We arrived in sunny Miami, and our first stop was the now-defunct Gomez Tortilla Factory. What happened, guys? It turns out that they closed last February because the business was no longer profitable. After 62 years of operating this little place, the family locked the doors and walked away. It feels like it was just yesterday when, upon our arrival in Winkelman further south from here, the owner of Giorsetti’s Market gave us the bad news that Maria’s Tortilla Factory down in Mammoth turned over the shop to a restaurant/bakery. Sadly, for us, it was Maria’s or nothing as they were just the best. Someday, all the mom-and-pop shops will be gone, and we’ll be left with the most mediocre crap ever.

I predict that within ten years, weed will be legal in at least 20 states. Okay, time for some truth; I’m writing this post in the future to post in the past because these images languished in hard drive hell for a decade before I resurrected them from that purgatory, and so, as I write this in 2023, marijuana is, in fact, legal in 22 states.

If you are starting to wonder which version of an alternative universe kind of Miami we’ve landed in, your quick-witted observation of being confused would be appropriate as we are, in fact, in Miami, Arizona. Since I’m writing this in the future, I can share what I’ve learned from my first encounter with Google’s Bard AI service. You see, I first asked ChatGPT about the Gomez Tortilla Factory, but its intelligence proved deficient, so with some reluctance, I turned to my current nemesis, Google, and asked their AI the same question, and it delivered. Next, I asked Bard about when Miami started falling into decline, and I was informed that it began in the late 1970s but really accelerated in the early 1980s. By then, the copper industry had already crumbled because mining operations had moved offshore.

I’m intrigued by this old building because it appears that someone is still living there. The doorbell for this place at 422/424 W. Gibson Street appears to be in working order, and the trashcans likely belong to this house. It turns out this place was built in 1915 and is huge inside, with over 6,700 square feet (625 sq. meters). As of 2023, it’s valued at just under $28,000, though it’s not on the market.

You might wonder what we’re looking for here in Miami. We are looking for nothing beyond simply having gotten away from Phoenix for a time. Does this imply that holes in walls are more interesting than the city we live in? That’s a certainty.

A perfect balance of decay.

Somehow, this ruin at 518 W. Gibson Street is showing up on real estate sites as a two-bedroom, 1-bath, 2,518 sq. ft, 2-story house valued at $39,000. Excuse me?

Today’s photos were all shot by my daughter Jessica Aldridge, which is evidenced by the fact that I’m being reflected in the glass on the right with my hands in my pockets, and in another couple of photos (not posted here), you can see me in the shot, which never happens unless I’m shooting a selfie.