Ben Wilhelmi

On the road, Florida

 

 

Only in America….

 

2 views of the same contraption…

The red neck refused to pose with his creation, sadly… was worth a picture. Yes that’s a flat screen television!

 

 

 

 

The Everglades were tempting for a ride, too far, no time…

 

 

Some European goodies too….

 

vehicles on the road, USA

this loony was just driving and driving around, obviously on a mission… what a waste of fuel and energy.

 

Florida, aerial photography

 

aerial photography, Florida

 

 

Florida, photography

 

Crystal River near Tampa, I spent a few weeks there for a flying upgrade.

This bar was a bit…special. I heard there used to be anti French mottos on the walls, and French people were just plainly not welcome. Maybe there is a new management and new patrons because I didn’t meet any morons to challenge my French accent (though I’m Belgian).

The front place was interesting enough: A Harley next to a Japanese bike and a carriage, an elephant, a 9/11 memorial. Funny enough the American bald eagle looks very much like the Africa fish eagle. Latin names are respectively haliaeetus leucocephalus and haliaeetus vocifer. Quite a long way to fly apart for these cousins.

 

The owner was pleased that I had stopped to take a few snaps and ask some specs about the car. He said people around were not nice to him, considered him a red neck and thus avoided him. Well true Florida is a nest of retired religious right wingers but then look at the car… seen from my European point of view, this car seems indeed to belong to the redneck pool.

 

Or this one.

 

Renting a discrete RV seems mission impossible in the USA…

 

But then why would you want to be discrete in the US?

 

Florida seems flatter than Holland. I wonder where this modified SUV needs such a high wheel clearance? To drive over gators?

 

This poor girl spent hours yelling, clapping, dancing in the sun. She still made an effort to pose for me.

 

Common scenery.

on the road, USA

 

Yes! Somebody walking in the US!!

 

Too funny these 2…

 

this guy doesn’t listen to his mother! I’m sure she has told him many times to wear a helmet or at least a hat for the sun. Seriously I can’t believe some US states don’t require the helmet for riders. In a country where one sues anybody for any moronic reason, so by now some wounded bikers would have sued some legislators because they were not told it was dangerous to ride without  helmet… worse in Florida, the law was reversed under Jeb Bush and it’s not compulsory anymore. Just like his bro’ he must have been rocked too close to the wall when he was an infant….

 

Aerial photography, Florida

 

Florida…I only some time there to pass an ATP rating, basically that upgrade implies flying instruments only with a pair of partly blinded goggles. So the flights only happened at one airport and no looking outside. How frustrating! So I went once or twice as a passenger just for the sake of it, and I took aerobatic lessons too but aerial photography was then not in my mind.

Here are some pictures from a flight between Tampa aera to Fort Lauderdale…

see how mountainous Florida is?? So young US would-be pilots willing to fly the bush later on should do some flying in Arizona or similar states to get more useful lessons or mountain flying, density altitude…