3 Weeks to Florida and Back part #3

In the past I could leave my brother's place at Homosassa or Mom's Condo on Ormond Beach, and be home by late that night or early in the morning {1 or 2am} without a problem....well, here I was 50 hours already into this trip and I had not arrived at Venice, my old home town in the 50s and early 60s, on the Gulf of Mexico, as of yet...I was scheduled to stay at the Ramada on the 41 By~Pass, thanks to John Langley, fellow Vietnam Air Force SP...whose daughter was one of the movers and shakers at that location, he got me a great rate, and the room was outstanding, especially for $59 a night...my thanks again to John and his daughter for the kind gesture.  Arriving at about 1:30pm I had time before check~in and immediately headed for the Gulf and my old fishing haunt, the Venice Jetties {South}.

 

One of the few places that have not changed much over the 65 years since our family moved to South Venice back in 1954...the Jetties is pretty much the same...a few changes, better facilities, and of course the fishing is not what it was in my Dad's day...but I enjoyed stopping by and breathing in some old memories from those days of my youth back in the 1950s and early 60s...the place is still "Home" as far as I'm concerned...although I have not lived there since 1963,  and mom sold the house on School Street and Pineland Avenue, back in the early

1980s...she told me today she should have kept it as a retirement house...I didn't argue.  The current owners have done some nice landscape work, but the house, in general, looks much the same as it did in 1962 and beyond.

After some searching, since the Ramada is called the "Venezia" and has no "Ramada" sign in sight...I saw three cops at a mall snack bar, I stopped the Jeep and asked..."Where the Hell is the Ramada"?  One young officer smiled and pointed across the street..."They just don't call it that", he replied.

Once situated in my room{photo of my room at bottom} I called my old pal, John Langley, and he picked me up awhile later and we traveled through some of the old neighborhoods...everything has changed and grown, especially the traffic...proving once again, "You Can't Go Home" ...although I still consider Venice "Home", a visit is all I will do, even if the prices were cheap, which they are not, I would never be able to handle the crowds, traffic, or Summer rain and humidity.  So a visit on occasion will have to do.

John and I went out to the Cracker Barrel out by the I-75 exit...had a good meal and conversation, and he gave me several items for our Vietnam Sky Cop Reunion and Silent Auction, for next April at Dayton.

Dropping me off back at the "Venezia"...I walked across the By Pass US 41 grabbed a 6 pack of craft beer and prepared to watch some playoff baseball for the night, before getting up and heading for Naples after breakfast on Saturday morning.

Part #4 up Next....arriving in Naples...

Photos-{Top}~Sunset after a storm along Venice Beach {2} Me and the Jeep arrive at the South Jetties {3} The House mom and dad owned at School Street and Pineland Avenue, we lived there from 1958-63, when we moved to Ohio, mom sold it back in the early 1980s  {4} John Langley my old Vietnam Air Force Dog Handler buddy from Maine who has lived in Venice for some 30 years....{5} A good sized boat heads out to the Gulf to fish, between the South and North Jetties...and below, a look at my Ramada Venice Room and a link to their site:

Ramada Venice