Sacked by the "downturn", an unemployed architect touring the country in a bus...




I used to live in New York City. I designed homes for the tycoons of Wall Street; Park Avenue, Scarsdale, Greenwich. It was great fun. And, after years of saving up for a down payment, I was just about to buy my own little place in Fleetwood, half an hour north of the city, when the economy fell apart. Architects are like canaries in a coal mine when the economy slows, and true to form, there were massive layoffs in firms all over the country. Devastation of the profession. So, I decided to try to find something else to do for a while. I bought a 23' school bus and I'm on the road to see if I can figure out what that might be.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Apalachicola, Fl.... a gem


Two nights ago I stayed in Apalachicola, Florida.  This town has never been devastated, not by hurricane or developer.  So there are 100 year old trees and 100 year old buildings.  There is a fishing warf and a quaint main street and it's surrounded by a historic district.  It's the kind of "Our Town" Thorton Wilder must have had in mind, complete with a spooky graveyard.  Click the picture in the right hand column for a Flick slide show.  The picture here, to the left, is of the Hotel I stayed in (I needed a shower.)  As I walked up, I thought, if it's $300 leave, under $150, ok... it turned out to be $90 for a twin, but I upgraded to $95 for a queen.  The picture here to the right is my bus interior after two weeks... just kidding, it's the 95 dollar room :-)  I was practically in tears.

In the morning, I had a great phone call that changed things for me, which will be in the next post...
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2 comments:

  1. KateJanuary 9, 2010 at 9:05 AM

    Whoah! Awesome room. And I am dying to know about the phone call that changed your life. Tease!

    Stay warm and safe!

    Love,
    Kate

    ReplyDelete
  2. KateJanuary 9, 2010 at 9:06 AM

    Also meant to say "How could the Gibson Inn be anything but awesome." LOL!

    ReplyDelete

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