…and so I drove to the end of the turnpike yesterday afternoon, and met Jessica and Al for a tour of South Florida.

Awash in the interesting mix of high and low culture, we arrived at Robert Is Here, the fruit emporium that began in 1959 as a roadside stand.

Perusing stacks of sugarcane that look like weathered book spines,

I thought a tall sugarcane would be an excellent walking stick for the food expedition ahead. (Read the rest after the jump.)

The fresh guavas were a brilliant green;

the mangoes were subdued, almost blushing.

Then, Jessica and I found the alarmingly large jackfruit (she’s holding a mango for size comparison).

Wikipedia suggests that jackfruit tree heartwood dyes the robes of Southeast Asian Buddhist forest monastics the traditional yellowish-brown shade, and I believe any tree that supports fruit this large must be imbued with quiet power.

Behind the fruit area a menagerie wanders,

including an ostrich that patiently poses,

and a spunky little turtle reaching out

that Jessica gracefully acknowledged a connection to—

I returned to the magic cottage, butterflies brushing by my knees,

and, just in time, ducked under an expansive web spanning native plants that surround the yard.

What do we almost miss as we go our usual routes? I returned to the gate and walked the path again, glancing up to see another web, another spider spinning,

I looked down to see one of the yellow flowers I often pluck from the gravel to fasten behind my ear as I leave;

trained to reach like our new turtle friend, the flowers fall from the trellis,

making way for a new cycle of growth to begin…

1. Nina Walia:
   August 3rd, 2008 at 11:05 am

   I grew up eating jackfruit. It is delicious cooked in a light curry. My people call it “vegetarian meat” because it has the consistency (and satisfaction!) of meat. yum.

2. Kristen:
   August 3rd, 2008 at 11:28 am

   Nina, we’ll have to make this jackfruit curry when you visit—I’m intrigued with descriptions of the texture. Miss you, and hope to see you in D.C. in September if not before—

3. stephen chovanec:
   August 3rd, 2008 at 12:23 pm

   Thanks for the butterflies brushing your knees imagery. Magical.

4. Kristen:
   August 3rd, 2008 at 4:55 pm

   Glad I included that detail then, Stephen–the brushing took me by surprise! Hope things are well with you and yours—

5. Antony Loewenstein:
   August 3rd, 2008 at 7:43 pm

   “What do we almost miss as we go our usual routes?” Such a good question. I (almost) missed the Pope recently in Sydney, deliberately I must admit, but alas, he invaded my mental space like a man in red shoes and an oddly shaped dress.
   I’ve heard that it’s harder to miss oddly shaped fruit in a tropical paradise…

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Posted Sunday, August 3rd, 2008, 10:30 am | Filed in Design, Food, Photography, Travel. Follow responses through the RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback from your own site.