Skip to main content

Strawberry Fields Forever

'Ahhhhh.....Florida"
Winter in Florida is perfect regardless of how you enjoy it; this year has been exceptionally mild and the thermometer hit upper 80's today! Bessie and I love our rides through the orange groves and strawberry fields of Central Florida; today was no exception. The fragrance from the orange trees and strawberry plants is intoxicating; the back roads through the groves and fields are narrow and you are surrounded by the smell! I travel real slow, stopping frequently on the almost-deserted roads (except for the workers picking the fruit on certain days) and just sit there, Bessie idling, and me inhaling deeply....ahhhhhhhhh. After a couple hours of back roads and fruit smells, I decided it was time for lunch, and I headed back to Polk County. Since Sunday is my 'cheat day,' on my new food plan, I decide a burger and fries are in order - ok, ok, I didn't stop for strawberry shortcake even though I wanted to - so a little burger won't hurt! I'm sitting outside enjoying the burger and the sunshine when a women approaches me and says, 'is that Bloomington Indiana on your back?' And I'm thinking...what!? Then I realize she is talking about my T-shirt, Harley Davidson of course, and it is from the Bloomington Harley shop where I visited last summer. 'Yes, it is." "Oh , we are from Indiana and I was just curious." As it turns out, she is from MARION Indiana, my hometown! She and her husband are in Lakeland visiting friends who are also from Marion. They are all retired TEACHERS. We chatted about the old hometown - they are Breedloves and Coopers - and friends/acquaintances we have in common. The women taught at Kindle (sp?) Elementary, the two men taught at Eastbrook High School (and yes, they knew the Sroufe family!). They were MHS grads from 1963, so a little older than me. We had a nice chat.......its truly a small world and if you don't believe that, travel somewhere. I inevitably run into someone who knows someone who knows someone!
Location: Polk, FL, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I Knew Better

July 3, 2013 Typical Pennsylvania Road I always hate saying ‘Goodbye’ to my Dad. He won’t travel since Mom passed several years ago, which means I don’t see him except in the summer when I travel North - or every few years during the Holidays.  I’ve learned many things from my Dad; some of the lessons came hard, some of the lessons were difficult, and unfortunately, most of the lessons were learned much later in life. Had I paid attention the first time, my journey would not have been as rough, and my ability to grasp the many opportunities presented to me would have been easier. As my Dad and I both age, we get a long better, and our relationship had deepened after my Mom passed...for this I am grateful. I left Indiana early this morning - taking 35S  - the fields were shrouded in a chilly mist as the sun cast a pinkish glow to the East. I was filled with anticipation that I was going to see Frank Lloyd Wright’s ‘Falling Water’ home south of Pittsburgh.  Wh...
1 comment
Read more

Plan? What Plan?

"Embrace uncertainty. Some of the most beautiful chapters in our lives won't have titles until much later." In the last few months I've been asked from several readers and followers, 'How do you plan your trips?' I also see the question asked numerous times (like over and over and over and over...) on the various biker-related groups on social media.  Penny Tours I confess: I'm not much of a planner! I ride in the spirit of the intrepid Bessie Stringfield, a pioneer of the sport of motorcycling who in 1930 became the first black woman to ride solo across the U.S.. Bessie was notorious for her 'Penny Tours.' She would toss a penny in the air and wherever it landed on her map of the U.S.....that is the direction she would travel. And yes; I've done the Penny Tour many times. Just a few weeks ago in Indiana; I had a 'free' day between events and tossed the penny on the map of Indiana. It landed in the northern part of the state near the ...
2 comments
Read more

Spirit Animal

“We carry the lives we've imagined as we carry the lives we have, and sometimes a reckoning comes of all the lives we have lost.” ―  Helen Macdonald,  H is for Hawk My spirit animal made its appearance yesterday. Yes. I have a spirit animal - it is the hawk. The hawk makes its (I refer to the hawk as 'it' because I have no idea if it is male or female, I like to think it is gender neutral) appearance shortly after a loved one has died. My dear friend Charmian passed away last Thursday. No, I don't believe the hawk is the loved one. Thats not exactly how spirit animals work. If you read my book 'Riding Soulo' you know I devoted a chapter to Spirit Animal. My friend Butch had just died in a motorcycle accident - I was devastated of course. I was traveling on Bessie and planned to embark on the Circle Tour of Lake Superior after visiting family. The appearance of the hawk on a desolate county road at dawn surrounded by cornfields was powerful medicine for a grievin...
Post a Comment
Read more