February 29, 2004

"Let the Waltzin' Begin" Driving in to the gravel road to get to the cabins last night was a trip. I didn't see the 2 foot wide Harley bridge beside the pond-like puddle at the end of their road, so I plowed through the foot-deep mud puddle and fishtailed through the gravel to Jeff's cabin. Settled in a bit and walked 40 yards through the woods, and over a near-dry streambed to Rocky's Cabin. There we found Cuz and Sonia and tossed down 6 steaks on the counter and watched as Rocky grilled us up some texas Toast, Ribeye steaks and shot the breeze for an hour, including stories about how he used to wrestle bears for fun. Didn't take long for us to head back and crash for the night though.

This morning I woke up to the sight of Pic #01 - the cabin was made out of colored bottles! Most of the sides were mortared in with hundreds of bottles. Pics #02 and 03 show the design and number of bottles used - not all of which showed through to the inside of course, but made ofr an interesting sight from outside.

Pic #04 was heading back over to Rocky's place - more of the same - thousands of bottles used in various designs and patterns. We came back over with bacon and eggs and OJ, and Rocky once again graced us with his cooking. Pics #06-08 show his style of decorating, complete with a commode at chest level atthe front door. I walked around shaking my head amused for an hour. Rocky and Jeff have been good friends for 25+ years - old fishin buddies.

 
#09 - 12 are outside shots - the commode at the end of the 'rainbow' of bottles were filled with golden colored stones - the proverbial "Sitting on the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow". Told ya this guy needs a serious evaluation. He swears he had plenty of help emptying all these bottles, too...

Pic #15 shows a frisbee golf game we got into - Rocky has set up a lengthy frisbee golf course on his many acres, but this one is rather deep in the woods. While climbing through the thicket to retrieve my errant disc, I got a cell call (WAY poor reception out there) from a guy named Walt who said he was a friend of Fat Robert's - my Editor for Thunder Press who was planning to come from Houston for the Waltz. Said he wanted to know where we were so he could hook up with the ride. Seems this guy rode down from Atlanta to do some drinkin with the Florida boys. Directions given, a Bocci Ball tournament and a few beers later, the guys started rolling in. (I'm told the rest of them KNEW about the Harley Bridge around the mud puddle.)

#16 was, unfortunately, the only pic I took of any of the guys atthe cabin waiting for the ride to start - was of "gator's" bike - great paint job!

From deep in the pack, I took #17 - this is pretty common scenery around these parts... desolate and rural to be sure, but not very scenic - (hey - the mountains of NC are SCENIC!). Still, we managed to get about 18 riders start off the Waltz, with a run to the Skybox Bar and Liquor Store. EVERY bar here is also a liquor store. #18 is Hogie, fresh cigar in hand. #19 is Pothole, Hogie, and Yelodog's back... #19 is Yelodog, also known as Danny, yours truly,and Sally... Dan has an interesting letter about him and Sally (a.k.a. Tankgirl - damned if I know THAT story) you can find it in Dear Muthuh's section of this website - oughta read it.

 
#21 is Bro Jeff after his grueling chase van ride from Rocky's place... remember he has the open cooler. #22 is Keith with Bro Jerry... #23 is Pothole and Blondie - recently hitched (look, they're still smiling!)out on the back patio of Skybox... same with Dan and Sally again - man, ol' Yelowdog looks like the quintessential biker don't he? Not that I expect many of y'all to know what the hell that means...hell took me 10 minutes and spell check to even spell it right. Its gotten to be tradition that first bar stop, drinks is on me. Now - you might think that is awful nobel of me, but hell, for $30-40 I get to be everybodys buddy for the ride, rarely have to pull out any more money for the rest of the ride, and once a year get the pleasure of telling the barmaid, "First rounds' on me" ... in this case, though, the barmaid kept the tab open as folks were bellying up for seconds and strangers were glommin onto the action. Had to politely ask her to tally it up and close the tab.

 
Ya gotta know I suck at remembering names - especially on a Waltz, and these folks in #25 were new to me, so again, I'll try to get their names up soon. Fun folks, though - didn't get much of a chance to talk to 'em long. Thats Rocky and his back seat Margo in #26 and #27 is some of the bikes lined up gettin ready to head out to the next bar.

#28 is our second stop - "Outz, Too" on Hwy 98. You won't find me in this picture as I was busy getting this lil' lady's (#29) boyfriend to take out picture out front of the bar. Some things are just more important than others.

 

There's Danny again in #30 slurping down more oysters. Looks like an impromptu shot don't it? Actually I made him hold that pose for 2 minutes while I tried to get a decent shot... man that shit looks gross as hell. Anpther tradition in #31, look for my dollar bills on the ceiling in many bars throughout the states... always do 'em the same way. I enjoy going back to saloons years later and finding them. Then back to St. Marks - my favorite lil' fishin village on the St. Marks and Wakulla River. This old gas station converted to a tavern is called Dewey's, found right on the corner.

 

Thats Walt and Cindy in #33 - these are the folks that came down to meet up with Fat Robert - who couldn't make it...last we heard he was still on a barstool in Mobile, Alabama. #34 is Hogie - and cigar - I believe he was coming from behind the bar after finding the men's room line too long. OK, I'm gonna stop identifying everybody over and over - figure this out for yourself.... #6 is a popular best seller down here, St. Mark's Wind Chimes... $5.95 for the kit - you supply the beer!

 
Next stop was across the street to Posey's - a popular restaurant bar right on the river. You can grab a beer or a Mullet Dip and cracker dish and lean on the railing watching the boats and birds go by... pretty crowded place but well worth the strenuous 35 step walk across the street to get there from Dewey's. Man, these lil pubs on a Sunday afternoon with good friends is why I ride from North Carolina to visit, ain't that right?

We had to ride past Beeps Bar, another favorite spot form old rides because it was closed, and 98 Bottles because it went out of business - two of my good memories from last few Waltzes, but we continued up to the County Line bar - I think they call it something else now, but it'll forever be the County Line to me. #40 is Sonia and me out front.

 
#41 is Dan inside the County Line - didn't take any other pics as my batteries went bad and it was all of a hundred feet back to get more - so imagine a good time being had by all, k? #42 is Cuz Sam, you may have read some of his shit in Dear Muthuh, too. We're back at the cabin now for some Venison Chili. Wasn't too damned sure we'd make it back. By this time of afternoon on a Waltz, weird shit starts to happen. We left the County Line and followed Yelodog instead of Hogie...wrong move! Me and Walt being tourists for the day just blindly followed the locals, who promptly got us lost and doing U-Turns every 50 feet or so. Finally ran down some teens walking down a desereted backwoods road - scared the shit outta them I think, and asked directions, getting us back home 15 minutes after the rest of them sted chowing down. 's OK Danny - now we got something to give ya shit about from now on!

 
Rocky's patio setup is ideal for parties - stand-up table for the food, big ol' bonfire and chairs for drinkin' and outdoor speakers fed by a 5-CD changer for the tunes... ahhhh - good to be in Tallahassee with buds! Thats Pothole and Blondie signing us off after Leap Day Waltz '04... the fun shit wasn't over though. Off to Daytona!

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