swamps and suburbs picture post

[amw]

I have decided to split my last set of Florida pictures into a west coast section and a Miami/Keys section. You're going to have to cast your minds back 3 weeks for this stuff. The first pictures are from the last little bit of the panhandle, after i turned inland from Carrabelle, and the last pictures are from the Everglades, just before i got

Comments

[hobbits_friend]

I think I would hate Florida. And the gated community looks creepy. But I love reading your stories about it.

[amw]

There is a lot to hate about Florida. But, also, if you like warm weather and traditionally beautiful holiday scenery (like beaches and palm trees), then there is also a lot to like. I think it's the kind of place where you really need to pick exactly where you want to go and go there. It's not the greatest place to travel through, since you can also pass by a huge amount of stuff that turns you off.

[browncouch]

I don't really like Florida, but these photos bring up nostalgia. Looking forward to seeing the beach.

[amw]

I was wondering if i was inadvertently shitting on places where some of my friends (or their families) lived! Which side of Florida did you live on?

I hope to post the rest of the set this afternoon/evening after i find a way to donate my bike. Worst case i'll get a storage unit for a month and drop it there, then i have time to figure out how to either pass it on to someone else, or just leave it there for if/when i am back in Miami.

[browncouch]

I lived in Palm Beach County, on the east coast, and my sister lives in Naples.

[jenndolari]

"A bit later on i found a guy with a towable smoker attached to the back of his pickup truck, just cooking up meat on the side of the road."

One of Austin's better BBQ places got their start like this. Sam's BBQ began as "No Teef BBQ" where "You don't need teeth to eat my meat." (He and his son? No teeth) But it started exactly like that. Just him, a smoker, sitting on the side of the MLK Drive in the 50s cooking up BBQ.

[amw]

I really wish there was more roadside vendors in America. I think it creates a nice feeling, you are more connected with the person making the food, and you get the sense you are supporting a local business. Food trucks are a bit like that, but they tend to be more aimed at hipster/foodie audience and the cost is out of reach for the common man.

The guy i got BBQ from wasn't even on a big main road in a city. He was just at a T junction in the middle of the swamp, where one of the roads from Tallahassee down to the weekend fishing areas headed into one wildlife preserve or the other. I'm amazed he could get enough business, but i suppose for people going out fishing or hunting there's nowhere else to get food along the way, so why not?

[opakele]

Swampy as fuck says it. It is not my thing at all, but standing and listening would be cool. I would want solid transportation available to get me the hell out of there.

Very cool.

[coercedbynutmeg]

I've lived in military housing that wasn't as hard to get into as that shit. I bet they complain when their Prime order takes more than 2 days to show up, too.