Drive To Gainsville

I left Vero Beach before 10:00 am and drove up the coast via Rt 1 to meet a friend, Larry in New Smyrna Beach, FL. I recached larry around 1:00 pm for a late lunch. We at at JB's Fish Camp near his condo. I’m not sure how long we were there but when we got back to his condo, the early sunset sky was starting to appear.

Back at Larry’s, we hung out on the balcony for a while and took in the view of the Atlantic Ocean. It’s was nice to hangout with a friend during the trip.

We said our goodbyes and I headed off to Gainvilles, FL. It was getting dark as I drove through the backroads of the interior of Florida. There wasn’t much traffic as I drove and I saw I sign that said, “Homemade Ice Cream”. I passed the shop on the corner and made a u-turn a quarter of a mile down the road. I entered the shop and a woman behind a glass counter said, “Can I help you.” I obviously looked out of place. I would characterize the shop as a head shop, minus the lava lamps and black felt paintings. I told her I was looking for “homemade ice cream”. She pointed to the back of the shop and said “through that door”. A teenager sitting in the corner stood and followed me to the backroom. He said, “What can I get you sir?”. I said “ice cream”. I was standing at the wrong counter and he said, “over here" as he walked to the other counter. I order two scoops, oreo and maple walnut.

The young man was curious what I was doing here. So, I explained my trip to him and told him I was on my way to Gainesville. This all seemed so foreign to him. He told me he was a senior in high school and was joining the Marines when he got out. I wished him good luck and told him to make the most of his experience with the Marines.

I drove around Gainesville just to get a sense of the town. The University of Florida is located here in Gainesville and I saw a lot of young people around the town. I wasn’t really hungry, and went to the Cracker Barrel to settle in.