talk about how prepared the Gator football team is for this upcoming season, head coach Jim McElwain's second with the team...

As for me, I'm just a spectator of all this hubbub going on around me.  I would like to figure out a convenient way to visit the University of Florida main campus from time to time...the biggest problem is their parking situation.  I have some special memories of that place and think that, in its own way, being around there inspires me to make a greater effort in my own personal projects.  Maybe the best time for any visits will be the weekend, when classes are out and the parking is probably more manageable.  I'd also like to procure a library card to check out books from their library system...there's nothing like browsing the shelves for an interesting book, and the University of Florida's collection of non-fiction is the best in the state, as far as I'm concerned.  I think they'll provide me access, seeing that I am a UF alumnus, but I'll need to pay an extra fee for it...something that strikes me as being completely reasonable.  I'd also like access to peruse their old newspaper archives, which I've enjoyed doing in years past...