Florida Trip 2010: Naples

At last, civilization: I am now visiting Naples, Florida. Traffic is adequate but not stifling, weather is peaceful and calm, New York Times is available in the 7-11, the beach is almost empty for a morning walk and parking is illegal or costly everywhere. Naples reminds me of midtown Manhattan (the NYT and parking only). I once again am staying with good friends, this time they are from Croton-on-Hudson, NY. I arrived mid-afternoon yesterday, spent an hour and a half on the beach about a mile from downtown Naples and after a wonderful dinner of fresh fish chowder headed off to the Universal Unitarian Church for the initial session of a weekly evening lecture series. The topic this week was the present state of politics in Iran, or the end of the Islamic Revolution given by an Iranian college professor teaching out of an Illinois university. He was interesting and there were over one hundred people in attendance. Bottom line: the current Iranian government is on the way out and almost powerless, religious influence on the state is in flux and decentralized through many minor ayatollahs, the drive toward modernization out trumps nationalism and Iran is not interested in nuclear weapons. These are the speaker's opinions. For me, "To shah or not to shah, that is the question."

I listened to the State of the Union address after the lecture. I had a very big issue or lack of one: I am retired and do not want a job. What is the federal government going to do for me? Perhaps I ought to think about starting a small business? It will be interesting to see if the trickle up economic model is any more successful than the trickle down economy was. As far as trickle down goes, I know Maxwell House coffee is good to the last drop, but I do not think I got any drop of the trickle down spoils.

This morning I was on the North Gulf Shore beach of Naples by seven o'clock. The sun was not quite up and the air was fresh and cool. I walked the beach for an hour and one-half. I collected about a dozen sand dollars and successfully exfoliated the bottoms of my feet. I am now five ounces lighter. After a shower and breakfast, my host and I headed to downtown Naples to walk out the fishing pier. Along the way we stopped at the old Naples train station and visited with an enthusiastic collection of Lionel model train buffs. They had an impressive display of model trains in the old station (see pictures below). This was truly childhood revisited for me.

After lunch we went to the Naples Nature Conservatory for a meaningful commune. We took an electric boat ride through the mangrove swamp and then watch the three o'clock feeding of a five month old loggerhead turtle. Talk about excitement! My heart rate was up to 58 beats per minute. Now it is time for pure relaxation at the pool at the edge of the local golf course. My Myers Rum and Coke is tasting mighty fine. By the way, how was the snow in New York this morning?

Here are a few pictures of the latest days of my Florida visit:

 

Home of the Lionel Train Club of Naples. 

Part of the layout of the model trains at the Naples Train Depot.

Notice the motor cycles at the model train layout.

The Naples City Fishing Pier.

Mangrove trees in the swamp behind the Naples Nature Conservatory.

Florida Trip 2010: Minigoldendoodles

I have spent my last couple of days in the city of Longwood which is about two thirds of the way between New Smyrna Beach and Orlando. This is an upscale are and located near several of Florida's fresh water springs. I am visiting a long time fraternity brother (Sigma Alpha Epsilon at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) along with another fraternity brother and his wife who live in Orange County, California. You cannot imagine the number of enhanced fraternal memories we have shared. It is amazing all three of us are all still alive and out of prison.

I have played golf two days in this part of central Florida and yesterday visited Blue Spring State Park near Orange City, Florida adjacent to the St. John's River. This fresh water spring pumps about 110,000,000 gallons of 73 degree water into the St. John's River each and every day. With the recent cold weather in Florida lowering the river temperature, manatees have congregated into the stream running from the spring into the river. We saw nearly thirty manatees warming up in the spring yesterday. These immense river slugs do very little. The main activity I saw was warming themselves in the spring waters and sunlight. I stood near the edge of the observation platform for twenty minutes with a wet herring in my mouth waiting for one of the manatees to jump up and grab the stinking fish. One did cruise over and pass gas right beneath me. I do not recommend one of these animals as a pet.

The spring runoff had water as clear as glass. You could see the many fish that took advantage of this stream of fresh water. There were also large turtles and a very large alligator in the waters. Swimming is permitted in the stream running from the spring to the river. There are, of course, signs asking people to leave the manatees alone and that there are alligators in the area that should be avoided. As I observed this signage, I came to realize why the population in Florida is primarily white English speaking Caucasians and Hispanic. The alligator warning signs were prominent and the warnings rather firm. The only two languages on the signs were English and Spanish. Imagine a new immigrant from Greece coming to the park on a warm day and thinking (in Greek), "What a nice day and a nice spot for a swim. Look at those large gray swimming mammals and the large swimming Geico gecko in the water. Let me jump in and frolic with the animals." That guy is alligator lunch in three minutes. I believe Florida alligators are killing off all the non-English or non-Spanish speaking immigrants that come to Florida. This could be an oversight by the Florida government officials or a hideous plot to control voting patterns in upcoming elections. I cannot make that call, but Florida voting results always seem to make national headlines.

Oh yes, minigoldendoodles. My hostess with the help and support of her family raises dogs. These dogs are crosses between golden retrievers and miniature poodles. Artificial insemination comes into play here for genetic reasons. (I believe the physical size limitation of the male minipoodle stud is also a factor – but I am no expert and the stud does have a four foot vertical jumping height.) The outcome of this comingling of breeds is wonderful dogs. Great temperament, reasonable size and above average intelligence combined with fur that actually stays on the dog and not your clothes and furniture is a big plus. Spending two days with five adult dogs in the house with two other mothers and their new liters in a warming bedroom was quite a treat and you could not find more affectionate dogs. Thank goodness all the puppies are spoken for! Check this web site out for more information and pictures:

http://www.springviewminigoldendoodles.com

Here are a few pictures of the latest days of my Florida visit:

Here is my aunt and uncles condo right on the beach at New Smyrna Beach.

 

Florida has this right. They are handling the "clunker" situation with the kind of vision you cannot expect from the federal government. They encourage people to park on the beach at low tide and six hours later at high tide the clunkers are on their way to the coast of Africa. Cost to we taxpayers, nada!

Here we are at Blue Spring State Park waiting to see the manatee tricks.

This is the only manatee that approached the herring I was holding in my mouth. One witness claims he jumped two millimeters toward the fish as he passed me. That would be a new manatee world record.

Here is the largest pod, flock, gaggle, pack, covey, herd assembly of manatees I will ever see. There must be thirty animals in this pod, flock, gaggle, pack, covey, herd assembly of manatees.

This is one of the signs Florida is using to control the number of non-English or non-Spanish speaking immigrants living in the state.

Thank goodness I chose a car and not a motorsycle for this three week trip to Florida.

Florida Trip 2010: Mickey to Smyrna

There is no way to compare Key West to Orlando. Key West seems so rooted to me and Orlando is pure fantasy land. I could never settle down in Orlando, even if for only a month. I am certain there is good value in the time spent in the major theme parks. This trip, I did not visit any, but I have in the past. The real show is in the fast food and chain restaurants. Watching the horde approach, circle and then attack the breakfast, lunch or dinner buffet is seeing humanity at the best of its human instincts. Why eat two eggs and a strip of bacon, when there are pancakes, fried chicken and French toast with fructose syrup just there for the taking? Thank goodness the path to the plain vanilla yogurt is always unobstructed.

Thursday I visited friends with other friends up in Nancy Lopez's favorite town (now a city) the Villagesday. The place is a Mecca of senior activities. They have a full newspaper full of activities and special interest clubs. My new desire in life is to become the sixty-five year and older pickelball champion of the city (and thereby the entire world). A more ambitious goal is to be the captain of the Precision Golf Cart Drill Team and become a legend of polo halftime entertainment fame. Seriously, life at the Villages demands the careful consideration of anyone wanting an active, congenial retirement.

Today I am at New Smyrna Beach on Florida's Atlantic coast. This is a wonderful, quiet beach town. I ended last evening with a four mile round trip walk on the beach and started today taking that same walk. There are plenty of Harley-Davidsons in the town as well as a mixed of retired northerners and comely bikinied teenagers. Being near the ocean listening to the surf is very satisfying to my ears and spirit.

Here are a few pictures of the latest days of my Florida visit:

Me enjoying a chesseburgeer in paradise at Jimmy Buffet's original restaurant on Duval Street in Key West.

My life was in the hands of Captain Tim as we sailed out of Key West harbor into the dangerous Atlantic Ocean.

Another schooner sailing by us on our sunset cruise in Key West.

This is the closest I got to a birdie on any of Florida's numerous golf courses.

Here is the dream of every Villages resident. The ultimate in designer golf carts.

There are plenty of golf carts to choose from, in fact it is the largest retail industry int he Villages!

Florida Trip 2010: Life in Key West

I can see why Ernest Hemmingway, Tennessee Williams, Harry Truman and Jimmy Buffet spent so much of their time in Key West. It is an intriguing and charming little city. The old town has kept its charm. New McMansions are not permitted. Duval Street reminds me of a slimmed down French Quarter in New Orleans. The pace is slow, the tourist trade is doing fine and the cruise ships just keep on sailing in. Yesterday Barbara and I took a trolley tour of the entire island. We learned it is only two miles by four miles and has a population of over 23,000 residents. Most of the island is made from land reclaimed from the mangrove swamps. This practice is no longer allowed and it appears what is now Key West will always be Key West. The seafood is terrific. There are many fine places to eat and it appears even more places to drink.

Friday night we ate at the Café Marquesa. This restaurant is cited in the novel I am writing, The Briefcase. It is an upscale restaurant for Key West. No one was dining in shorts, tee shirt and flip flops. We also saw the Mary Immaculate Star of the Sea school where Anna Harte teaches fourth grade in the novel.

While on the trolley tour we learned that at one time Key West had the largest per capita income of any city in the US. The money came from rolling cigars and salvaging wrecks of the reef on the Atlantic Ocean side of the island. Needless to say, those industries are no longer driving the Key West economy. We also learned that Key West seceded from the United States for a short period of time in protest of border closings at the top of the Florida Keys. The Conch (pronounced CONK) Republic was short lived. Our guide told us more about this but, the line between truth and fantasy was getting very jagged as his stories went on.

Today we head out for some nautical adventures!

This is the Key West Bed and Breakfast, our Key West home.

This sign at the airport proudly exclaims Key West's independent status for a brief period in 1828.

Here I am standing near Spong Bob Square Pants maternal grandfather.

Barbara out in front of the B&B on Williams Street.

The Cafe Marquesa from our tour trolley.

Florida Trip 2010: Coral Springs to Key West

I just finished eating my "take out" dinner on the deck outside my room at the Key West Bed & Breakfast on Williams Street in the old town section of Key West. This beats drinking hot wine in a Snuggie huddled in the living room of my Westchester condominium! I got to spend two days with my brother and his wife in Coral Springs, Florida. It was a great visit for us. I am not used to a home with four pets and kept counting them to make certain none were hidden in the room where I was sleeping. I hear that cats can sit on your face and suck the breath of life from you. Their dog on the other hand was looking at my leg with a very wanton look, and this is a female dog! Ahh, how great are the joys of "petdom"?

Except for the fact that 40% of the trip downward on the Florida Keys was in construction zones, it was a pleasant drive. The view for the most part was not as spectacular as I imagined. Mangroves on the side of the road blocked the view for too much of the trip. My first stop along the way was at the Brass Monkey Lounge in a strip mall near a Kmart in Marathon at mile post 50. This is the site of a couple of the racier chapters of my novel, The Briefcase. The bar is a bit seedier than I imagined, but will do fine as the setting I need in my novel. I have some pictures of the Brass Monkey below. I was a little shy about taking photographs since many of the early afternoon patrons appeared to be candidates for the witness protection program.

My next stop was about twenty miles further southwest at Bahia Honda Key. There is a state park on the key that is the sight of the discovery of the briefcase the novel is based upon. After visiting the park, I will have to do some editing to get my protagonist, Chet Harte, to the site of the discovery of the briefcase. The site is even more remote than I imagined. I also stopped at Sugarloaf Key where Chet and Anna Harte have their home. The sun was trying to come out today, but it did not quite make it. The temperature did reach a respectable 68 degrees on my arrival to downtown Key West. The B&B I am staying at is in the Old Town on Williams Street, very close to Duval Street. My next posting will focus on some of my Key West experiences.

No day of golf in southern Florida can start without a stop at Pollo Tropical for chicken wqith rice and black beans for breakfast.

After a week of high temperatures in the 40's, this is typical golf wear for a Floridian. I was wearing slacks and a short sleeved golf shirt.

Whoops, I believe this was a framing error.

This is the photo I meant to take. Two of the chapters of my novel take place in this venue. Classy?

The bar inside the Brass Monkey. The guy in the ponytail testified against the Gambino's. The guy in the cap is his US Marshall.

The band area at the Brass Monkey.

A deserted beach on Bahia Honda Key. Very similar to the area where Chet Harte found his briefcase.

Florida Trip 2010: The Long State

I am writing today's blog from the Sunshine State – still rather cool, but it is sunny. I drove across the sliver of Georgia I needed to cross before reaching the top of the state of Florida. So far this trip I have crossed most of the states on their shorter axis. Florida stretched out before me from above Jacksonville all the way down to Key West. That is about five hundred and sixty-eight miles by car. That is a lot of real estate. The only mountains or hills I saw while heading south on I-95 were two large landfills. With the weather they have been getting in Florida this past week I expected to see chair lifts running up those hills and hundreds of Floridians in ski parkas coming down the new ski trails.

The temperature actually hit sixty-two degrees this afternoon. I remained in jeans and a sweater all day, but did feel the warmth of the sun on my face as I sat poolside with my brother while sipping a rum and Coke. I spent the remainder of the afternoon reminiscing with my brother. We did not solve any worldwide issues but did agree to blame most of our personal problems on our parents.

I look forward to tomorrow and not having to drive all day – well I might be playing golf and will have to do some driving. Hopefully those drives will be long and straight just like today's drive down I-95. I am staying in Coral Springs, Florida. It is sort of an extension to Fort Lauderdale and provides a buffer for that town and the alligators of the swamp that starts at the western edge of Coral Springs. I have yet to see any coral or a spring in the town, but I am certain they are somewhere to be found. I took no photographs today. I will do better tomorrow. I am too tired to keep on writing. Pleasant dreams to all I love and care about.

Florida Trip 2010: The First Dixie States

I have started to model my writing after Ernest Hemingway: I will only post on this trip if I have had enough to drink to dull my mental capacities. If I, like Hemingway, used my full capacities, I would be unreadable. Unfortunately, after drinking, I become, that is my typing becomes uncorrectable!

I am just on the outskirts of Savannah, Georgia -- probably entangled in a petticoat of some sort. I drove over seven hours today and I am feeling the effects of carlag. Unfortunately, two glasses of Shiraz with dinner and two (maybe three) glasses of Myers rum and coke are not the correct cure for this malady. I am what I am. I started this day in Chesapeake, VA at the home of my daughter. I left the house in the chaos of the family getting ready for the school day. I breakfasted in Emporia, VA just before getting onto I-95 South. I set my cruise control at 78 MPH and closed my eyes for the straight tip due south. I did make a mandatory stop at the JR super store in North Carolina. I saw at least fifty billboards urging me to stop. I bought twenty faux cigars and a pair of ten dollar Wrangler jeans (I need to retire my 38/30 jeans for the new improved 36/30 body I have sculpted.). It is amazing what cutting down to 2500 calories per day from 3500 calories will do!

This afternoon after arriving at my motel in the southern edge of Savannah, GA, I took a short trip to the site of the old Savannah-Ogeechee Canal. I was the only guest at this major tourist attraction at 1700 hours today. I lit a cigar and walked the canal for two locks (and no bagels). It was rather spooky, since I was the only one on the property during my one hour visit. The walk goes from the highway to the Ogeechee River through a swamp. (Excuse me. I need another rum and coke.) Ahh, that is better.

Here are some of today's photos:

This photograph above is the essence of North Carolina as experienced on the drive on I-95.

There is nothing in the world that comes cloose to matching Southern hospitality!

Then again, as i entered the canal propety, I did get this additional image of that Southern hospitality!



What in the world was this doing out in the middle of the swamp?


For those very select few that take me seriously, this is a picture of one of the locks on the Savannah-Ogechee Canal.


Many of my "loyal" readers think I make things up. Here is proof of my actual visit!

This is ice on the canal at five o'clock in the afternoon. I am suppose to be down south avoiding the wrath of the northern winter!

Here is where the canal meets the Ogeechee River.

This is why Neil Young wrote:

Southern man better keep your head

Don't forget what your good book said

Southern man change gonna come at last

Now your crosses

are burning fast

Southern man

Never let anyone take a photo at arms length of themselves!