A Postcard From the "PEARL"

I checked my mail the other day and found a postcard from my old pal, the teardrop trailer PEARL sorta...The day I sold it the slightly overweight woman seemed nice enough and I told her she could use the tag to get home and either send it back or trash it,(I never thought she would really use it) of course, no good deed goes unpunished, the Florida turnpike has cameras that take pictures of toll runners and I have recieved two toll violations so far with pictures my trailer and old tag on them from cypress creek to Kissimee St. Cloud! Good luck PEARL...

A teardrop for the Teardrop......

My Teardrop Trailer is sold, thanks for all your inquiries. I sold it to a woman that plans to take the "Pearl" cross-country and find as many free and SAFE camping spots as she does so. She told me about a site called "Boonedocking.com" that lists several good spots, that inspired me to google a few more "Cheap camping" is another blog I found...in the meanwhile, the proceeds from the sale of the Pearl went into building my foundation for my A-frame in the NC mountains, so, in a way, the Pearl will always be with me, and as for her new owner, happy trails! May your travels be happy and I hope you enjoy sailing the highways and byways with her as much as I did! ( Dont worry! I am already looking at more cool camping tiny trailers)

Turtles

I had a great idea one night, after a few LARGE glasses of wine, I remembered a Gopher turtle, (yes, they are actually TORTISES) I had seen that evening cross a busy road among one of Ft. Lauderdales' busiest, and most deadly, roads barely escape the crushing tires of millions of cars on a local highway, as I wrote at length about the correlation between the narrow escape of the turtle, the slow plodding stuggle in life that mirrored my own, the pleasure of laying neck deep in mud...I realized I was drunk, and making no friggin sense at all, and I DELETED the whole thing except the title, now, I am SO GLAD I did! (Note to self the "No drink and dial" rule applies to BLOGGING too)

Another victim goes down in flames

I was surprised and saddened to learn the little store near my place in NC has closed its doors for the last time, "Todd's Country Store" in Buffalo Cove, NC is no more, its history is rich and long, lasting through the depression, and sickness, and even passing into the hand of new owners only to have the global economic meltdown drive the last nail into its coffin. A wonderfully sweet woman who was the daughter of the original owners Mary Todd, and her husband Herb used to run a tiny little post office there, the locals sat around the store all years in all weather, inside in the winter near the pot belly stove, all eyes on you as you walked through the door, it scared off alot of folks that didnt know how harmless these folks were, but they enjoys the nervous looks of the strangers as they crept past them, only to be greeted by Mary and Herb and all the tension evaporated. The same locals will be sorely missing the credit that was run up during many a short paycheck, and free coffee doled out by the gallon! I will miss that place, not near as much as the crowd that passed the day there day after day, but it leave a huge sucking sound in the end, and will never be recreated, I sure hope someone will try though...

Teardrop Trailer for Sale

OK, this is hard to part with, but for the greater good, I'm selling my Tiny Teardrop Trailer, the "Pearl" has got all you need on short or long trips, A/C unit built in, 110v hook up, lamps and a 13" television with a digital converter, shelving and storage from Ikea, and lots of stories yet to be told! All yours for $1500.00 and you come get it in Ft. Lauderdale of course. All proceeds to go to my A-Frame project in the mountains, a WORTHY cause! Email me at Caribe704@aol.com if interested.

Coming SOON!

I have been ruminating for some time about some way to subsidize my A-Frame Building Fund, its been tough going, and I am ready to kick it up a notch, and get er' DONE! SO, I am almost ready to put it out there, nothing huge, but, maybe, just maybe, a way to sell something cool that everyone might need, or want to buy a friend, or a LOT of Friends! coming SOON! Watch this space...

The A-Frame Foundation Passes inspection 8/21/2009

A small event occurred yesterday in the mountains of North Carolina, although to me, it was a momentous milestone of preponderous porportions! The Basement walls (see picture) of my a-frame passed inspection, they are now completely built to the top, with bond beams (extra rebar reinforcement) installed and even my septic line passed, a bonus that was bestowed by a smiling inspector! (Its best, I have found, to KEEP these guys smiling, as they are the final approval that the entire structure lives or dies by) I now have depleted my bank account for this month, if I am to pay all my bills. So, I will replenish the money supply with future paychecks and continue the construction next month. I have a guy Mike working for me that has been a huge help since I am 800 miles away, he is able to meet inspectors and find local materials and thats been one of the hardest parts of building this Home, besides the money...I am determined to find ways to make it happen, its becomiing more of a monument that just a house, a monument to prove I can do it! That no matter what a man's, (or woman) limitations, they can achieve bigger, better things! And besides, its gonna be nice to sit on that new deck someday, in the near future, and watch the sun come up, on my new deck, with a hot cup of coffee in hand, maybe even with a little shot of rum in there, and say, "I did it"!!!