Ghosts of Highway 19

Florida is a state that, to me, is truly a living circus.  We have nature, sunshine, water and more colorful characters than anywhere I have ever visited or lived.  I love it. 

The weekend hunt was one of those where very little caught my eye and I came home with just a few pieces.  As I returned home, I decided to finally stop and nose around this landmark on Highway 19 (now named the Gulf Coast Highway but more affectionally known, by locals, as the "highway to hell" for the large number of strip joints and churches found along this rambling highway). Before theme parks and DisneyWorld, Florida had highways and state roads dotted with home grown museums and sideshows along with myriads of orange and grapefruit stands.  Jimbo's Sideshow Museum, in Hudson, Florida is an abandoned remnant of one of these unique offerings.  

Lady Liberty, a little worn for wear due to the elements, stands atop proudly as a beacon of what never was.  

I'm told it originally thrived back in 2002 as a small Halloween horror show and when the wind is blowing, you can see the remnants of the black and yellow Horror Show signs that hide behind the Jimbo's signs.   

You can barely see this toy elephant in the window and he made me smile.

I have yet to see any sign of activity in the two years I have driven by it.  The sign on the doors says "Open Sundays and by Appointment,"...

and my curiosity about this place has brought me here on several Sundays but alas, never anyone here to open it.

 The window glass all around is very dirty but a flash on my phone camera allowed this peak inside through the front door window.   

Dirty, side windows where you could barely see anything from the road were made visible with a camera flash.  Silent, neon Open sign and an American flag sit in the window.

Biggest surprise yet was this colorful face of tiger that was only made visible with a flash.  Love these ghosts that come to light if you look for them.  This is part of a large sign that was on its side inside the Museum.

The wind lifted the Jimbo's sign back up that originally exposed the words Horror Show underneath it.

 I jumped when I saw this figure sitting in the chair and laughed when I realized it was a prop.  I suspect many others, like myself, got a good scare when they peeked into the window as well.

Even the trees next to the building take on a haunted look.  Florida is such a weird state that I hope to see this open one day or at least the owner is around so I can beg for a little tour.

Got home early and it was a gorgeous spring day so I decided to do a little planting and weeding in my yard.  Two years ago, I planted a row of pink, ornamental hibiscus along the path to my entrance door in honor of my mom and dad as both loved these beautiful flowering shrubs. 

All seven of these beauties are in full bloom.

The flowers are the size of luncheon plates and are just gorgeous.

 My side garden has hybrid varieties of hibiscus that I adore.  This one is Voodoo Queen.

Known as Spin the Bottle or Florida Sunset depending on what the local nursery likes to call it.  It's one of my favorites for its brilliant fuchsia running through it.

 Pretty little blue Nasturtiums bloom along my metal gate.

Living in Florida, hydrangeas bloom all year long.

The sandy soil turns them all a bright pink but I feed them "bluing" to have the blues and purples as well.

 I always plant lavender "at the garden gate" for luck, but since I don't have a gate, this planter of lavender is near my entrance.  I harvested a bunch of lavender stems three weeks ago and new blooms have already appeared. 

So my finds this weekend were few.  Nice pair of early 1900s publications.

A big, EAPG comport (compote) that has just the hint of sun purple.  I know most EAPG purists would have passed this beauty up as purpled glass is considered sick glass.  I adore it for its look and this is now in my personal collection of EAPG comports.

A beautiful mid 19th century, rosewood veneer tea caddy with mother of pearl inlay at the top and the lock.  I have a bag of antique keys I'm going to look through to see if I have a small key that will lock/unlock this piece.

I'm afraid that after I clean this beauty up I will not want to part with it.  We shall see.

Last of my weekend chores was to finally hang a few outdoor pieces.  This antique, cast aluminum chandelier lamp base was just too pretty to toss. I found it in a box of items I won at an auction in Atlanta and had hoped to find parts to use it as a lamp again.  Never found the parts so I decided to hang it in place of the more typical wreath on my entrance stucco wall.  Really love the look.  So it's another month gone and we are now in March.  A time change is coming and I can't wait as I love the longer days of light.  Until my next post, wishing blessings to you and those you love.  Sea Witch