Exploring Plant City - Part two

Once upon a time I worked on Saturday's but with the change of scenery comes certain perks.  Like weekends off, working day light and better pay.  Honestly Sue and I have been under each others toes for the past month or so.  I've spent the greater part of the month in classes and unsure of what my future held.

I have been doing longer rides as of late but when this Saturday rolled along we decided to spend it together and just do something different.  A food truck rally was discussed.  Going to a Rowdies game was discussed, but in the end we decided to check out a local train museum   Where as the panhandle and eastern seaboard of Florida were always well populated, the center and west coast owes a great debt to the railroads.  Frankly, without the rails, most of Florida would still be cattle land and swamps.

The Robert W. Willaford Railroad Museum is open to the public at no cost and sits in the historic downtown area of Plant City.  In all honestly it's small, but packed with train and railroad memorabilia, mostly from one private collector.    What is truly amazing to me is that nearly all of the equipment and other memorabilia, was at one time actually used on the railroads.  In other words, the caboose was not a replica, but one of only 7 left in the country and here I was climbing around in like a little boy with a big smile on my face.

I've often wondered what the caboose was like in side, and it contained everything that you would need for a comfortable trip, desks, beds, bathroom, a stove and sink.  Even a simple refrigerator.  A RV on rails.

Speaking of being on rails.  I've no idea if Honda actually made this or if it was somehow converted to a particular task.

Sue collects old cases and luggage, so her eyes lit up

The detail on some of the artwork was amazing.  Notice the watch and ring for example.

Sue and I had decided to drive up instead of taking the bike and I'm glad we did.  Summer in Florida tends to be sunny, hot and humid.  After looking over a bit more of the museum we decided to cross the street to visit the Whistle Stop Cafe, famed for their 5 cent cherry smash (or cherry syrup in seltzer).  It was surprisingly light and refreshing and the rest of the meal was just delightful.  Homemade soup and bread which left us licking the bowls and wanting more.  

The roof is meant to look distressed.

Every where Sue and I turned there seemed to be some interesting piece of history (and readers of this blog know I love my history) or unusual find.   A brief ride up the road and we found the Shiloh Cemetery, originally established in 1810 but part of the city since 1884.   Some of the stones appeared to be in disrepair but  the city seems to be reclaiming part of the cemetery and saving some of the history.  

This being Florida we were not surprised to see cows grazing not far from the tombstones.  All in all it was a good day to be out and about.  Now...about those food trucks.  "Honey?  You hungry yet?"

Slowing it down.

Generally speaking I don't care for group rides.  I like to pull over and do some sightseeing.  I like to stop and read the history placards on the side of the road.  I know that I have to ride at my own pace and my own way, and frankly I don't like having to worry about other riders.  

When I was in the Bahama's I had to worry about Sue and her family getting lost (which they did).  When I rode to Sleepy Hollow, one of the group went down on an easy turn.  When I ride by myself, I'm responsible for only one person.  Selfish of me?  Perhaps.  

However on Thursday the 4th I came across a post in one of the Facebook groups I follow that stated a group was leaving Lakeland and traveling to nearby Plant City to pick up a few other scooterists (it ended up just being me).  From there they be riding down to Stefano's - a Greek Italian restaurant outside of Tampa for lunch.  How could I turn that down?

So I made the connections, packed up about 5 bottles of cold water and made sure I had air in the tires and a full tank of gas.  The day was going to be a hot one, 88 F (31 C) with a 40% chance of rain, and humid.  I did not want to even think about the humidity, but it's a chance for an adventure and I can't turn that down.  Even though I did think about it.


Off I went to meet the group.  First I met Rob and his wife, who were on a late 1980's model Vespa complete with sidecar.  He did tell me that exact year and model but frankly I don't remember.  I got to admit I enjoyed watching the looks from other bikers as we cruised along at about 45 MPH (72 KMH) through Plant City.   One guy spent some time adjusting his mirrors as they pulled in behind him.  I could see the smile on his face.

OPA!

I had never eaten at Stefano's but the food was excellent and copious, I will be back.  If for nothing other than the flaming goat cheese and brandy appetizer.

The other scooterists joined us there and we discussed books, scooters, TV and jobs.  I actually met the owner of the infamous Barbie scooter.  It seems at one time he was a deputy sheriff who used to ride his Stella into work all the time.  Someone placed a Barbie on his bike as a joke.  Another day, another Barbie.  After awhile he figured he might as well attach them.  Eventually it became the bike it is today.  Although one story he told me brought a tear to my eye.  It seems that after two years or so of collection his sheriff asked him to ride a ten year old girl that was suffering from a brain tumor to a bikers rally in her honor.  I'm sure her smile was ear to ear.

He gives out Barbies to little girls that approach him and his bike went through the drive through at a Las Vegas drive-thur chapel when he renewed his vows to his wife as a complete surprise..  I liked him immediately.

No, he didn't ride the Barbie scooter today but a yellow GTI decorated in its own right.

The Mystery of the Barbie scooter resolved!

After lunch one of the ladies lead us through a slow ride through the surrounding neighborhoods.  It was nice to wonder through one of the more nicer parts of Tampa at a lower speed.  I got to see people smiling and waving.  Taking a moment to watch the scooters pass and hear the barking of little dogs trying to scare big machines away.

I'm not a speed demon by any means, but serving as tailgunner on the ride through the neighborhood I found myself enjoying the slower pace set by the smaller scooters.  Even though it was the hottest part of the day, I was cool.  Moving just fast enough to keep the air moving but slow enough to keep it cool.

I hope to ride with this group again.   They even invited Sue along.  So you know, I just might learn to like group riding.  I've not enjoyed the company of strangers like this for some time.  Total ride = just shy of 78 miles (125.5 KM).

**More pics to follow**

And here they are:

I think I found a new cover photo.  

Who is that masked man?

A half chicken in a lemon-garlic sauce with lentil soup!  Oh Yum!

18 months and exploring Plant City

I received an email the other night from the dealership I bought Kimmie off of, according to the email I owned her for 18 months now.  I actually had to go back and do the math, using all my fingers and part of my toes during the process.

In some ways it feels longer than that.  In other ways, shorter.  I started this blog on August 22,2011.  I recently upgraded from a little Yamaha Zuma 125 to a Suzuki Burgman 400.  I made my first post about Kimmie way back on February 2, 2013.

In just under four years I've managed to go down twice, hurting myself pretty badly on the second one.  Travel countless miles, see lots of things that I would have never of seen otherwise, met new and interesting people.  I even got to take a brief cruise to the Bahama's and ride in a foreign country.  All of this opportunity may have been open to me in a car...but you actually need to go.

On the bike...I didn't want to stop for the longest time.  Then it took me a long time to get back on the beast, to put away demons and just fall in love all over again with the idea of riding.

So with that in mind I decided to take a Saturday morning and ride up to Plant City.  This little burg is sort of a Tardis...it's bigger on the inside.  It has a reputation of being a bit backward and agricultural, despite being in the same county as Tampa.  Frankly, it is.  The area surrounding the town is largely flat and the roads straight.  Farmland stretches for miles.

It's been called the Strawberry Capital of the World, a distinction shared by many cities, for a reason and is home to the Florida Strawberry Festival.  The town even has a dedicated fairground just for that event.  The strawberry's are wonderful and the festival is a lot of fun, although it involves mostly country musical acts and traditional country crafts like quilting displays.

The downtown area is like any small city in America, the population is over 34 thousand after all.  What interests me about a place is the odd, the unusual...what gives the place its soul?

To be honest other than strawberries, I'm not sure what gives this town it's soul.  It has a few beautiful homes in the historic district, a train depot and museum and....what?  .

Certainly not Dinosaur World!  I suppose if I was 5 or 6 years old this would be a neat place to be with life size statues of long dead fantastic creatures.    It sits just off the I-4 highway and you can't miss it's big mascot sitting at the gates.


There is also a small winery in town which doubles as a craft brewery.  I've not had the beer but I've tried the wine before.  Frankly I was not impressed but was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, and I've always been a hard cider fan as well.  I stopped at their tasting room, only to find it closed.  Considering I was riding on the bike, it was probably for the best.  Perhaps when I'm up this way next.

I just might pass that Franchise opportunity to a friend of mine that sells Chocolates.

All told, it was a good day out, a nice satisfying 75 miles (120.7 KM) where I was not rushing to work or had a particular destination in mind.  I'll take it.

There's a ghost in the glass!