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Postcards

Mitch Traphagen photo
With only two people out of tens of thousands of readers recognizing last week’s photo of Fort Dade on Egmont Key at the mouth of Tampa Bay, I had an idea. I think it would be fun to organize a tour of all the weird, wonderful, nostalgic places that Florida has to offer. I tell you, the tour would last for years and along the way we could stop in to every mom and pop greasy spoon to compare notes and strategize about the next stop. This state has some seriously cool stuff — and I think we need to see it all. Just plan on being back in, oh... say 2019. Fort Dade was built to protect Tampa Bay during the Spanish-American War. It was really a small town out on that little island — they even had a bowling alley. Many remnants and even many streets still exist. It is such a cool place. Bill and Margie Galbreath (it is well worth a visit — great guess and thanks for the note) recognized it as did Pam Chambers (great to hear from you!), who even narrowed down the location on this island. In this week’s honorable mention category, we have the tale of three Jerrys. Jerry Foppe (thanks for writing!), the former Where in South Hillsborough master himself, Jerry Foster, and Jerry Alexender (you can’t make that stuff up — great to hear from you!), all with near misses. This week we have what could be one of the first stops in the Weird and Cool Stuff in Florida Tour. I hope I’m not the only one to know where this is because believe me, people — you don’t want me as the tour leader. Send your best guess to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Clear out a few years on your schedule, tour details to follow.