Another Sign Of Aging?

This past summer when my sister Susan and I were down at our condo in Stuart, Florida (love that summer humidity!), I read in the Stuart News that the most popular waterfront bar on the Treasure Coast (made up of Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin Counties) was Square Grouper Tiki Bar in Fort Pierce. Just for fun, I decided to check the place out, and even though I found it on a map, I could not locate it while driving through Fort Pierce until the day before I left. It turns out it is actually located in Jetty Park, and you have to drive into the park to find it. It took me 7 weeks to figure that out. I still haven't gone into the place, although I did take the photograph on the left of the entrance to it a few days ago.

Another place I could not find at all last summer was Villa Del Sol, a condominium complex along the ocean in Jensen Beach - just to the north of Stuart - that was in the news a lot back then. There is a new law in Florida that requires all buildings over 30 years old and 3 stories or higher to be inspected for structural defects, and have those problems resolved in a timely manner. This was adopted after the collapse of a high-rise condo building in Sunset, Florida, which killed close to 100 people. After an inspection at Villa Del Sol, three of the complex's building were deemed unsafe due to cracks in the foundation and disintegrating rebar, and the tenants were forced to evacuate. The cost to repair the problem is around 6 million, spread among 73 residences, or about $83,000 per unit. I wanted to look at the complex to figure out exactly where it was, but could never find it, even though I drove past the location dozens of times. When we got back to Stuart this month, the first time I drove past Villa Del Sol I saw the sign and the driveway and took the photograph on the right. What is the deal with that? Is it old age finally setting in, early Alzheimer's (although not really that early), or just plain stupidity. In any case, if I was an owner there, I would be pretty damn mad. For me, it would mean having to take out a mortgage and start making monthly payments, which I assume most of those owners will have to do, which is not good if you are on a fixed income. And I would definitely hate to be a member of that condo complex's HOA. Talk about stressful meetings.