Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

“I drink because I can’t write. And I can’t write because I’m drinking.”

From Tampa Bay musician Ronny Elliott’s song “Jack’s St. Pete Blues”

The Link Magazine editor, C. Baxter Carter, paints a brief portrait of author Jack Kerouac’s final years in an article titled, the end of the Road. Kerouac, most noted for his book, On The Road, passed away in 1969. Carter tells us that On The Road is one of Amazon.com’s top seven hundred selling books.

If you have a chance, pick up a copy of The Link. C. Baxter Carter infuses voice and life into his writing - a refreshing change from the usual dribble of purified and diluted copy that seems to run amuck in the press.

Any sane person wouldn’t be keen to drive between Northeastern Tampa and Clearwater Beach during rush hour unless they were forced to suffer this long commute for work. Yet I had to take this journey to accommodate my wife, a mortgage expert, so she could attend the grand unveiling of builder Taylor Woodrow’s soon-to-be-constructed Indigo Beach Residences and Suites.

Indigo Beach, along with Aqualea, are condo-hotels being built on South Gulfview Boulevard along Clearwater Beach. According to my wife Rosemary:

Basically, a condo-tel is a high rise building consisting of hotel suites which are managed by a big-name hotel chain. Each buyer purchases a “hotel room” (some with kitchenettes) and rents it out for the majority of the year. They provide the same amenities as a nice hotel does (maid service, concierge, etc). These are considered investments and the owner is allowed to stay at the residence between 60-90 days a year maximum.

These things are the newest rage and the units can be extremely pricey — going as high as seven figures, especially if they overlook the water (which is the case for Indigo Beach). Both Indigo and Aqualea will take about 2 years to build.