Bugs & Buzzards

May 8, 2013
I left Ralph's about 10:30, an hour later than intended due to the jigsaw puzzle I had to put together called "packing". Unlike car travelers who can toss luggage into a trunk like loading a tuna boat, motorcycle travel requires every nook and cranny be filled with the same items as before. A real memory test .... and my score keeps dropping.

I have programed the Garmin to avoid Interstates and I enter a day's destination in segments so as to access the general vicinity of the less traveled routes I prefer. If left to its own, the Garmin would send me to the Interstate every time. Today's first segment was the unheard of town called Avon Park on Highway 27, which lined me up with Highway 29 that would take me straight down to Everglades City, today's ending point.

As was my hope, today's ride was clear, dry and wind free. Little on the warm side but that's okay. What bugged me though were the bugs. That's their job and they do it very well. So well in fact that I had to stop at a service station just to wash the windshield. Didn't need fuel. A stranger at the station, apparently seeing my license plate and figuring me correctly for a foreigner, told me it was "bug time" in Florida and I could expect more of the same anytime I'm near cow pastures because these "love bugs" hatch in the manure. I hadn't seen a cow all day, maybe because of my bug covered windshield.

What I did see a lot of is Orange groves, an unusual sight for an Oregonian. It reminded me of when Sherry saw her first tree-hanging orange in California and how she marveled at the sight. She was even more amazed when she saw avocados hanging from a tree. Knowing the price in stores, she figured every avocado was hooked up to an alarm system. I stopped and took a few pictures of the oranges, much to the eye-rolling amusement of the locals I'm sure.

And what I didn't see was a bear or a panther, both of which were silhouetted on road signs indicating their road-crossing propensity on Highway 29.

Everglades City isn't the bustling tourist town I expected to see. In fact it's rather serene.  I would later learn this is due to a mass exodus of snowbirds before "tax day" in April, reducing the town's population by more than half.

The tourist trade is still viable enough to result in a no vacancy sign hanging outside what looked like the only motel in town. I inquired within as to the availability of anything else. Only a "hotel" at the end of the street and a couple of B&B's, said the motel manager.

The hotel ("The Captain's Table) had vacancy. It's an old hotel with modern day pricing, conveniently next door to the Seafood Depot Restaurant where buzzards roost on the roof. Doesn't say much for their food. I'm just sayin' (as they say). Nevertheless, I was hungry enough to wrestle a buzzard for whatever was inside.

The "all you can eat shrimp & salad" was on special and highly recommended by a customer at the next table, John, a Bible instructor from Fort Lauderdale who's father, a West Point Colonel, was in a German prison camp during WWII (he died last August at age 91) and his brother is a West Point graduate and so is his son who is an Army captain on his way to Afghanistan. I know all that because he told me. And he told me much more, so much more that I nearly lost my chance for seconds at the all you can eat salad bar. John also had his own electronic business and built stuff for Motorola radios. Just thought I'd mention it. It was peaceful when John left and I was able to enjoy my last bites of dinner on the outside deck overlooking the slack water of "the glades." 

As twilight neared I took an evening stroll around the quiet town, camera in hand. Also in hand was my tripod, a necessity in the fading light. Airboats parked at the curb caught my attention. Maybe I'll sign up for a ride tomorrow. The boats are a short walk from the hotel.




Passing Through Orange Groves On Hwy 27

Oranges Are What Florida Is All About



Serious Bugging

Bug Lite



Everglades City's Depot Restaurant



A Dumpster Below Attracts Buzzards
Who Perched Here Both Evenings I was There



Buzzards On Broadway

 Restaurant Deck & Outside Bar
 

 
Beer Guzzler On Deck

1 Hour Airboat Tours Available For $39.95

The Lineup

Captain Doug Is One Of
Several Islanders Offeing Airboat Rides



Tranquility





Sundown In Everglades City, Florida



I'm In Room 203, Second Big Window From Left

City Hall

Backside Of The Captain's Table Hotel

 

213 Miles