SeaCat
Hey, my Halo is smoking
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2003
- Posts
- 15,378
This morning the wife and I decided to take a ride. First we had to get a gift certificate from my mothers favorite store. Unfortunately for us this store is roughly twenty miles south of us. We headed down there and did what we needed to do. (I hate riding south on I-95 here, it’s all construction and usually crowded as hell. Today was no different.)
When the certificate was safely in my wife’s purse and stowed in the cargo box we topped off the tank and headed west. Our plan was to ride to the shore of Lake “O” and head north for a bit before heading back for home. Lake “O” is large enough you can easily do this. Hell it’s one of the few lakes in the United States that is easily visible from space. (One day I want to ride all the way around the lake, that should be an interesting albeit long ride.)
Well we hit the shore of the lake without problems. The bike is running nicely and the weather is absolutely perfect. Most of our ride was through marshy or wooded areas. Not too many people out there. When we find the road running along the shore we bank right and start heading north. I know up ahead is a largish town where we can top off the tank again and maybe get a snack. Before too long we start hitting light traffic, beat up older trucks and cars. They look at us as we roll by, not a smile or a wave to be seen. When we reach the town I’m not overly happy with it. I’m certainly not impressed but I’m also not surprised.
This town started out as a Cane Town. Almost everyone in it had a job with the Sugar Companies or the Sugar Cane Farms. Slowly the town changed, it was transformed by the immigrants coming in. Now the nickname for it is Little Haiti. It is not a nice looking town, it seems run down and even the newer buildings look worn and near ruin. Yards look like dustbowls. It is the rare house indeed that looks nice. Hell the Sheriffs Department runs only two man patrols through the area at night.
I wasn’t too concerned even though my wife was a bit uncomfortable. We pulled into a gas station and filled the tank before heading right back out. The entire time we were there people just stood and stared. (We didn’t even get off the bike, we just used the card, filled and git.) Twenty miles north we find a fish camp and pull in for a stretch and a bite to eat. Now this was old Florida. A small store over the water with a couple of tables out back on the dock. Pan fried fish and cold sweet tea. It doesn’t get much better. We spent some time there talking with the owners and just watching the water. Finally though it was time to head out again.
A bit north and the shore is meandering further west when we find our road back home. Banking right onto this road I roll on the throttle and let the bike have it’s head. Traffic is non existent and the sun is shining down on us. The road has some long sweeping turns as we head East towards the coast. Once more we are running through scrublands and are allowed to see Mother Nature at her finest. Herons and Egrets. Once we spotted a couple of Deer off in the distance. Hell we even saw some Gator’s and once an Armadillo trundling his armored tail across the road. Overhead were Hawks and the ever present Buzzards watching and waiting patiently for something to eat.
It was only as we approached the coast that we started seeing and hearing civilization again. The traffic started picking up and the lands became cleared. At first it was farms and ranches then the condos and strip malls. Now we started dealing with the idiots on the roads, the Q-Tips and the Road Warriors. At traffic lights I was deafened by music blasting out of what I call Boom Box Cars. Once more we were hearing the cities lullaby of horns and sirens. Arriving home we parked the bike and climbed off with smiles on our faces. This ride was the reason we ride and we can’t wait to do it again.
Cat
When the certificate was safely in my wife’s purse and stowed in the cargo box we topped off the tank and headed west. Our plan was to ride to the shore of Lake “O” and head north for a bit before heading back for home. Lake “O” is large enough you can easily do this. Hell it’s one of the few lakes in the United States that is easily visible from space. (One day I want to ride all the way around the lake, that should be an interesting albeit long ride.)
Well we hit the shore of the lake without problems. The bike is running nicely and the weather is absolutely perfect. Most of our ride was through marshy or wooded areas. Not too many people out there. When we find the road running along the shore we bank right and start heading north. I know up ahead is a largish town where we can top off the tank again and maybe get a snack. Before too long we start hitting light traffic, beat up older trucks and cars. They look at us as we roll by, not a smile or a wave to be seen. When we reach the town I’m not overly happy with it. I’m certainly not impressed but I’m also not surprised.
This town started out as a Cane Town. Almost everyone in it had a job with the Sugar Companies or the Sugar Cane Farms. Slowly the town changed, it was transformed by the immigrants coming in. Now the nickname for it is Little Haiti. It is not a nice looking town, it seems run down and even the newer buildings look worn and near ruin. Yards look like dustbowls. It is the rare house indeed that looks nice. Hell the Sheriffs Department runs only two man patrols through the area at night.
I wasn’t too concerned even though my wife was a bit uncomfortable. We pulled into a gas station and filled the tank before heading right back out. The entire time we were there people just stood and stared. (We didn’t even get off the bike, we just used the card, filled and git.) Twenty miles north we find a fish camp and pull in for a stretch and a bite to eat. Now this was old Florida. A small store over the water with a couple of tables out back on the dock. Pan fried fish and cold sweet tea. It doesn’t get much better. We spent some time there talking with the owners and just watching the water. Finally though it was time to head out again.
A bit north and the shore is meandering further west when we find our road back home. Banking right onto this road I roll on the throttle and let the bike have it’s head. Traffic is non existent and the sun is shining down on us. The road has some long sweeping turns as we head East towards the coast. Once more we are running through scrublands and are allowed to see Mother Nature at her finest. Herons and Egrets. Once we spotted a couple of Deer off in the distance. Hell we even saw some Gator’s and once an Armadillo trundling his armored tail across the road. Overhead were Hawks and the ever present Buzzards watching and waiting patiently for something to eat.
It was only as we approached the coast that we started seeing and hearing civilization again. The traffic started picking up and the lands became cleared. At first it was farms and ranches then the condos and strip malls. Now we started dealing with the idiots on the roads, the Q-Tips and the Road Warriors. At traffic lights I was deafened by music blasting out of what I call Boom Box Cars. Once more we were hearing the cities lullaby of horns and sirens. Arriving home we parked the bike and climbed off with smiles on our faces. This ride was the reason we ride and we can’t wait to do it again.
Cat
