I saw this on this in Hampton Terrace during this morning’s 10K bike ride.
I think I’ll close this post with something you might not have seen: A scene from Jim Jarmusch’s Coffee and Cigarettes that puts together Wu-Tang’s GZA, RZA, and Bill Murray at the same booth in a café:
It’s Thanksgiving weekend in Canada, where the holiday is celebrated on the second Monday in October. As a Canadian transplant, a generally grateful person, and one who never turns down a good holiday, I celebrate both Thanksgivings.
One thing I’m grateful for is being able to live on a corner lot on a lush tree-lined street in a delightfully quirky neighborhood in a sub-tropical paradise.
Here are some photos I took earlier in our front yard this morning, as the rain gave way to a sunshine break, just in time for my daily 10K bike ride.
There’s one bag left at the Seminole Heights Publix clearance counter.
[ Don’t get the title? It’s a Friends reference, and yes, there’s a Wikipedia entry for Smelly Cat. ]
…a well-placed wood screw. Thankfully, it happened only a mile away from home. Looks like I’ll be dropping by Two Broke Spokes for a new tube and tire.
For the past few months, the Florida Avenue building that housed King of the Coop and what used to be Florida Avenue Eats has been undergoing renovations. The end result is getting close: a side-by-side corner of deliciousness featuring King of the Coop’s Nashville hot chicken and new entrant Wicked Oak Barbeque’s pulled pork, pulled chicken, loaded mac and cheese and BBQ nachos.
They have a phenomenal mango barbecue sauce that works so well with their pulled pork…
…and their loaded mac and cheese is something else:
This locations puts King of the Coop and Wicked Oak a very short stumble away from Revolution Ice Cream and 82° West Distilling for drinks afterwards. I foresee some nice nights out — once we get COVID-19 under control. In the meantime, I know where I’ll be getting some take-out soon!
(For more info, see this article in Creative Loafing — Wicked Oak Barbecue opening new location in Seminole Heights — and follow Wicked Oak on their Facebook page.)
I’ve managed to not put on the “Quarantine Fifteen” by doing a 10K bike ride at least five days a week since March. In fact, I’ve lost a little weight over the past couple of months. I’m fortunate to be in a fantastic neighborhood for cycling — lots of tree-lined streets with interesting houses to look at, the Hillsborough River cutting an inverted “U” through the area, and parks all over the place.
The 2020 Saharan dust cloud has also made the weather a little drier than usual. Normally, during this time of year, we get either hurricanes, or the typical tropical “rainy season” weather where the day starts sunny, followed by a torrential rainstorm in the early afternoon, followed by sun. More than our fair share of days has been mostly sunny. It’s made for some pretty good cycling.
These photos are from a place I’ve written about before: Lake Roberta. I took them from its east side, looking west.
I think it’s a bad idea to ride with headphones on, but I sometimes like listening to podcasts while I bike. So I do the next best thing: I pop my phone in my backpack’s “iPod pouch” and just play it through the phone’s speaker.
I’m currently listening to Over the Road, a podcast where host “Long Haul Paul” Marhoefer, a trucker who’s also a musician and a great storyteller, tells the stories of his fellow long haul truckers, highlighting their experiences and explaining how they’re coping in a world that’s changing as a result of new technologies, new regulations, and changes in the way people live.
On Monday night, someone decided to help themselves to the bike rack outside Whatever Pops and Bowls, the gourmet popsicle/gelato/acai bowl/coffee place on Florida, just a couple of blocks south of Hillsborough. In the process, they smashed one of their storefront windows.
Things are already tough for businesses during the pandemic, and the last thing Whatever Pops needs is an unexpected expense like this. Let’s all show them a little love, give them a little business, and pick up a popsicle, gelato, bowl, or coffee sometime this week.
In case you need a little tempting, here’s a list of their popular flavors:
In case you were curious, my favorite is the Salty Chocolate Elvis, which is also the name of my next band.