* * * * *

    An ever expanding urbal sprawl slowly moving westward across the swamp

The Publix [1] we shop at is at the corner of US (United States)-441 and
8^th, pretty much west-south-west Boca Raton [2]. I'm not familiar with what
is west of US-441 since everyone I know who lives here in Boca lives east of
us (with the exception of JeffK [3], who lives about a block west of the
Facility in the Middle of Nowhere); there hasn't been much of a reason to go
west.

But curiosity got the better of me.

I turned west onto 8^th and followed it out.

[This is as rual as it gets] [4] [5] [Note the lovely mobile mansion west of
US-441] [6] [7]

It was an odd neighborhood. I'm used to seeing the occational mobile home
park (this is, after all, Florida) but never one this size. The entire
neighborhood, going back perhaps two, three miles, consisted of nothing but
mobile homes. And they had definitely seen better days too.

[End of the Road but the power goes on] [8] [9] [The Road Goes On, but not by
car ... ] [10] [11]

The road finally ended about two, three miles past US-441 in what for South
Florida passes for a rual area. I turned around, and took the first street
going north. I was in an exploratory mood. Very quickly the scenery changed
from run-down rual to upscale yuppidom. Taking the next left (west) at a
large four lane road I've never heard of before, I saw well manicured lawns
and stately Royal Palms lining the street, with the occasional shopping
center. It must have turned north because I found myself crossing first
Palmetto Park Rd (a major east-west road here in Boca Raton) and then ending
at Glades Road (another major east-west road). I then figured I'd see just
how far west I could go on Glades.

Not very far. About half a mile and it turned south. There was not much here
yet, but there was heavy construction on the west side, what looked to be
either a huge school, or maybe a mall (hard to tell). A street sign revealed
that I was on University Drive (which is a major north-south road around Ft.
Lauderdale [12]) but that it ended at Palmetto. No choice but to head back
east at this point.

It was strange, like finding another city when not expecting it.

[1] http://www.public.com/
[2] http://www.ci.boca-raton.fl.us/
[3] http://www.livejournal.com/users/j3ff
[4] gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2003/05/14/thumb.p1010001.jpg
[5] gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2003/05/14/p1010001.jpg
[6] gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2003/05/14/thumb.p1010003.jpg
[7] gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2003/05/14/p1010003.jpg
[8] gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2003/05/14/thumb.p1010002.jpg
[9] gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2003/05/14/p1010002.jpg
[10] gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2003/05/14/thumb.p1010004.jpg
[11] gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2003/05/14/p1010004.jpg
[12] http://ci.ftlaud.fl.us/

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