Florida Road Trip

On the drive down and back, you could see spring breaking out everywhere. The first appearance of spring is always a warming sight. The trip was planned and timed to avoid rush hour in Nashville and Atlanta. Shockingly as it may sound, things actually went according to plan.

Along the way there were other sights that were disturbing. Several times you could see where tornadoes had cut a path through patches of countryside.  Fortunately most the damage I saw was just to trees.  The width of some of the tornadoes paths was a ¼ mile! The other horrible sight was the price of gas.  Ouch!

Stayed at a friend’s house. His name is Ray. He was my father’s best friend and adventure buddy for decades. They took dozens of trips to the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America.  After dad passed away Ray and the family stayed in touch.

Visits with him are fun. He is a great tour guide for the area.  He knows everyplace and everybody. In fact he was once the president of his local Chamber of Commerce (Apollo Beach). One caution—if you tag along with Ray you find that trips with a promise return of 8:00 p.m. don’t come with a date. 

His house is on a canal and he has his own boat and dock. The boat rides are always a big delight for this land-locked hiker. Ray also has a nice enclosed in-ground pool. The pool was real cold this time. Fortunately Ray just got a hot tub.  The ocean was colder than the pool. The beaches in the area consist of fine white sand. Bring sunglasses.  I forgot.  That’s what happens when there’s no packing list. 

Didn’t see the Manatees this visit, usually do. They are a big tourist attraction. There is a visitor center and a viewing platform across an ocean inlet from a power plant.  The power company built both of them. The Manatees like the warm water that discharge from the plant. This place is just a few miles from Ray’s place. 

Took a day for a nice side trip and drove from Apollo Beach to Bradenton. Have family there, my Uncle Bob and Aunt Laverne. In case you don’t know he’s my dad’s brother. As told in the 'Dedication' Blog, my third book, Ghost Towns of Idaho is dedicated to him. When he spent that summer in a fire tower in 1947, Aunt Laverne spent it with him. Just think of their living conditions. No cable TV or WiFi, how primitive. No running water either. Real primitive. They live much better now. They still have a good view; just this one is of the ocean.  Later Nancy, their daughter and my cousin joined us. We talked the family small talk and kicked around old stories. Everybody had lots of news to share. They said that they were reading these Blogs and thanked me for the one on Dedications.

Then I asked Uncle Bob about Great Uncle Chester. He was a relative who enlisted in the U.S. Navy during both World War I and World War II. I was considering dedicating a future book to him and wanted to get the family history straight. I thought that during WW II Uncle Chester had stayed stateside for the duration. Uncle Bob corrected that. Turns out Great Uncle Chester served in the Philippines during 1944-45 with a P.T. boat squadron. Sometimes it pays to check out your family history. 

As always, check out my website: www.theghosttownhunter.com

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Next time:   New Book Peek-A-Boo