the official "mattyb & paul in south florida" thread

[MattyB]

Paul's buddah belly impression.

I call this one: Ti he

Around the back are all the field grown Carpoxylon, Fox tails, etc....

[MattyB]

Paul milking the palms again.

Jeff just laughed at him because he didn't tell him about the burning crystals until they were in his pocket.

[paulgila]

you say that now but when they sprout you'll be askin' me for some!

[MattyB]

yup

[paulgila]

[bubba]

Paul and Matt, What were your impressions of Florida versus your preconceptions?

[MattyB]

'bout the same for me, although the Redlands farming area where Ken lives was a real treat for me. I was glad to be away from the city folk and eat menudo with the worker bees.

Oh yeah, the drivers were awful!!!!! If you put your blinker on, no one lets you in. Seriously! Over and over again we were repeatedly cut off and not allowed in ever after our blinker was on for a long time. Just weird.

And why do you have 3 names for the same street. All three of them are printed on the street sign too. Come on people!!!!!

[paulgila]

hi bubba!

two things come to mind right off the bat:

1.i wasnt prepared for how flat it was there.i have been to the plains states where its flat but so.fla is FLAT!

2.i expected a more profound southern accent in most folks but in all cases it was either barely perceptible or entirely absent.

[www.dadluvsu.com]

1.i wasnt prepared for how flat it was there.i have been to the plains states where its flat but so.fla is FLAT!

we have trash piles and bridges, it's not flat.

What was yer favorite part of SoFla?

[paulgila]

dont kid yerself--its FLAT.

i think i hafta agree with matt,i really liked the "farm country" around ken johnsons place cuz its such a change from city life.

[bubba]

Paul and Matt,

(1)South Florida is flat(flatter than flat).It does develop a little roll along the Ridges(where the ocean used to be) and then through the middle of the state.Northern part can be very hilly.Even our South Florida trash mountains would not qualify for a California Hill(like Mt. Bradford)

(2) Drivers are insane. No etiquette, people tapping bumpers for grins and no one will let you in. Our youngest just got his Learners Permit and I see it thru his eyes!

(3) You were smart to soak up that Redlands area of Ken's. It is a place you can feel your blood pressure drop.Alot of oblique Palms. Makes you feel good like Fairchild!

(4) You guys know your Palms and it was great to meet you.

(5)If you guys are normal Californians,I would say Californians are more laid back than your normal Floridian. That stated, some of us qualify as 3X overgeared Floridians(like me). Appologies.

(6) It is the humidity!

[Ken Johnson]

Now come on...I showed them the sloughs and ridges.... lots of elevation. Took them by Monkey Jungle....it's 13.4 feet above sea level there!

Now if you look at the picture of the water? that's flat! Sure was nice to catch crabs and eat them within 3 hours! You don't get that at Joes'.

Thursday night the Boyz stayed at Jeffs On Friday he had to get ready for the sale so we.....what did we do? Thats right BBQ! By this time CFKINGFISH was with us. What a gang of palm nuts were at my house! Great time!

[sur4z]

'bout the same for me, although the Redlands farming area where Ken lives was a real treat for me. I was glad to be away from the city folk and eat menudo with the worker bees.

Oh yeah, the drivers were awful!!!!! If you put your blinker on, no one lets you in. Seriously! Over and over again we were repeatedly cut off and not allowed in ever after our blinker was on for a long time. Just weird.

And why do you have 3 names for the same street. All three of them are printed on the street sign too. Come on people!!!!!

That's because they drive so fast... I guess OJ's west coast freeway driving was too slow for this coast.

[epicure3]

It's not that flat. You can see forever from the top of the Julia Tuttle Causeway. Just before you jump.

Great pictures. I hope we get to see some more. Did you actually go into the meat shop? I've never seen a store just labeled meat shop.

The palms at KJs place are outstanding. There is another thread sometime ago with even more from his place. I wished I lived nearby. I'd be at his place buying stuff every day. Well, maybe not the field grown bizzies. That would make me nervous.

[MattyB]

Lot's more to go John, we've only got to day 3 so far.

[bubba]

Also like that Coral Castle. Like to see that little guy levitating those pieces of coral like the pyramids.

The Monkey Jungle splains it all. Never realized it was that high!

[Walter John]

Very entertaining chaps, look forward to more. Looks like you might have come close to suffering PO, but I think you blokes are hardy enough to cope.

[amazondk]

hi bubba!

two things come to mind right off the bat:

1.i wasnt prepared for how flat it was there.i have been to the plains states where its flat but so.fla is FLAT!

2.i expected a more profound southern accent in most folks but in all cases it was either barely perceptible or entirely absent.

Paul,

South Florida is really somewhere between South Bronx and North Cuba as to accents. With a little of a lot elsewhere thrown in. The one accent hard to hear is Southern USA.

As to driving in South Florida I find it quite organized. But, that has a lot to do with where I live on the planet as a point of reference these days. In a few weeks I will be passing through SFLA on my way to Houston, Montana and back. I am glad to see you guys had a successful and enjoyable trip.

dk

[bgl]

Great thread! Enjoying all the photos and commentary! For some reason, the 4th photo in post #19 seems to stand out. If this ever comes out in book form, you should consider having that on the front page!

Looking forward to the rest!

[www.dadluvsu.com]

we met an airport employee who "out-jeebused" matt.

Went and saw C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters this past weekend so from my looking glass, this one just begs to be asked... How exactly does one out jeebus another during a layover in Hartsfield-Jackson?

[paulgila]

thanks wal,don,& bo plus anyone else who enjoyed our trip so far.

bill matt simply could not get a word in edgewise. the cool part for me was the guy was leading us to the gate as he schooled mattyb so i just kept my mouth shut & followed behind them.

[paulgila]

jeff was a bit nervous in the presence of "the prince of snarkness" & was apprehensive at 1st about pix,but he opened up

to the camera in time & we got along famously.

hundreds of small c.renda cut to size for shipping purposes are none the worse for it.

around the greenhouses thar be palms.

caryota zerbrina,for one.

[paulgila]

see,i told ya, he already feels totally at ease.

mauritia flexuosa had me flabbergasted,& i am not easliy gasted.

we saw a fair amount of burretiokentia & they all looked pretty good.

oh baby!

[paulgila]

the "palm train" goes by on the way to a large truck headed to the fairchild sale.

hey,i know that dewd,he works nights at the taco stand in my neighborhood!

palms are so cool at the juvenile stage,they are so easy to drool on.

& in the "center ring," the main shadehouse.

[paulgila]

we musta spent a good hour at least going up & down every aisle & seeing things matt & i have only seen in books.

i felt bad for jeff that this palm had all that fungus on it so i scraped it clean when he wasnt looking.

dont thank me,jeff,just being a pal.

jeff is a fantastic host & really spent some quality time with us!

matt had time for a quick lobotomy right before this shot.

here we are on prom night.

"come flyyyyyy with meeeee!"(in off-key sinatra voice).

[paulgila]

ooooh,that brain cell is throbbin from palm over-load!

"fired-up" jeff.

it may have been the book of matches i lit under his foot while mattyb distracted him.

"skeptical" jeff.

that is one happy palm.

[paulgila]

chambeyronia hookeri couldnt look any better.

[paulgila]

then we followed jeff to meet peter balasky.

the pony-tail was a "clip-on," i am almost certain of it.

best animal hospital palms i have ever seen.

jeff i hope you remembered a raincoat.

[paulgila]

jeff was kind enough to invite us over to check out his garden & have dinner.both were outstanding!

i believe this rock-pile was the highest point in all of florida.

tired of carpoxylon yet?

icy-blue bizzie.

[Palmə häl′ik]

Fun.Fun.

[www.dadluvsu.com]

Yeah, that can happen in Georgia...

What kind of palm in Balasky leanin' on? Pseudo somthin'?

[Jeff Searle]

Yeah, that can happen in Georgia...

What kind of palm in Balasky leanin' on? Pseudo somthin'?

That would be a vinifera.

[palmislandRandy]

Yeah, that can happen in Georgia...

What kind of palm in Balasky leanin' on? Pseudo somthin'?

A couple of the Dr's fatties!

[MattyB]

Pseudophoenix at Dr. Balasky's. P. lediniana maybe?

The happy couple.

This is where Jeff whispered quietly, "So, you wanna go back to my place?" I butted in and said, "I thought you'd never ask"

[MattyB]

C. macroglossa is something that we just don't see in CA.

They all hold this pleating pattern in the leaves.

Bronzy cycad flush. I made Paul look at it. He was blinded for a good 5 seconds.

[MattyB]

Back at Jeff's house! We'll continue on...... with the Searle mannor tour and dinner and late night stripping....by Jeff of course.

[paulgila]

the guy on the left was some kind of "reverse-burgler," he broke into jeffs compound & left beer.

jeff certainly has an amazing garden.here are some of my favorites from the tour:

[paulgila]

jeff is the "walter cronkite" of palms,he has a great reputation in the biz & a funny moustache.

another amazing beccariophoenix.

dont you ever get tired of being so perfect,searle???

things deteriorated fast.

[MattyB]

Jeff's amazing Beccariophoenix and some croutons.

The "Arid Garden" was a nice area at Jeff's. A great contrast to the wet tropical surroundings. Jeff secretly wishes he was in CA.

Medusa got this guy.

Copernicia eckmanii I think.

[MattyB]

Here's a mystery: Dypsis pilulifera, plumose leaves as described in POM

Orange crushy crownshaft

D. pilulifera, regular leaves, same seed batch as the above. What?????

Dog balls. Doesn't it all make sense now?