For the past two winters in Winter Garden, Florida, we have occasionally ridden our bicycles along this short one-way stretch of old brick road leading to the Tildenville School. The West Orange Trail crosses the road near its southern terminus, so it is one of several ways to access the paved bike path. A brick road, while charming, is not a comfortable ride on a road bike, But that's all we could have told you about the road; we knew nothing of its history. But that was soon to change. Not long ago, while watching the local news, I happened to catch a story about this very road. I missed the beginning of the piece but did catch the fact that an historic marker had just been erected along it. We had to find out more, so I sent Barry, my intrepid photographer, on a morning walk down to the road for a few photos. Here's the shiny new plaque, juxtaposed against the old bricks below. Reading the marker, we found it fascinating to learn how this now 0.6 mile section of brick road used to be State Highway 22, which wound around the entire area we now ride through on the West Orange Trail, a paved multi-use path. The bricks continued even farther east into Orlando. We can vouch for the phrase on the plaque "As durable as they were uncomfortable"! Despite the discomfort, the road is undeniably scenic, framed by Spanish Moss in the trees. If these old bricks could talk, the stories they could tell!
2 Comments
David Christmas
4/24/2017 01:46:32 pm
Hi guys. Does this piece on an interesting stretch of road and Pearl's recent maintenance imply you two are ready for your next road trip? Looking forward to seeing where spring takes you...
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Emily
4/27/2017 07:59:07 am
Hi David! Well, you're right, and we were starting to do just that. But then something happened...stay tuned for our next post.
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Emily & BarryWe're a long-married, early-retired couple who are currently traveling as nomads with no fixed home base. After years of living in North Carolina (Emily's home state), we spent 18 months living oceanfront on Ambergris Caye, Belize, a year road-tripping the US in a Honda CR-V, a year in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and are now roaming North America in our 32' motorhome, Pearl, following warm weather whenever possible. Archives
July 2019
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