So RTP, did you make it back home to Cali? It was great seeing you while you were down in Florida. Give me a call next time you are in the bay area.
No, I didn't, kpickel, but thanks for asking.........
After I last saw you, I hopped on a bus to Orlando, then took a train from there to JacksonVILE. The train was not only cheaper than a bus ride, but they also had a bar, of which I liberally availed myself and partook of quite a few Scots wiskeys. A couple of stops after I got on, a one Miss H____ L________, of Ohio, boarded the train. After a shared look, she asked where I had obtained my libation. I told her, and after she returned with hers, we enjoyed good conversation and such. She is an artist of no mean talent, and I look forward to vending reproductions of her work on Telegraph Avenue in beautiful Berkeley, CA, sometime in the near future.
After arriving in Jacksonville, I met my pal Norm at the train station. Norm is very smart, and does classified work for the Chemical and Psychological Warfare DIvision of the Central Intelligence Agency. He's a good guy to know in my line of work, if you know what I mean---CIA agents are notorious art snobs, and I hope to sell many reproductions of awesome Outsider Art to them in the not-to-distant future.
I hung out at my brother's apt for a while, going to the some of the surprisingly cool and even, dare I say, hip, drinking establishments in the Riverside area of Jacksonville. One of them, the I-think-probably-appropriately-named "Kickbacks" is open 'til 4am, serving exquisite fare. They also make a very genrous Scotch on the rocks, so they get two thumbs up from RTP.
I must also mention the wonderful Cool Moose Cafe on Park Street, as they have a great atmosphere, awesome food, reasonable prices, and damned good coffee for relieving the hangover inflicted by the Starlight Cafe, the Wall Street Pub, Sherwood's (also known as "Blurwood's, or "Slurwords") and the aforementioned Kickback's. The Cool Moose has awesome coffee, including a delicious blueberry blend from Vermont (Hi, Beth, wherever you are.....please don't call me)and friendly waitrons, as well as a damn good BLT on a croissant, for a most reasonable price, which is perfect light fare for a late morning hangover.
See ya in Hell, my friends,
RTP2k3