A Hobo's Travelogue: Two weeks at the Colony hotel in Delray Beach, Florida

Lately, we have taken to staying at the Colony Hotel in Delray while making our winter visit to my 92 year old father. Built in 1926, the Colony allows one to step back in time to the relaxed, ornamental elegance of the late colonial period when uniformed staff, ceiling fans, white wicker, and large french windows open wide to the soft sweet nautical winds of time that blur the boundries of space and time transport you to back to 1920's Rangoon, Siam, Singapore, Macau, the Raffles Hotel, the mysteries of the orient, clothed in white linen suits and straw hats, flowing gossamer gowns of Edwardian aires, sipping iced rum drinks served by obsequious uniformed locals on broad verandas open to the world and overlooking eternity of a still imperial empire.

That Delray and Colony Hotel still exist in the vibrant, organic form that they do, is a minor miracle and a testament to the hard work of those committed to battling the corrosive forces of neglect and urban renewal that have gutted America. Everyone has taken these pictures of the Colony, some better, many worse, but the challenge here was to get it right for myself. Its not as easy as you might think, but I think I nailed it given certain technical limitations. This is the cornerstone of the renewal of Atlantic Avenue that runs from the beach all the way to Swinton Avenue and Doc's drive in, a tropical paradise that also just happens to sell great burgers and onion rings and the veggie burgers that looked and tasted home made (if you care about such things), and I have had my share of mediocre frozen ones, so I know...

The reinvention of Delray includes Pineapple Grove on 4th Street, which was originally intended to be the "arts district" but the art never took root, so like the rest of Delray, it consists of pricey eateries, high end boutiques, a couple of expensive art galleries, specializing more in decorative works that would look good over your sofa or in the guest bedroom, and the ubiquitous Florida condos with attached parking lots. You just can't legislate an art scene, it has to be something organic that just happens. But kudos for trying.

You can't fake authenticity no matter how hard you try, but at Kevro's Art Bar on 2nd Avenue, down by the railroad tracks in what was once the wrong side of town, you won't be disappointed. They take their drinking and their art seriously.

Other points of interest are the Delray Camera Shop . Mostly digital now, but it still has that old camera store feel. They still sell film and some darkroom supplies.

The Trouser Shop/ Delray News stand are a retro/funky little anomalous blast from the past, on the otherwise very pricey, uber fashionable Atlantic Avenue scene. Its a great place buy the Globe and Mail, and otherwise meet up with all the other Canadians milling around in mid afternoon waiting for the truck carrying Le Presse, Le Devoir, the National Post and the Montreal Gazette in addition to the NYT, People Magazine and anything you could want. I happened to stop by on February 12, the day after the pope resigned, in what would appear to stand out as his major accomplishment in that office.