A Road Trip and a Short Story Idea

Years ago, while I was living in Tampa, Florida, my friend Barbara and I went on a road trip from Tampa to St. Augustine.  The November weather was mild with gentle breezes.  When we reached our destination, we visited touristy areas in downtown St. Augustine.  We also went to the Lincolnville Festival, an annual event that celebrates Lincolnville (the historical African American neighborhood of St. Augustine). 

At the Lincolnville Festival, Barbara and I enjoyed hearing live jazz music float through the air, as we ate sandwiches (barbecue for her, fried fish for me) and sipped lemonade.  We also surveyed original arts and crafts on display and bought a few pieces to take back home.

During our day in St. Augustine, we walked past centuries-old houses and passed several with ghost stories in their histories.

By the time we were ready to leave, we'd gathered a number of pamphlets about the places we'd seen and experienced.  The result of our trip to the "Old City" was a good time.  And the trip gave me an idea for the plot of The Help at Rainbow Inn, one of the eight intriguing stories in my new book Indigo Tales, a collection of short stories available in 2016.