All Roads to Elsewhere, Parting the Second
November 16th, 2006.
Previously…
Off on the road again, as it were. The road always called me from a distance. Sometimes I answered, like for this trip to Jensen Beach. I was always a fan of the getting away from it all. Shelly was a gracious host, and had a plethora of things to show me in town. Perfect weather for a little tourism.
And now…
The beach. That’s where Shelly and I were checking out the Atlantic Ocean. I’m a big fan of the beach, because it’s so vast, so open, so enormous. A wave crashing on the shores in front of us came from the other side of the ocean, literally. That’s how big the ocean is. This was the first place she took me, just to get an idea of what was in town. Not bad, seeing the most magical scene in this town.
To tell the truth, Jensen Beach had an entirely different feel from anywhere I’ve been before, save the Keys. In fact, it had that exact same flavor, with chilled out people, no one in a rush, people just enjoying themselves and going through their day without a care in the world. If anyone’s been to the Keys before, they’d understand. The people were really polite and kind. The polar opposite of where I was born, in New York City. Their rep needed no explanation.
Shelly and I ended up having lunch at a restaurant, the name of which typically and torturously evades me with a whole lot of history as a bank that had been robbed by a rather slick criminal of his time in the 1920’s. Old newspaper clippings adorned the walls and tables, chronicling the life and times of the people from that era. Reading some of the clippings was interesting, and offered an insight into what life entailed. These people were just like people were today, albeit a little different. No computers, no cell phones, or any of the other tech that we took for granted. But it was still the same, more or less.
We wandered around the shops that were clustered together in the town’s center. Lots of antiques, lots of shops where the unusual trinket or nicety could be found. We even found a nice cigar shop, where Shelly ran into one of her neighbors, but didn’t recognize her without her dog. She ended up picking up a cigar box from the place. A few doors down, we ran into the cigar shop’s son, Brian, who ran another shop. This place was totally chilled out, with lounge music playing on the speakers, and all manner of outdoor furniture, fountains, and decorations. Not the typical outdoor fare, but objects more of the artistic and eclectic nature. They even had the biggest wind chimes that I had ever seen. They stood at least 8 to 10 feet high!
Later on, we went driving around town, trying to find a nice night spot. There were a few bars, but their peak nights were far different from Orlando. And, for the most part, most of the young folk took to driving down to West Palm Beach for their partying and clubbing.
Nevertheless, we found a really nice club, best described as a blend between the AKA Lounge, the late Ybors Martini Bar, and Knock Knock (in its current incarnation, sans the gritty black walls, house music, Uzi brandishing angels, the leather clad woman on the swing, and black & white snuff films). They even had a big screen TV, which was pretty cool. Dancing and sipping on drinks ensued, as well as people watching. Shelly said that she met Samuel L. Jackson there a while back.
All in all a good day, just to be away from the stresses that tore at me in Orlando. I’d have to return home soon, but hanging out with my new friend Shelly helped out a lot. Jensen Beach was totally chilled out. Probably repeated over and over again, but that’s what it was. I silently wished home would be the same way, but sometimes there wasn’t escaping reality. At least not permanently. Surely I’d be making my return to this part of Florida, and with all due haste. Places like that were being sucked up by the insidious crush of urban sprawl, and this was as nice an oasis as any.
Next: The journey home, as the Classic Weekend’s festivities begin in earnest! Super Jenn in the most expected of places, at a most unexpected time! And the return of an old friend thought long gone, but who could it be? Plus, why I hate dodging bullets.