The Flamingo Bar

When Jack Kerouac lived in St. Petersburg at the end of his life, his primary watering hole was the Flamingo Bar.

Jack, who died in 1969, might be surprised now to find that this dive bar still treasures the attention he spent here and honors him with pictures and souvenirs on the walls. Next time I'm back in St. Petersburg, I need to get here when they open - someone is always already sitting in the "Kerouac chair" where they Jack always sat.

I feel Jack's presence in the place, and it just might be that his spirit helped me out with the spurt of energy that broke my writer's lethargy just before leaving for Naples. (I didn't really have "writer's block", I was just lazy)

Clams

They went thataway.

Peace Sign Sculpture

On display at the Mercato shopping center in Naples.

The Frankland Bridge

A few months ago I had car trouble right in the middle of the Howard Frankland Bridge esstbound to Tampa. And so it was that I obtained a view few have ever seen from my vantage point, standing precariously at the edge of the tall bridge with only the tiniest of shoulders to pull off into. I bet there's some amazing snook fishing to be had here, casting a line down alongside the bridge's pillars...

Naples Island

So, there's this island I cross over every day to get into downtown Naples, and wondering what it was called, I consulted the maps online. I found nothing.

As you may know, I cannot abide unnamed islands.

But as luck would have it, by searching for information on the condos located there, I find that their websites state they're "situated on Naples Island just a few blocks from downtown Olde Naples". So there you have it.

Whew. I can relax now.

Truly-Nolen 1955 Packard

The Truly-Nolen pest company, better known for their mousemobiles, also has this lovely restored classic 1955 Packard in their auto arsenal, seen parked on the streets of Naples.

T-Bone

Sighted at the Tin City complex: a coin-operated mechanical bull what go by name of "T-Bone".