Observations

I live on the main street, Gulf Boulevard, which transverses Treasure Island. Directly across the street from my humble abode lies a family owned Motel with about 40 rooms. Their parking lot has been full for the past 10 days, which I am glad to see because they had an abysmal October and November.

Earlier this afternoon I was basking in the warmth (78 Degrees) of the Florida sunshine and drinking a few Bloody Marys. Drinking alcohol seemingly heightens my perceptions of the things around me and brings cerebral thoughts into my mind. The learned Doctors that I visit tell me differently. According to them, I’m killing myself slowly and have been doing so for many years.

So I was sitting there, sipping my cocktails, looking at the beautiful beach and the Motel across the street. I then began to observe the cars in the motel parking lot. First of all, most of them had out of state license plates. Secondly, I noticed that there were more SUVs and Vans in their lot than cars. So I took a count.

Out of the 28 vehicles that were parked there, only 6 were cars. With gasoline prices as they are, this really surprises me. So now, I get to thinking, which is a dangerous thing for me to do after a few Bloody Marys and a few Miller Lites. I started to count the type of vehicles that were driving on Gulf Boulevard. Not counting Commercial vehicles and motorcycles, about 70% were SUVs, Vans or Trucks.

What’s happen to the small car craze of the 1980’s and 1990’s? Gasoline prices have dropped slightly in the past 6 months, but they are still over 200% higher than when I moved to Florida in 1998. I usually drive less than 900 miles a year, this year under 300 miles, since I am not driving to work. Therefore the price of gas does not really affect me. It does however bother me.

I also noticed that many vehicles were exceeding the speed limit (35 MPH) by more than five miles per hour. Treasure Island has its own Police force, with very little to do, except for responding to Domestic Violence calls and doing DUI checks. The local’s slogan here is “Come on Vacation and leave on Probation”! We have the largest per capita Police Force in Florida. Speeding tickets bring in revenue and I do not understand why they aren’t more aggressive on enforcing the speed limit.

Just my two cents and observations!

The Beach Bum