Morton’s BMW Motorcycles presents Dr. Seymour O’Life’s MYSTERIOUS AMERICA

coraL castLe • aone-man mystery

Every now and again we come across something so odd, unusual, and different that it must be seen in person to be appreciated.

For years I have heard about such a place deep in southern Florida, just above the river of grass they call the Everglades.

What made this place cut a deep notch in my “Must See List” was the continuing mystery that still follows it to this day, more than 100 years after construction was started. Alien technology, individual know-how, maybe a bit of both… welcome to Coral Castle.

Just north of the city of Homestead, Coral Castle is an amazing site. Built from over 1,000 tons of megalithic coral rock; dense blocks which from 1923 until 1951 were quarried, carved, and stacked to form towers, beds and tables, rocking chairs, sundials, and bizarre astrological figures – it is made all that much more amazing when you learn that it was all constructed over almost three decades by one man - Edward Leedskalnin, a young stone mason from Latvia.

Still, and this is where it gets odd, no one really knows how Leedskalnin accomplished all this. So many ideas, and thoughts – from pulleys and magnetism to witchcraft and extraterrestrial intervention – but behind it all lies a profound science of geometry, a technique of mass manipulation which the architect himself claimed to have inherited from the builders of King Solomon’s Temple and the pyramids of Egypt before that.

Or, maybe that all added to the story. He refused to allow anyone to view him while he worked. A few teenagers claimed to have witnessed his work, reporting that he had caused the blocks of coral to move like helium balloons. The only advanced tool that Leedskalnin spoke of using was a “Perpetual Motion” holder”.

But why did he build it?

The story goes that Edward was in love with a girl ten years younger than he named Agnes Skuvst. They were to be wed, but Agnes got cold feet and called off the marriage a day before the wedding.

Crushed, yet still very much in love, Leedskalnin left Latvia and traveled to the United States, where he settled in a part of Florida that, back in those days, was very, very wild. Then he began to create a monument to his lost love; sometimes referring to it as a tribute to his “Sweet Sixteen.”

Although all this sounds so romantic, other stories have Edward fleeing arrest after the Russian revolution in his native Latvia and his lost love Agnes just a good story for him to tell. No one knows, and that is part of the mystery as well.

When Ed was finished he had crafted stone totaling 1,110 tons — including a 9-ton gate, 5.8-ton walls, and a 28-ton obelisk. It should be of note that Leedskalnin was just 5 feet tall and weighed about 100 pounds.

One theory, more a story, tells how Leedkalnin was aware of the natural energy grids that surround the Earth, and that this particular location would work to his advantage.

Edward Leedskalnin disputed contemporary science and believed all matter consisted of magnets that could produce measurable phenomena and electricity. Ed would say he had rediscovered the laws of weight, measurement, and leverage and that these concepts involved the relationship of the Earth to celestial alignments. Many people report that he used harmonics combined with grid energies and celestial alignments to do his work. Harmonics are often thought to lift objects. Tibetan Monks combine their harmonics to elevate heavy objects. Ed proceeded to develop a means of leveraging power generated from the geomagnetic grid and produced a system to generate anti-gravity waves. Edward’s notebooks were laden with schematics for magnetism, and electrical experiments. Although he possessed only a fourth-grade education, it seems he had discovered a means to reduce the gravitational pull of the earth. He wrote a series of pamphlets that included his theories on magnetism and cosmic force.

Leedskalnin himself claimed that he knew the “secret” of the ancient pyramids, and some allege he used those secrets to assemble the structure. He was quoted as saying, “I have discovered the secrets of the pyramids, and have found out how the Egyptians and the ancient builders in Peru, Yucatan, and Asia, with only primitive tools, raised and set in place blocks of stone weighing many tons.”

In December of 1951 Ed Leedskalnin, at age 64, became ill. He put a sign on the door saying ‘Going to the Hospital’. He took a bus to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. Three days later he died in his sleep of malnutrition and kidney failure, taking his secrets with him.

Today Coral Castle not only survives but readily welcomes visitors. Upon entry, you can and should watch the short documentary to get a better grasp of how intricate the castle is. Strolling the grounds we watched quick, agile, and colorful Agamas – tiny African lizards that came as pets but now rule the land. We fell in behind a guided tour that had just begun which allowed us to glean some info I might have missed on my own.

When first open the site was called Rock Gate – named after the massive 9-ton gate that, at one time, was so easy to open a strong breeze could do it. I passed by the Moon Stone, the Polaris telescope, the world’s only sundial with seasons all carved out of coral rock, that is perfectly aligned with the North Star, and the many stone rocking chairs that are scattered through the castle.

I could not help but marvel at the thought of one man shaping, moving, and placing these titanic stone works.

But the question still remains – how did this diminutive, often ill, Leedskalnin lift, move and place these on his own?

It seems the real truth died with Leedskalnin and certainly makes Coral Castle a must-see on the backroads of Mysterious America. O’Life out! ,

Listed as the world’s smallest and hardest to find ice cream shop was enough to pique my interest. Of course, the recommendation from riding friend Eric was also a push to head to Saugerties, NY to seek out this New York State delicious creamery.

We were going on an excursion to the villages up the Hudson which boast of quaintness and, as would be found, many eateries. Our destination was Tivoli – home to Fortune’s Ice Cream, which Food and Wine Magazine named the best ice cream in New York State in 2021 and featured in Backroads’ November 2021 issue as well as taking First Runner Up for that year. With such high honors, and having done a little reading about Alleyway Ice Cream in Saugerties, I thought it best to do our own taste test between these highly-rated creameries.

The day’s ride was as delicious as the anticipated ice cream. A beautiful sunny, cool weekday heading into the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Brian vectored us on some little roads we had not previously traveled and some that we knew to be entertaining. After a stop at the UFO capital – Pine Bush, NY – for a bite and walk-through of the UFO Paranormal Museum (more on that from Dr. O’Life), we scooted along the shadows of the Shawungunks as well as following the northward path of the Wallkill River before vectoring east and up the Hudson into the very cute village of Saugerties, NY.

Easily finding parking, handily right at the entrance to the alley housing Alleyway Ice Cream, we took a moment to take in what was along Partition Street. We have been to many towns that do installations of various animals, usually sponsored by local businesses or community organizers. We were very happy to see that Saugerties had adopted horses, many looking like carousel horses, for this year’s theme. I’ve always been enamored by these town endeavors and, since folks had taken time and creativity to make these pieces of artwork, I obliged by walking the street to captures those I found. Horsin’ Around Saugerties is a summer-long event consisting of 35 artists painting fiberglass horses on the streets of Saugerties from Memorial Day thru Labor Day. The original theme of horses is an homage to the Stallions baseball team. There will be a walking map available so you can find them yourself. Check discoversaugerties.com for updates.

Having worked up a great need for ice cream, we made our way back to the alley. Julian Hom, founder of linen-closet-turned-ice cream shop, started scooping in 2017. Being a foodophile, Julian set out to develop unique yet delicious and visually appealing flavors. He was not out to unseat Hershey’s or Ben and Jerry’s in sales, simple to make people happy with his ice cream while living a nice life: hiking, traveling and such. The not-so-secret secret to Alleyway’s intense flavors is in what is missing – air, to be specific. Spinning less air into the ice cream gives it just enough ‘fluff’ to lighten the density yet keep the original flavors of the ingredients.

Alleyway Ice Cream is nicely set up with walk-up window and a very lovely seating area which had a pergola and beautiful seasonal flora full in bloom. This day’s offerings of their homemade, small batch ice cream included Coconut Coffee, Buttermilk Strawberry, Thai Tea Cookies + Cream, Matcha Salted Pistachio, Madagascar Vanilla, Caramel Popcorn, Belgian Chocolate, Key Lime Crunch and Ube Heath Bar Crunch. The last was the flavor Eric said was absolute favorite so taste it I did. Yes, it was delicious, but there were so many others that demanded my attention it was difficult to settle. Brian had a waffle cone absolutely stuffed with a scoop each of Buttermilk Strawberry and Coconut Coffee. The Buttermilk Strawberry was so creamy and like biting into a freshly-picked strawberry. The Coconut Coffee had a wonderful flavor, but the texture was more like a sorbet than ice cream.

Not bad at all, just different. I finally made a decision of Thai Tea Cookies + Cream and, yes, the Ube Heath Bar Crunch. Amazingly, while the cookies + cream certainly had that flavor, the underlying was of a smoky tea which lingered on the tongue. Very pleasant indeed. Ube, for those who may not know, is a purple yam native to Southeast Asia which has gained a great following in the dessert world due to its slightly nutty, vanilla taste. That mixed with heathbar crunch was extra special.

If you can’t decide, Alleyway Ice Cream does serve mini scoops at $5/each – perhaps they will offer a flight if enough folks ask for that. The double scoops we each got were HUMONGOUS and well worth the $8. There is plenty to share should you be that sort of person.

Here is the ride we took, starting at the Hainesville General Store on Route 206 in Sandyston, NJ – it’s about 95 miles one-way. There is so much to see and do in this area, an overnight is certainly not out of the question. Use this as a base and continue the adventure; if you find any other ice cream shops, take a picture and send it to me – I’m always looking for more ice cream. , Download .gpx file here: www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/80gvbb apemcreamery / sorBetteria

We can never have too many ice cream stops on a daily ride, and July is National Ice Cream Month, with Sunday, July 16 National Ice Cream Day as set forth by President Ronald Reagan. I just recently came upon a couple of resources to help celebrate this greatest of months. One came from our very own Dan Bisbee, one courtesy of a daily e-newsletter from Hudson Valley, New York and one from New Jersey Digest. From these lists, I’ve selected a couple which are on my ‘cone list’ but I’ll give you the links so you can decide on your own. As mentioned in last month’s article by Victor Cruz, you can create your own Coddiwomple of ice cream shops.

870 Broad Street, BlooMField • 973-666-0438 • apemcreamery.com

Thurs/Fri 2-8pm or Sat/Sun 12-8pm

APEM Creamery / Sorbetteria is a modern minimalist gelato and sorbet shop by Jersey native Alex Saneski. After operating a gelato business in California (Cremeux Ex Machina) and traveling the world he decided to come home to proper Jersey people. APEM combines experiences of North- ern California seasonality, Japanese and Nordic minimalism, French culinary training, plus Jersey grit and sarcasm to share something refreshing. gaBrieL’s FoUntain kitchen + creamery

What is minimalist gelato? According to Alex, the most direct way to happiness is focusing on seasonal and simple things. Trim the bullshit.

And why did he come back to Jersey? “It’s blatantly the best state in America. I’ve lived elsewhere, but there’s nothing better than right here in Jersey where I was born and raised. APEM is my love letter to New Jersey.” Their flavors change often, if not daily, and many times sell out. With something like ‘Let Me Speak To Your Manager’ - double espresso stracciatella (inspired by his friend Karen) how would they not. Can’t wait to get there.

1948 WaShington ValleY rd, MartinSVille 732-469-5800 • gabrielsfountain.com

Sun-Thurs: 11:30-9 • Fri-Sat: 11:30-10 the BLUe pig

Another portal into the New Jersey of decades past, and a hidden gem of Martinsville (Bridgewater, NJ) specializing in artisan ice cream and well crafted foods. Gabriel’s Fountain is a great spot to grab a bite to eat and cap it off with some of NJ’s best ice cream. Gabriel’s specializes in hard ice cream and their unique flavors are undeniably attractive. Take the Aztec chocolate churro, which boasts a spicy dark chocolate base and cinnamon, or the sour cream and cherry, which includes sour cream infused base and bourbon cherries.

121 Maple St, Croton-on-hudSon, nY 914-271-3850 • thebluepigicecream.com

Tues/Wed/Thurs: 12-9pm • Fri/Sat: 12-9:30 • Sun 12-8pm

Heading over the Hudson into the Empire State, The Blue Pig sits on a quiet street in Crotonon-Hudson. The cute shop has a large patio and seating for your ice cream enjoyment. Homemade to the folks at Blue Pig means the most pure, natural ingredients straight from a local farm, our their garden, or Michael, the local coffee roaster. At The Blue Pig, they wash and hull every strawberry, juice pounds of fresh ginger, hand grate cups of lemon zest, and finely toast each nut that gets put into their ice cream. The result? Pure,distinct flavors in every spoonful. Their dairy comes from Hudson Valley Fresh, a not-for-profit dairy cooperative formed in 1998 to preserve nine family-owned farms in Dutchess and Columbia Counties. Dedicated to quality, sustainability, and local production, Hudson Valley Fresh is the only dairy source they would ever consider for their ice cream.

The Blue Pig’s got all your niche tastes covered; for example, try the grapefruit Campari sorbet or the fresh ginger ice cream with candied lemon. Vegan chai teas and fresh-baked cookies made with artisan flours can be found in colder weather. If you’re looking for specialties, the ice cream cakes, root beer floats, and orange soda floats are where it’s at.

Weir’s ice cream

2159 nY-94, SaliSBurY MillS, nY • 845-496-4258 • weirsicecream.com open eVerY daY 12-8:30pM

Founded in 1956, Weir’s is the retro roadside stand of Instagram dreams. The shop is open from April to September and is locally famous for its homemade hard scoops and unique soft serve flavors. Order the perfect twist of what- ever soft serve options are on the menu for the day (vegan strawberry oat milk, anyone?) or get a sky-high stack of scoops like churro or “Wizard Tracks” (that’s vanilla ice cream with peanut butter swirl and mini peanut butter cups).

Weir’s is in a great riding area of Hudson Valley, on Route 94 and not too far from Storm King Art Center. Planning a ride along these old, smaller roads with a stop at a vintage-looking ice cream stand and then a walk amongst some fine outdoor sculptures is certainly a great way to spend a summer day in July. ,