Day 107 – Odessa, FL

After 6 days of being hosted by Randy Pape I’m headed towards Odessa, FL to meet Henry and hear about his bicycle trip from San Diego, CA to Brazil.

I can’t thank Randy enough for his hospitality. He even gave me some insulated water bottles to replace my non-insulated ones in addition to a bunch of shirts and a backpack hydration system. Randy prides himself on getting good deals on stuff and then buys multiples and gives a lot of it away to friends and honored Couchsurfing guests. I think there is something to be learned there.

On my way out of the area I stopped by Hong Kong Willie’s to interview Joe Brown, one half of the husband and wife team, that runs the place. Randy and I passed it while out on a ride last Saturday (Day 105) and got a chance to talk to Joe. The colorful nature of the place screamed video and then talking to him about what he has done, does now and his philosophy on life really made me want to interview him.

Broadly speaking, he is very much into the concept of reuse – as an artist, a salesman and a gardner amongst other things. He currently sells his art, burlap sacks, lobster floats, composted soil, worms and other used items out of the shop that I visited.

Check out these two links to learn more about his story and what he is currently up to now. He has gotten a good amount of media coverage over the years.

http://hongkongwillie.blogspot.com

http://www.hongkongwillie.org

I have more to add to this post, but have to get back on the road to make it to Old Town, FL 🙂