Modern Vespa

Lostboater and I had another Courthouse Tour scheduled for early this week.

The mission was to see the courthouses of Florida's First Coast, a silly marketing name given to northeast Florida years ago.

We met up at Camp David, actually a trailer home near Newberry, Florida that serves as a nice getaway.

Monday morning started with breakfast, where we met a nice couple who own two Maple Street Biscuit restaurants in the area. This one was empty when we arrived and never got busy, but Edwina and Josh, the owners were interested in our scooters and were very kind during the visit.

From there we rode through my alma mater, the University of Florida, where I received a Masters degree in 1979.

The Alachua County courthouse is only a few blocks east of the university and we arrived, took photos and left without entering.

Next stop Starke, where there are two Bradford County courthouses. We stopped at the old one first. It is being used as a campus for the local university and has been restored for the adaptive use. The large courtroom on the second floor now sub-divided into offices and classrooms.

The new courthouse was a mile north and typical of the newer courthouses, that being non imaginative architecture. This one was interesting in that they had the 10 Commandments on a display outside. Next to that was a display placed by the Atheists of America, presenting another view.

We headed northwest from there to the Union County courthouse in Lake Butler. It was built in around 1940 in a traditional style. We went inside and visited the courtroom that was busy discussing the restitution for stealing a gaming system. The woman being heard said she couldn't pay the $700. I believed it. From there Ken had found that there was an earlier courthouse for Union County. We found a tin covered building that looked old and large enough to have served that purpose.

Next stop was the Baker County Courthouse in Macclenny. This one was build in 1940 with in a Greek Revival style. It has been renovated with new windows and doors but still looked good. We went inside and were given a tour by one of the guards. The courtroom was huge and quite original so we asked if we could take photographs. The guard first said "sure" but then thought he better ask the courthouse staff. They spent fifteen minutes discussing the request, then came out with an 11 page contract we would have to read, sign and wait weeks for approval. We declined. From there we stopped by the older, historic courthouse that now serves as the local library.

Next stop was the new Nassau County courthouse in Yulee. I was amazed when we turned the corner heading into the complex and saw the massive structure. It was rather well designed for a new one, this one turned out to be 17 years old but still looked new. We went inside but didn't visit a courtroom, just talked with one of the Bailiffs, who had much to say about the building and the old one that is still in use in Fernandina Beach.

That one we visited next and got to walk around the corridors and courtroom. No inside photos here either, but it was a very fine building that had been renovated thirty years ago. My friend, Ken Smith was responsible for the architectural work in the renovations, like he provided for many of these older buildings.

The last stop was the massive Duval County courthouse in Jacksonville. We stopped in front, took photos and left for the house.

When we got to my house and were putting the scooters away, we noticed a grinding sound coming from Ken's rear wheel. That was enough to change out plans for the next day. Ken said he would rent a car, drive it home then bring his trailer to pick up the scooter. I said that I have a truck for those purposes, so we would take it back to St. Petersburg together in the bed of my truck. We did and all is good again.

Bill

Well-done! Nice photos. Hope Ken's scooter gets sorted.

Nice architecture, but the puzzling thing for me is, why courthouses?

I read this thread and thought I should share about the Dessert INN a truck rammed the building and destroyed it.


The Story
https://www.foxnews.com/us/florida-historic-landmark-desert-inn-and-restaurant-slammed-into-by-tractor-trailer

Thanks for posting. Nice photos and write up. Hope nothing too serious on Ken's scooter.
And loved the ride pic as we have a couple inches of snow this morning with more coming down!

Neither of us are attorneys or have any connection to the law, but I am an architect who appreciates the buildings.

It helps that a good friend of mine was the architect for the renovation to several of the old courthouses.

One thing I like about the courthouses is that they are often the most impressive building in each of the smaller county seats. Visiting and checking out the best architecture of the day is always good for me.

Ken suggested early that we go inside each of them. This works for both of us but especially Ken as he always enjoys meeting people. We always talk to guards and bailiffs, sometimes county clerks and even one judge. They often look at us strangely, but after hearing our story, they get interested, sharing their knowledge of the buildings and people inside.

But the main reason is that it is a good excuse to ride scooters.

Bill

It has been over 80 degrees in Jacksonville the past week. I was riding wearing a mesh jacket over a short sleeve shirt.

I probably weigh 10 more pounds with the clothing necessary to stay comfortable here. Seriously need to rethink winter abode!

Keep the pics of rides coming. Gives me hope!

Okay, that's enough of that.

We finally have winter here...or at least a second round of it. Gonna be a couple of months before the scooters venture out it seems....

It is cold today, 32 degrees F this morning, so I thought I would post some riding photographs from the warm Courthouse Tour from two weeks ago.

Is your entire journey already mapped out? If you're planning a trip into the Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco counties, I'd love to join in depending on the days. Very cool way to site see.

Those courthouses have not been visited yet.

We will stay at Ken's in St. Petersburg and see those.

No dates set yet.

I will let you know so you can join in.

Bill

Excellent! Looking forward to it sir!

Do you guys actually ride, or just take pictures?!

Nice work, anyway.

Watch out for falling iguanas if you happen to head south....

I do endorse your concept "Any Excuse for a Ride". I think my
scooter group rides to find a great restaurant. Thanks for sharing your adventure.

Bob Copeland
Frost Bite Falls

What happened to Ken's scooter? Any details on what the issue was?

He thought it was the bearing in the transmission cover at the clutch.
That got replaced but it was still noisy.
He is looking at other possibilities.
Luckily, he has three other scooters he can ride.
Bill

Best argument for why you need to have more than one scooter in the stable to ride!

There are 200 counties in Texas, I have not ventured out with The Vespa but I do have some images with my Vstrom. Since this is a scooter forum, Ill post when I get some some appropriate content!
Thanks for the ride along, I appreciate it.


So I binged the Florida count,
https://www.bing.com/search?q=mant+counties+in+the+state+of+florida&form=EDGTCT&qs=PF&cvid=557b60cf3a8f423493d3d95c28710d1b&refig=1be6550d60de4aa58d1a5e89679ae76f&cc=US&setlang=en-US&elv=AQj93OAhDTi*HzTv1paQdniPxKs81tgRGF9ioYMn9ekxCpgprTprfZei*eJ%21DOu7tNfS5iesrFroyNZTymnf4HIVVwglOzT6uWJU62g37k5g&plvar=0

Florida has 67 Counties.

They each have an active courthouse but some have old courthouses that were rehabilitated for other uses.

We prefer the old ones.

The attached map shows the counties visited so far, highlighted in yellow.

It may be a while before we can visit another.

Bill

Any update on Ken's scooter?