So our 11 nights in St.Augustine is almost up.In our past 3or 4 passes through here,Mark and I have really enjoyed the place. The "city" itself is quite attractive,centering around Flager College,which is housed in a former hotel created in 1887 in the Spanish Renaissance style. Supposedly it was one of the very first buildings in the United States to have electricity,wired up by Flagler's buddy Thomas Edison. And the interior touches,stained glass etc. we're handled by Louis Comfort Tiffany. It would be interesting to see what has survived after more than 40 years serving as a residence hall.
This time through though, we felt inundated by police presence. Not since Venezuela have we seen so many different types of cops: sheriffs,State park Rangers,National Park Rangers,State Cops,and Plain ol Police. Honestly,you can't drive a half mile here without seeing some sort of cruiser. 3 dog off the leash busts so far. I'm beginning to think Gordon's frisbee has some sort of chip in it that alerts them to our location.
Never fear...we will extract our revenge by leaving with a 3 year supply of the super high quality poop bags that are dispensed at every beach ramp.
Also got to endure a "cold snap" 23 degrees,wind chill 16. Made us thankful for the 4 sources of heat in the Manor: Our little plug in buddy, the "low heat" setting on the AC unit, the propane furnace and DOGS! This was timed perfectly of course to enjoy 48 hours of 24/7 WHITNEY on TV.(hey,it beat the church channel,of which there are PLENTY)
Otherwise,we 've spent some time on Vilano Beach,about 5 miles north of here.The town must have been completely wiped out in a hurricane,not too long ago,because it seems to be being totally rebuilt. The beach is coquina....crushed shells,that was used around here to make concrete at one time. Also ate out on "Valentimes",as Gabe used to say ,at a place featuring "Urban Cuisine".Anything but the dreaded Southern "Home Cooking".
Looking forward to our return South (Jupiter,Hobe Sound,Stuart) and then on to Tampa,where we get to see nephew Josh and family. Also on tap in Tampa is the arrival of the ever brave Suzanne Osberg, the only one of youse with the gumption to take us up on our guest tent with Aerobed offer. Airport pickup too! Come on people....
Lastly,thanks for the comments...don't forget to check them; wherein specific queries are answered,and you can even find S Beeching's Ring Cycle inspired poem.
Cheers!
PS. Susan Tucker: Florida has 2 more Pelligrino flavours: grapefruit and blood orange. And you thought it was a wasteland. Hah!
Hi Mark and Lucy,
ReplyDeleteI read your latest post with joyous appreciation. Well, not exactly joyous appreciation, and I have new way to read these days. I find that "skimming" the page quickly while shaking my eyes vigorously back and forth relieves me of any of that crushing "understanding" that can accidentally happen when you read. My usual approach is to be on the look-out for key "words of importance" like boobs or sending Steve money. I didn't see any of those in your latest blog, which accounts for the lack of joyous appreciation. I did, however, note that you have been in a deadly blizzard and Suze Orman is coming to live in your trunk. Due to the blizzard report, I suggest you re-calibrate your GPS receiver. I think you are in Illinois, sixty miles East-South-East of Chicago. As for renting out your trunk to folk who are clogging up PBS I completely approve. See if you can get Celtic Women to bivouac in the boot. Even a long weekend without their histrionics would be a huge relief, and a few days away from the buffet table wouldn't kill them, either.
Keep up the good work, and don't forget to use the "words of importance" whenever you write!
Steve
Is this my Facebook page? Where is everybody? Where's my Wall with all the great pictures from my trip to Northern Rhode Island? I typed in my password KNUCKLEHEAD321 so I guess this is it. Is this Mark's Facebook page? Damn, his password is KNUCKLEHEAD4321 so now I'm not sure and I don't see a back button on this ridiculous phone... Either way, I suppose it works to get out the word:
ReplyDeleteFolks, I wonder if you would all please hit the pause button on Transporter III and focus with me on the plight of some young people right here in our midst who need our help. Sure, you're thinking, "Here's Steve with another selfless pie-in-the-sky scheme to save the less fortunate." Guilty, I say, unapologetically guilty! How can we sit and watch outstanding car chases when we know that a couple hundred bucks could mean life-altering improvement for these poor forgotten souls? Hey, some of those stunts, by the way, might be excellent to try while you guys are on the road. I like the one where he's got that tricked-out A8 on top of a moving train and drives it along the top of the train which is swiftly approaching a tunnel till there's this big gap in the train for some reason and the guy drives right down into the rear of the next train car, in his car! I hate the whole Freudian angle, but the stunt was great. Let me know when you get your car up on a train and I'll talk you through it.
But back to my important message: People--each and every year, after a young life of study and practice, some of our best and brightest are "cut from the squad" leaving them in a dull, pointless existence. Please, just as you did last year, give and give furiously to Steve's Sterling Academy for Unwed Cheerleaders. Let's get those pom-poms back into the tiny fists of enthusiastic young ladies who will spell their way to your h-e-a-r-t and sometimes Y! Let's push their blues way back! This year I gotta ask for a little extra do-re-mi. The girls like that thing where you toss one of them up in the air and catch them after a couple flips. We use an American flag to launch them, you know, for the whole patriotic sleaze, and I got stuck with a corner position. Our flag isn't very big and long story short, they all wanted a turn getting flipped and some of our leaders are not exactly in the right weight class to be the flip-ee. My back took a hike last week and it ain't coming back. I asked the kid next to me to take the corner and she told me to stick my fleeping fleep and fleee-e-e-ep. I didn't know cheerleaders could talk that way. Maybe it's a motivational thing they learn? I made the catch and fell over, so a little extra to cover the chiropractor would be superior. This is a lot more work than I envisioned, and not the pillow-fights and jello-wrestling you might expect. I was going to send pictures of some of the routines but they stole my camera... and my truck. A little group stopped at the office and told me they were going to Miami to buy make-up, grabbed the keys and off they went. The make-up thing would have made more sense if they weren't already wearing tons of it, and if it hadn't been nine o'clock on a Saturday night. I haven't seen them in two weeks, so I assume the truck, like my back, is gone. I could have been one of those Transporter guys when I was young. I had a fleep-green 1972 Volkswagen Squareback. Fully rusted, she topped out a thirty-nine pulse-pounding miles per hour with all four miniature cylinders slapping away like a Tito Puente lick. I think the back meds are kicking in.
I have to drag myself out to the field now for pyramid practice. I think I'm just going to lie face down on the ground and let them build it on top of me. Maybe the pressure will re-align my spine. Dig deep, people--and thanks in advance!
Steve
Dean, Steve's Sterling Academy for Unwed Cheerleaders
Jupiter, FL
Hey--I just added the "Sterling" part. Awesome, right?