Monday, August 6, 2007

Whew, hot stuff

Yikes, it is so hot and humid right now! Sounds like it's supposed to be this way all week, too. A good time to be in the basement on the computer. (We don't have central air, but we do have a room A/C for the living room, and a window A/C for the bedroom. The bedroom one will be on tonight, no doubt about it.)

I'm envious of Cousin Shane. He just got back from a quick trip to Asheville, NC, where he saw the fabulous B-52's play at Biltmore Mansion. How awesome is that? I didn't even know they did concerts there, but Chris Isaak is going to be there next week. I can't wait to hear his report and review! He sent me a YouTube video of the song they opened with, "Mesopotamia," which is one I love. Like Fred says, "Before I talk, I should read a book." Words of wisdom from the B's!

One of the funnest shows I've seen has been The B-52's. I've seen 'em a few times, actually (Three? I think so), but one time Shane and I saw them at what was then Deer Creek just outside of Indianapolis. I think now it's Verizon Center, or something like that. (Personally, I think "Deer Creek" sounds much nicer, but this is the age of corporate sponsorship.) It's an outdoor arena, a great place to see a show. It was the Love Shack tour, and they were in fine form. Shane and I were dancing and singing, and actually got in trouble because we were dancing in the aisles. We stepped back to our seats, then managed to sneak back into the aisle a couple of times. Hey, sometimes you just gotta dance this mess around, right? Right!

Update

More pictures added. I realized I didn't have any from Florida on there, so I added those. There are quite a few pictures of the Alba Court Inn, and I believe I should explain. We've seen this place every time we've been to New Smyrna Beach, and it's always fascinated me. I have this fascination (okay, some might call it an obsession, but potato, potahto) with old motels anyway, and this one always looked spooky and intriguing. I'm quite certain it's haunted. How can it look all spooky and junk and NOT be haunted? I rest my case. Anyhoo, we had time to stop and take a look at it this time. We walked all around it, peeked in the windows, took lots of neat pictures. I love the ones of the stairway. It looks like it might have been a pretty nice place in its heyday, but it's a dump now--in fact, it's been condemned. If I recall correctly, when we first started going down there, it was for sale, but it's obviously deteriorated since then. In some ways, I would love to get inside it, but in other ways, I'm sure it's not structurally safe. (I don't weigh a lot, though...I could probably get away with it! Nah....)

Most people look at something like that and see a moldy pile of junk. Sure, it's beyond fixing up, it would be foolish to even try. But I see places like that and I think of all the stories it's witnessed. I'm sure some were good, I'm sure some were sordid. Perhaps some were...deadly. Bwah-hah-hah-hah! Honestly, though, I love places with a history. I see old hotels and motels and think about what happened there throughout the years. That's one reason I have such a fascination (Again, some might say obsession. Tomato, tomahto.) with Route 66. Talk about some great stories! There are way too few roadtrips these days, and some of my fondest memories as a kid were taking roadtrips to Minnesota or Florida. Old motels remind me of that. How many people now have heard of Magic Fingers? I remember that! And I remember when it was a big deal to advertise "Color TV" on your sign, which was probably loaded with neon, a beacon to the weary traveler. <sigh> They don't make 'em like that anymore, but some places have been maintained or renovated. A Route 66 roadtrip is in the works, so I'll let you know!

Whoops, didn't mean to get going on that!

I saw our wild turkeys tonight. We've seen the adults every year, but we don't often see the young ones. They've been making an appearance in our yard quite a bit this year, and I'm so pleased to see them. I'd say there are a good twenty or so young ones, so the wild turkey population is doing well at Nutwood! I got a picture the other day. They're so cute!


Ohhhh...look what I just found:

NEW SMYRNA BEACH - December 6th: Plans for a new building on the location of the Alba Court Inn got the go-ahead Monday, along with a city-initiated compatibility ordinance aimed at making certain new development fits with surrounding neighborhoods. The inn has a demolition permit, but there's no set date to raze the structure.

A two-story building, with 14 residential units and 3,744 square feet of retail space, is planned. It will be built on less than an acre at 115 Washington St. presently occupied by the 100-year-old inn. Plans for the new building employ features of the old inn and fit into the surrounding historic district.

Developers have to meet a number of conditions set by the city's Historic Preservation Commission, such as fumigating the old inn, recording its history and doing an archaeological study.

It's 100 years old! Wow. Thank goodness they're recognizing that it's a historic property, and taking appropriate steps.

 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Luvrte66
Hello my name is Bianca and I am an artist who has picked up some of those
windows out of that old inn, Alba court Inn.
I need information on the old Inn to put with the windows.  I was hoping that you could help me with the history of the Inn.

You can write me at evrytingzbotyfool@yahoo.com