Tampa to Georgia

"Tampa to Tulsa... Just one layover... thinking it over"

I got lost in this song, which subsequently earned me a speeding ticket on the way down here.

My plan tomorrow is to avoid Chattanooga and Lexington at all costs. The construction in Chattanoogie looked not so pleasant for those heading North when I came through, and Lexington is where the speed limit bounces up and down so much that you eventually lose track. So I'm thinking Athens, GA -> Greenville, SC -> Asheville, NC -> Johnson City, TN on the way back, and then catch I-77 all the way up to Ohio. I didn't want to do I-77 because of the mountains, and I've been that way countless times... but tomorrow it will be necessary.

Florida was great. We watched the Horsemen, starring Dennis Quaid, which was a bit of a nutty suspense thriller. Steve and Rachel actually have a song in the movie, and that is pretty damn cool.

Like most of my vacations, I then got a wild hair and decided I was going to the Everglades. I found this place, which recommended that you bring shoes that you don't mind trashing a little. So I went to payless and got a pair of shoes. They really sounded like they knew what they were talking about.

That night we went to a baseball game: the Rays vs. The Red Sox. I ate BBQ chicken. It was kind of gross. It ended up going into extra innings so we didn't get to stay for the whole thing (because I had to get up for my trip which got rescheduled to early Wednesnay morning). There were a lot of Red Sox fans there, and in this one woman in particular that was sitting next to us... she sounded like a screechy monster. I eventually had to tell her to get her broom.

So I got up a 4:30 am on Wednesday with a rather gouty toe and went to the "Everglades". I basically spent $120 to be taken on a powerboat into the Gulf of Mexico. Supposedly we could have seen some really cool wildlife, but... not so much. Some dolphins and sea turtles, lots of birds, some other fish. (I saw the turtle but had no idea what it was... someone just said it was). I was tagging along with a British family of 4. One guy was dressed up like one of those safari tv host dudes. I dubbed him Crocodile Dick. I doubt he got what he expected. I lost my clip-on sunglasses when I turned my head once. Oh well. Those things were ticking me off anyway. I can't really complain though. I was on a boat, in the GULF OF MEXICO, it was hot, and it felt REALLY GOOD. The airboat ride might have been more interesting though. I'm just sad that I didn't get to see a Manatee.

Once I left there, I ventured out into the Big Cypress preserve, and did some exploring of my own. I finally saw my one and only frigging alligator of the trip. Then I ventured down some dirt road and that eventually got a bit scary. Luckily I didn't get devoured by any alligators or Burmese Pythons (for real), or murdered by any serial killers. Then a storm came. I drove into Naples and was pretty tired by that point, so I hauled ass back to Tampa.

That night, I toughed it out and went to Steve's open mike. It was weird. First off, there was some dude there singing Garth Brooks numbers, Tim McGraw, what have you. Then "the band" started showing up one by one. Then Rachel did some stuff. By the time I got up, I had asked "the band" to sit out, but sure enough first song, the harmonica player's wife was over to the side with her tambourine. When she walked near the congas, I growled. I started with a Steve Earle tune, and then an odd obscure thing by Marah. Everyone was on stage, playing, by mid-song, against my wishes... but it was quite fun. The keyboard player was especially a hit when he started making sax sounds with his toy. WE SOUNDED LIKE THE E-STREET BAND. Then I did one of my own, and another of my own, by myself. The next guy got up with band and did some Stone Temple Pilots and Radiohead. It was... interesting. Loud... and interesting. I left early and went home to sleep. It was a long day.

Thursday was the historic Ybor City. I enjoyed that quite a bit. Lots of little tobacco shops where they make you handrolled cigars. The community was both Latin and Italian. I bought the newspaper, which is apparently the nation's only tri-lingual newspaper. We checked out some used clothes joints, and then ate Italian food. I vowed to have pizza all day, but never actually did. And you should have seen the $368 dollar coat I passed on. It was divine.

We then left Ybor and headed to Sarasota for the Ringling Bros. museum. Nothing really exciting to share there. My feet started to hurt, so it became a focus for me to rest and not enjoy things. After that, we drove through St. Armand's, which looked fun, and went straight to Lido Beach on Lido Key. That was a super nice time. Then we drove through Siesta Key, and stopped at... an Italian place, where I failed to get pizza. I instead went for the Eggplant Parm sandwich it was not very good at all. Then it was back to Tampa. We got in at 11. What a long day.

I hit the road this morning, and headed for Georgia. It was a nice ride. However, I must say that as much as I love Richard Buckner and Will Oldham, they do not make for very good driving music. Matthew Ryan, on the other hand, is the bomb when it comes to driving music. I got into my aunt and uncle's gated community in Greensboro, GA at about 6:45am.

So yea, tomorrow should be fun. I'm going to take me my time and see as much of things as I can see. My uncle says the Bitmore is pretty cool. Despite our divergence in politics, we do have a lot in common otherwise (they all like sci-fi, so this is good). I have some food options.

I'll spend most of the day in Ohio on Sunday, then either drive back to Michigan, or go to Cedar Point on Monday. We'll see. I have to go back to work (in Jackson) on Tuesday... then hopefully, some more work the rest of the week. My job is different now, and I'm getting paid hourly. When I don't work, I don't get paid. So I welcome the income.

Anyway, Florida is lovely in a lot of ways... I liked the heat, the lay of the land... The people though... I didn't interact too much, but I doubt that I have much in common with a lot of folks. I mean, there doesn't really seem to be much of a music scene in Tampa or an arts community (aside from Ybor City). Still, I liked it. I doubt I go back, but I certainly enjoyed my time there.

I'm uploading pictures to Flickr and then it's off to bed. My uncle is sitting next to me, asleep in his chair, snoring.

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