2/11/10--Pedros South of the Border

Well, this is it. I'm done. In any great endevour there is an ending, and I have reached mine. With Steinbeck, he got to Mississippi and Louisiana and ran out of steam as he got into a funk about how low man can go (he experienced the early days of the civil rights movement and the integrating of a school). His book just ran out of steam and we never heard anything about the last few miles of his trip.

For me, the end came at Pedros South of the Border. I first visited 30 years ago and couldn't wait to go back. To me, it was Everyman's Disney World, like Wally World was to Chevy Chase, the dream was apparently more than the reality. 37 miles out the signs began. (See above) As I get closer my pulse starts to race. Then I get there. There are carnie rides, stores galore, half a dozen restaurants. A fireworks store. Every thing you could want. Like Disney World, you never have to leave the grounds.

There's only one thing wrong. The place is utterly deserted. Nobody is there. I walk into a tourist nicknack store the size of a super Walmart, and I am the only customer. It is now that I realize how bad things are in this country. If Pedros is this bad off, what about the rest of the Country?

So this is goodbye................

2/9/10--Into Georgia

Well, I awoke this morning in Tallahassee with rain falling steadily and I decided that the redneck riviera was just not going to be for me. So I turned on the GPS, programmed in Warm Springs, via Andersonville, and set out. About an hour driving north and the rain slowed, then ceased. I did not see an Interstate all day. The drive thru southwestern Georgia was very rural, with ocassional small towns and rolling countryside in between, with farms, be they peanut or horse or cattle, here and there.

Andersonville, the site of the infamous War of Northern Aggression POW camp. As I get near, according to the Navigatrix, I start looking and I see to the left a road with an archway proclaiming that this is the famous Andersonville. So I pull in to this small burgh, even tho the Navigatrix is shreiking at me to u-turn and keep going. To the side is a small building proclaiming itself to be the "Visitor Center". Can't be a trick, can it.

So I go inside this rather rustic building (not the kind of snazzy visitors' centers you usually find at Civil War battle sites.) There's a little old lady inside an otherwise deserted building with a charming southern drawl who welcomes me to Andersonville. I say it's pretty quiet and she opines it is the off- season. So I say, I understand there is a museum and she says Oh, yes, and directs me thru this rickety door with the admonition that there is no heat in the museum. Well, there wasn't a heck of a lot else, either. I'm used to spending hours in such museums, and I was in and out of there in 5 minutes. And the theme was mostly about how the North unfairly treated the Commandant at the end of the war, and how he did what he could. (He was tried and hung as a war criminal.) Which, from what I have read, is largely true.

So I say to myself that was hardly worth a detour, and I reprogram the GPS for Warm Springs. I get a mile down the road and there's a fancy sign announcing the Andersonville Prison Camp Visitor's Center and Museum! I pull down this side road and there's a nice brick Visitors' Center and Museum befitting the name, and I spend over an hour there. It is much more middle of the road vis a vis North vs. South and who treated prisoners worse. In fact, it had a whole section devoted to Northern "colored" troops who were captured and how they were treated or mistreated. See pics above of the site of the prison.

So I wonder what the story is of the two different visitors centers and museums.

2/8/10--Into Redneck Country

Well, yesterday was pretty dull, travelling from Fort Myers to Homossassa Springs (because Norman recommended it) to Lake Mary for the evening before dropping off Peg at the airport this morning. Except for Homossassa Springs. It's a wildlife area with them airboat rides that look like a lot of fun. But we didn't have enough time to do anything but visit this 19th Century sugar mill. See the above pics. But definitely someplace to spend some more time.

Today I am on my own and ended up in Tallahassee at La Quinta again, mostly because my experience with the two other dog friendly motels didn't go so well. The Days Inn in Perry got these horrible reviews re cleanliness and cockroaches, etc. All the days Inn's I've considered fare very poorly in the internet reviews. I guess it is a chain in decline.

But the Chaparral Inn takes the cake. $40, met that criteria. I call and get this female montone "Yessssss?" "Is this the Chaparral Inn?" "Yesssss" "Can I book a room tonight?" "$45." "I also have a dog." "That's an extra 10." "Okay." A pause, then "Okay, goodbye." Click. She hung up on me! I guess I was just supposed to show up.

So I decided to push on to civilization. Tallahassee, a college town. A very pretty country drive thru small towns and rolling acres of orange groves and horse farms and not many cars. But I've got to tell you. Norman said when I got into SW Georgia I would find a real redneck, rightwing area and should watch what I say. Well, you don't have to wait for Georgia. Northern interior Florida will do just fine.

And I got back to my AM radio thing. I was really bummed out because every station was either right wing talk or right wing evangelical christian radio. Until I found one station that had this guy called Mike Smerconish. He's out of Phillie. And he's a Republican, so that's how he get's on in the south. But he voted for Obama and he's moderate. Hey, moderate's okay after what I've been putting up with.

This area of Florida for retirement. Not a keeper.

2/7/10--Visiting Old Friends

Well, today was a time to visit old friends, Norman in Bonita Springs and Gene and Linda in Naples.

Norman lives in a gated community called Bonita Bay and spends his days playing tennis or golf and is very happy spending the winter in Florida and the summer in Bethany Beach, Delaware. What a life. I practiced law with Norman for a few years and never thought he would retire because he is one of those type As who always has to be moving. But he has slid into retirement quite well. I applaud him. Plus he picked up the tab for lunch. He is the lean guy above with the golden retriever.

Gene and Linda are more "of the people". No gated community for them, although they do live on the second hole of the local golf course. Gene is the guy who mentored my wife thru her professional career, and is therefore most responsible for our own future retirement. Thank you, Gene. Carol , our friend from Maine, was visiting Gene and Linda and we all had a good time chatting in what I believe is called a "Florida" room.

Tomorrow on to Lake Mary before Peg leaves for Bangor and Wallie and I continue our quest.

2/6/10--The Conch Republic

Well, according to Peg, we just spent 2 nights in the only part of Florida worth a spit. Key West is great. We need to spend more time here. And we have the Flatlanders to thank for finding it for us. They are our trailblazers. We send them ahead to check places out for us and they report back.

Stayed at a wonderful B&B called the Bottle Inn run by Mark and Dennis and their dog Casey, who weighed about 8 pounds dripping wet. Wallie liked him. We got in about 1pm and had lunch around the corner at the Azur. I then napped whilst my wife took the Conch train ride around town. She then came back and we had cocktails on the verandah right outside our room. We then napped again. Then had dinner at the Cafe Sole across the street. We then went to bed.

You're all thinking, how exciting. So much sleeping. But that is because thetrip was almost a non-starter. You know those pesky little speed bumps they have in motel parking lots? How many times have you tripped over one? Well, me, too. I fell on my right hand and bent the fingers back so that I could touch the back of my hand. Several hours at the ER to make sure the hand wasn't broken, only badly sprained. Then a sleepless night wishing I had taken the PA up on the prescription for painkillers. But three days later I am much better with splint off.

The next day I was rested and good enough to rent and drive an electric car all over Key West! Wallie liked the wind in his hair. That night was spent down on the harbor sipping mojitos and watching the sunset.

So you too can own part of this idyllic place. Just $900,000 will buy a one thousand foot bungelow on an interior side street!

You won't believe this! Wallie couldn't. Seems that cockfighting used to be big down here, until they needed some federal money during the Depression, and they had to mend some of their ways. So they freed all of the fighting chickens. Just let them go. And they now wonder the streets like stray alley cats.

2/2/10-- when it rains it pours

Today has been a rainy, miserable day - warm, but rainy - so we have been traveling to Ft. Myers and then holed up in the motel waiting for the ferry tomorrow morning and hopefully better weather in Key West. We won't be posting for a couple of days because we are traveling light to Key West on the ferry and leaving most everything in the car.

2/1/10--We Settle Down

So as of tonight we will have spent 3 days in the one place. We're meeting like-minded 70 somethings on walks with Wallie who buy or rent places off the main drive and stay for the winter. Yesterday there was a couple from Toronto (French speaking) who come down the first of December and stay until the end of April. There is a long cement walkway along the beach where we walk Wallie. He's not allowed on the beach here. Pisser. He loves the beach.

For the Flatlanders, we went up to Hudson as they said and had lunch at Sam's. See above. Hey, it was more thana 20 minute drive. Hudson, and then Tarpon Springs and Dunedin on the way back were our kind of seaside towns. Old Florida. Allthumbs up. See the pictures.

That's about it. Tomorrow we head for Ft. Myers and get the ferry for Key West.