The 88 Store

The 88 Store Today

 

It sits on Forest Road 88 in the middle of the Ocala National Forest, hence the name.  The first time I went there was in 1969 on my Honda CT 70. 

 

Honda CT 70

I usually had $.50 in the pocket of my jeans which was enough to fill the tank of my little Honda since gas was a whole $.25 a gallon, plus have some left over for a honey bun and a Coke.

 

At that time we called it the Little Old Ladies Store.  It was run by two women who were probably niether old nor ladies.  It was quite the adventure for us to even ride the five miles from our lake house to the store.  Since none of us had a license we worked out a series of trails which brought us so close to the store we only had to ride a short ways on the pavement.  Riding on the road illegally was a big thrill at 13.

I had a friend, Mike, whose parents owned a lake house close to ours, and had inherited an old step through Honda 90 from his older brother.  We pushed and pulled that thing up and down the dirt road behind our lake houses trying to get it to start.  It was never very reliable and was a real hand full in the soft Ocala sand but that just added to the adventure.

We would leave the house in the middle of the morning, head up the dirt road to the store, fill up with gas and junk food, and be gone most of the day.  Unlike today our parents had no idea where we were.  We would spend hours finding trails and exploring that end of the forest.  No maps, no GPS, no cell phones.  Protective gear was limited to tennis shoes, blue jeans, helmet, and a flannel shirt.  We never knew what might be around the next corner whenever we ventured onto new trails.  At 13 that forest seemed bigger than the whole state of Florida.

The World was Much Bigger Then

We eventually upgraded to full size motorcycles, me a 1971 Honda SL 125 (I still have one in my garage) and Mike a SL 70.  I had my restricted license by then which made it legal to ride my bike on the road.  The first place I rode it was to the 88 Store. 

 

My parents, being scared of motorcycles anyway, didn't want me on the pavement, so we still rode as much off road as we could.  But what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them though so we extended our range beyond the 88 Store.  Somewhere along that time I found an old map of the Ocala (which I still have) and we began to explore even further from the house.

Sure we had a few mishaps.  We got lost a lot.  I still have a scar on my leg from the heat shield on that 70.  Mike got hit by a car one day while riding by himself right behind the house.  He lived but it changed his life forever.

 

I did learn to hate Sunday afternoons when we would roll the bike onto the back porch of the lake house and head back to Jacksonville, to school, and my other life.  But there was always the next Friday.

Back to the Present




Different Crowd at the 88 Store and no I have no idea who this is

The 88 Store is still in business.  They have it set up like a small saloon and there's a different crowd that hangs around there now but you can still buy gas and honey buns.

Now adays I do most of my exploring by pedaling, at almost 57 I still like to wander around in the woods.  I have a son who is 16 and every time he leaves the house to go for a ride I ask him if he's got his phone with him, where he's going, and when he'll be back.  I'm not as brave as my parents.

One thing that hasn't changed though is I still don't like Sunday afternoons.