A wrong turn and a tour of Tangelo Park

[cra1gyp]

We ere at IOA this morning and had a great time, afterwards we took a drive up i-drive to Premium Outlets. On the way we fancied popping in to a petrol station for a couple of ice cold cokes so I was on the lookout for a Wawa or 7 eleven , I spotted a sign for Chevron so took a right turn to go in but it was just a small run down looking place so DW said "keep on going I'm not going in there" (she's getting all stuck up with the petrol stations out here likes a Wawa). So I drove on looking for somewhere to turn, took a left then a right and suddenly we were in a housing estate, looked ok, some nice houses some not. Then DW said "that sign back there said Tangelo Park ". Now I've heard or read about this place before, can't remember where but almost sure it was a crime related article I had heard or read on some Florida news channel or website.
So, next I approached a crossroads and burled round. The onlooking group standing at that corner all just stared at us weirdos, clearly out of place in our nearly new Nissan Maxima hire car and me a steriotypical Scotsman, bald with ginger trim and freckles looking a bit anxious.
We hurried out of there for probably no reason but it felt like the right thing to do, the locals probably thought we were just another car load of lost tourists.
When I got back to the Rosen Inn I Googled Tangelo Park and the reports were not great, to be fair I've seen worse places back home and we probably over reacted thinking we would be mugged,car jacked or shot but really the worst thing we seen was a guy washing his car in the afternoon, he must have been roasting

[Pussycat Doll]

It's very easy to suddenly find yourself in an area you're not comfortable with. If you don't feel happy being there then you absolutely did the right thing to leave. Did it once in LA, the old sofas with some 'dudes' sat on them on the side of the road was enough to make me put my foot down and get out of that particular area. Pussycat

[capecoralfl]

Originally Posted by cra1gyp

We ere at IOA this morning and had a great time, afterwards we took a drive up i-drive to Premium Outlets. On the way we fancied popping in to a petrol station for a couple of ice cold cokes so I was on the lookout for a Wawa or 7 eleven , I spotted a sign for Chevron so took a right turn to go in but it was just a small run down looking place so DW said "keep on going I'm not going in there" (she's getting all stuck up with the petrol stations out here likes a Wawa). So I drove on looking for somewhere to turn, took a left then a right and suddenly we were in a housing estate, looked ok, some nice houses some not. Then DW said "that sign back there said Tangelo Park ". Now I've heard or read about this place before, can't remember where but almost sure it was a crime related article I had heard or read on some Florida news channel or website.
So, next I approached a crossroads and burled round. The onlooking group standing at that corner all just stared at us weirdos, clearly out of place in our nearly new Nissan Maxima hire car and me a steriotypical Scotsman, bald with ginger trim and freckles looking a bit anxious.
We hurried out of there for probably no reason but it felt like the right thing to do, the locals probably thought we were just another car load of lost tourists.
When I got back to the Rosen Inn I Googled Tangelo Park and the reports were not great, to be fair I've seen worse places back home and we probably over reacted thinking we would be mugged,car jacked or shot but really the worst thing we seen was a guy washing his car in the afternoon, he must have been roasting

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I navigated hubby out of Miami airport years ago straight into the dodgiest area you could imagine (Hialeah) it was so scary and the further we drove, the worse it became! No Sat Nav and in the pitch dark - we eventually found a highway and got on the right road, but it put us off going into Miami for years. Thank god for Sat Nav's!

[Rossalino]

Originally Posted by capecoralfl

I navigated hubby out of Miami airport years ago straight into the dodgiest area you could imagine (Hialeah) it was so scary and the further we drove, the worse it became! No Sat Nav and in the pitch dark - we eventually found a highway and got on the right road, but it put us off going into Miami for years. Thank god for Sat Nav's!

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Same thing happened to us years ago before Sat Navs although not near the airport but one minute we were in a touristy area then next we seemed to be in a road with run down houses and people hanging about on the street - it looked very dodgy and I was quite scared with 2 young kids in the back.

OP, I don't know the area you're talking about but you definitely did right to get out of there asap if you sensed it wasn't safe.

[DIBBadmin]

This thread has been automatically closed as it has not been posted on in 365 days.

[MOONCHESTER]

I read a report online recently that Tangelo Park is improving, the kids now getting good education etc, cant remember the full detail, but I think the guy who set up The Rosen chain has had a huge input into its turnaround.