One year ago today: May 16, 2015, it's an Aldis light.
Five years ago today: May 16, 2011, the poverty line.
Nine years ago today: May 16, 2007, the condo that corruption built.
Random years ago today: May 16, 2006, some writing research.
I'm in downtown Bartow, a city that is a lot bigger than it looks on the map. Again, my ride didn't show so I'm on the batbike and true to Florida form, caught in an afternoon rain squall at he Sonoco west of town. It was a great ride, let me tell you about it.
I left at 9:20, a late start, and there I was stopping in Jupiter for coffee. It is the now well-known exit 87B. Memorize that because the Florida road signs are designed and placed by slack-jawed, slobbering cretins. Their attitude is you are supposed to have a GPS anyway, so why should they give a twit. What are you, some kind of cave man? After taking the batbike around the usual number of detours and traffic jams, I was in Okeechobee by noon. I didn't stop except for cold drinks, one must keep hydrated on the road. It was nearly perfect riding weather, it could have been a little cloudier.
West of Okeechobee, I finally took that little cutoff, I think it's called County Road 29, you can look it up. It is apparently the old main road or something similar and skirs the most highly developed part of Lake Placid, which you cannot see from the roadway.
You'll have to ignore any formatting quirks, I'm on the library computer in Bartow. I wonder if the city could have found a more inconvenient location. It is miles from town center, over in the SW end. You have to go down a road that resembles a back alley. Just as you are about to give up, you'll find it across from what looks like an unused sports field. Putting library and sports facilities next to each other, you get that a lot in small towns.
Browser.
From there, I back-tracked to the Arcadia road. I then inspected a terrible piece of property that needs a new roof. However, it could be make into two one-bedrooms, which is not a bad idea if you need a place to crash when traveling. It is in the okay NE part of town, most of the neighbors have RV's in the driveway. I'll keep it on file, I don't think that one will move fast.
I proceeded west on State Road 70 to the Ona turn-off. This is the town that does not exist, or at least not where shown on the map. But what you do want to see is the settlement of Limestone. It is totally out of rural east Texas. Herb's Limestone Country Club. Why, if had no been the middle of the afternoon, I would have been there until midnight. It's as redneck as a sidecar motorcycle. So much so that I had to pull over to the roadside and call Trent about it. Yep, it's rustic, but talk about an undiscovered gem. Here's the video.
Old Herb even came out to invite me and see if I needed anything for the road. But, 2:30 in the afternoon is travel time for me. And I found out I can get from Jupiter to Ona on one tank. Um, Jupiter is the turnoff ramp at 87B, another one of those things you're supposed to know. I viewed four properties all told. Arcadia, Bartow, Mulberry, and another place out on Rocky Ridge, that north-eastern adjunct of Lakeland. It needs a new roof, but with that, it could be liveable. Not fancy, just liveable.
The batbike began acting up when the wiring got wet, but I had to drive to the nearest town due to the rain. I stalled at the intersection of Old 37 and Ewell. Within ten minutes three guys and a lady all stopped to see if I needed any help. That, my friend, is another reason I'm out of South Florida. Everything you heard about hospitality and good south of West Palm Beach is outdated. It still exists, but don't count on it. A lady stopping to help? Try that in "culturally enriched" Miami, with it's government-controlled restrooms.
By far the best place I saw was the one on Ewell, it's surrounded by properties selling for twice as much. The title is clear, there are no back taxes or violations, so I'm staying overnight to go view the interior. Then, over to Bartown, where I grabbed a motel, the cheapest in town being $60. I stopped at the Sweet Magnolia for coffee, then later to the cowboy bar across the alley before turning in. the sidecar was an instant hit, but I seem to have gotten there on fat lady's night. Or maybe "barrel-shaped" night. And one of them was playing that pseudo-rap "new country".
Here is a photo of the interior. It has a workshed around back, huge corner lot Quite large, it needs work. And several hours before I arrived (two days late), a real estate company put in a full price offer. I will never trust JZ again for a ride, but this doesn't change anything else. However, he could at least have called. I would have to sell some silver to get this place, but it would be worth it. I'll try. It was another repossession, which was no made clear on the advertising, so there is no real owner except the listing agent, who I am beginning to view as a class of leeches that live in slime ponds. If you ask them any question about what's wrong with the property, they all say they "don't know". Which is impossible in a small town.
Now that I've been over most of the main roads, it's getting faster to find things, that's a plus. I've gone past many small places that don't show on the map, and in the case of Ona, non-places that do. Well, to be fair, there must be some kind of population at Ona, because that store could never survive on its own by the old railway tracks. It's only five hours back to Hollywood down the back roads, so I'm planning on taking the old Ona road back. I saw some for rent signs back in the woods that certainly would not be the $300 per week for a motel. I've got a slight misfire on the Honda from that rainstorm, but as long as I keep it revved, it behaves.
You want the gossip from the trip? I'll do the best I can. I chatted with a redneck at the gas pump, he's against Trump. Why? Well, he says, because Trump is all business and he wants a president who is more for women and children. Huh? Not one of the candidates with a real agenda has any such priorities, so why be against Trump? I didn't say anything, of course, but one wonders how any president is going to find money for women and children if the business climate is no good.
I stayed in the Paki motel, with the roaches, but they weren't that bad. Since I don't keep uneaten food around anyway. Don't anybody with dainty ears be shocked, all Florida hotels have roaches, it is a fact of seacoast living in every warm climate. My rational to stay an extra day for the $60 is simple. It would cost more than that to have to return if there is any unfinished business. I'm currently waiting for a call from the real estate agent to see the property, I'm around a half hour away. Say, that's what I'll do. There is that cafe in Mulberry, just seven miles down the road.
Good thinking. I'll meet up with you there.
Meanwhile, you can read up on Nuuk, capital of Greenland.
Sanford Wallace: Communications, 1997. Sanford is the man who brought you organized spam. Not the ordinary e-mail viagara offers, the the kind that you can't get rid of. Did you know spam was outlawed in 1991? Sanford stays in business by using relays, fake return addresses, and a rather baffling technique called "multi-homing". Spamford, as he is known at times, was fined out of business ($720 million still owing), but his legacy lingers on. People like him, (born 1968), are a strong argument for justifiable homicide.
Last Laugh
Return Home
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
