Donald Diddams
The Art of Digital Art
Bob’s Boathouse
Bob’s Boathouse
Along Tamiami Trail on Florida’s Gulf Coast there is a deep parking lot with old derelict boats scattered around between the parking spaces. Some are on stumps, others stuck in the ground pointing skyward. Perhaps they have been put there as decoration, or perhaps to help you find your car after a long day (or night). The sign out front says “Bob’s Boathouse,” and indeed there is an establishment set way back from the road, near the water’s edge.
Some checking revealed that this is a relocated restaurant that has been wanting to reopen for a long time, but has been stalled due to county requirements. On the day I was there, a bulldozer was at work in one corner, so perhaps things are moving again.
Much of Florida has been taken over by the new, the sleek, and the homogenized. In the midst of all this ordinariness, the originality of Bob’s Boathouse parking lot stands out. I, for one, hope it will stay.
Hard Aground
Donald Diddams 
It sounds like a very cool parking lot!
… a car marina, car harbor, … or maybe a carbor!
How much are people docked for docking fees?
Hi Ross!
Yes very cool. Kind of like the Pluto and Mickey lots at Disneyworld — only not so fake (or big). A “carbor” along the rivers edge…