Summers are synonymous with road trips. And what road trip is complete without a road house? When you see that shack or shanty oozing good vibes, killer music, and smokehouse aromas, you stop. You go in. Or out, as is the case of this establishment that’s without a sign, hidden at the end of a parking lot, in a quiet neighborhood on a lake, and laden with enough stuff to make a junkyard jealous.

The owners and their kinfolk run the place, modeled, they say, “after those crazy joints down in the Keys.” The regulars keep bringing more crazy kitsch. You cold get dizzy trying to take it all in—or is that the drinks? They’re open Thursday – Sunday, mostly sometimes. But if you’re really lucky, you don’t much care about day, time, or place. Because you’re on vacation. And those folks on the other stools have stories to tell.

Hey, summer’s fading. Already. I suggest you travel just far enough to find an escape like this. And then bask in the sun and smiles for a good, long time…