The Sunken Wings of Garden Key
The Sunken Wings of Garden KeyThe saltwater spray off the Gulf of Mexico tasted of rust and deep ocean depth as the sun dipped below the horizon. Monty Tiberius Beauregard-Hayes…
The Sanctuary of the Storm
The humid twilight over Key West was heavy with the scent of night-blooming jasmine and salt spray. Monty Tiberius Beauregard-Hayes stepped onto the grounds of the Basilica of St. Mary…
The Iron Surge of Matecumbe
The muggy twilight over Upper Matecumbe Key carried the heavy, unmistakable scent of crushed coral, salt spray, and impending weather. Monty Tiberius Beauregard-Hayes stood near a weathered concrete bridge abutment,…
The Absinthe Tide
The heavy night air hanging over Biscayne Bay was thick with the rot of massive, floating mats of Sargassum seaweed. Dark, tangled golden-brown rafts bumped gently against the concrete seawall…
The Gated Frequency of Kissimmee
The manicured berms of the vacation capital were completely different from the dry scrub of Yeehaw Junction. As Monty Tiberius Beauregard-Hayes drove north into Kissimmee, the rural gravel roads dissolved…
The Tide of the Ten Thousand
The humid night air drifting off Biscayne Bay carried the sharp, familiar scent of salt water, diesel exhaust, and wet limestone. Downtown Miami rose behind them in a towering wall…
The Sonic Conduit in West Palm Beach
The open-air amphitheater in West Palm Beach was completely packed, the heavy summer air vibrating with the bass notes of a sold-out rock concert. Thousands of fans waved their glowing…
The Phantom Rider of Dead Man’s Oak
The historic core of Downtown Kissimmee faded into the dense, moss-draped oak hammocks along the upper drainage basin of the Kissimmee River. Monty Tiberius Beauregard-Hayes slowly navigated his truck down…
The Ghostly Crossroads of Nowhere
The skeleton of the Desert Inn stood silent at the intersection of State Road 60 and the Turnpike, a lonely monument to a bypassed era. Yeehaw Junction had once been…
The Walking Stone of Hendry County
The heat shimmer rising from the gravel roads of Hendry County made the distant sugarcane fields look like they were underwater. Monty Tiberius Beauregard-Hayes sat in the bed of his…