| THE STRANGE AND THE UNEXPLAINED |
| ONE OF THE BEST PARTS ABOUT ROAD-TRIPS IS GETTING TO TOUR ALL OF THE SMALL TOWNS AND BACK- ROADS OF OUR GREAT COUNTRY. ON MANY OF THESE OUT-OF-THE-WAY ROADS WE STUMBLE ACROSS ODDITIES AND CURIOSITIES THAT BORDER ON THE OBSCURE AND ARCANE. SOME ARE CREEPY, SOME ARE KITSCH, AND SOME ARE JUST PLAIN EERIE. HERE'S WHERE WE'LL POST SOME PIX OF PLACES WE STUMBLE ACROSS THAT HAVE THAT CERTAIN "FEELING" . THE FEELING OF A RUSTY OLD CARNIVAL RIDE, OR AN ABANDONED ROADSIDE ATTRACTION THAT HAS LONG BEEN FORGOTTEN. |
| THE CORAL CASTLE ON FLORIDA'S DIXIE HIGHWAY JUST NORTH OF HOMESTEAD IS A STRANGE PLACE CALLED THE CORAL CASTLE. THE STORY IS LONG, SO HERE IS THE SHORT INTERESTING VERSION. IN 1918 IN THE COUNTRY OF LATVIA, A MAN NAMED EDWARD LEEDSKALNIN WAS JILTED BY HIS HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEART. HE FREAKED OUT, AND WANDERED THE WORLD IN A HAZE FOR TWO YEARS, FINALLY SETTLING DOWN IN THE MIAMI AREA. SOON AFTER HE BEGAN CONSTRUCTION OF A STONE " CASTLE" AND COURTYARD THAT WAS CONSTRUCTED AS A SHRINE TO HIS EX GIRLFRIEND. IT WAS CONSTRUCTED ENTIRELY OUT OF HUGE CORAL BLOCKS THAT EDWARD HIMSELF QUARRIED AND MOVED ON HIS OWN. HE LIVED HIS WHOLE LIFE AS A HERMIT, AND WORKED ONLY UNDER THE COVER OF DARKNESS AND THE PROTECTIVE WALLS OF HIS COURTYARD. AFTER IT WAS COMPLETE, HIS GIRLFRIEND NEVER EVER CAME TO SEE IT. WHAT A BUMMER. WHAT MAKES THE STORY WEIRD IS THAT THESE BLOCKS WERE MOVED WITHOUT THE USE OF MACHINERY OR ENGINES, AND HE USED ONLY CRUDE PULLEYS AND BLOCK-AND-TACKLE SYSTEMS. MOST OF THE BLOCKS WEIGH OVER 9 TONS AND THE HEAVIEST WEIGHS 35 TONS. THIS FEAT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO PERFORM WITH THE ROPES AND TOOLS HE HAD AT HIS DISPOSAL, CREATING "RUMORS" OF SUPERNATURAL INTERVENTION. NOBODY KNOWS HOW THIS TINY LITTLE MAN HAD THE STRENGTH TO PERFORM SUCH HERCULEAN FEATS. THEN IF THAT ISN'T ENOUGH, HE MOVED THE WHOLE COMPLEX TO ANOTHER LOCATION WHEN HE MOVED! HERE AT GHOSTPROS WE DON'T THINK IT HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE SUPERNATURAL, BUT RATHER WE THINK IT STANDS AS A TESTAMENT TO WHAT HAPPENS TO A MAN WHO SPENDS HIS WHOLE LIFE WITHOUT EVER GETTING LAID! BELOW ARE SOME PHOTOS OF THE AMAZING CORAL CASTLE. |
