Saint Petersburg, Florida, 1-5 thro 1-11-2015

 

Monday, January 5, 2015, Leaving for St. Pete

The forecast for today was not favorable.  While the temperature promised to be 71 degrees, the trip north was against the tide and directly into the wind.   The forecast called for partly cloudy, but it seemed to us that it was mostly cloudy.  Our hope was 5 hours to cover the 25 miles between Bradenton and St. Pete.
Tim was concerned about the combination of the incoming tide and the winds and how it would influence our ability to get out of the slip.  The boat next to ours is very large, and extends past the dock some, and we wanted to make certain not to hit it…especially since the owners are live aboards and would hear the thunk!

Our neighbor and Jeff from Brisa were enlisted to be on be on guard duty as Tim expertly captained the boat out of the slip at 8:15 AM with nary a problem.

We bucked the wind and the current all the way up Tampa Bay.  Sea Fever arrived at St. Pete Municipal Marina at 1:15 PM giving us a travel time of 6.5 hours, taking longer than the 5 hours anticipated. Sea Fever was tied up at the dock by 1:45.  

Another factor that added to the time was that we somehow missed an important buoy indicating a left turn from the channel toward St. Pete. The return to the crucial buoy took less time, what with the wind and the current at our backs.

Robert, the dock master, got us signed in, gave us the keys to the bathrooms, and we headed back to the boat to get settled, have a little lunch, and get prepared for a week of fun.

Tuesday, January 6 through leaving St. Pete, 2015

The St. Pete marina is just a few blocks from downtown, as well as near many museums and restaurants.  It is a great location for boaters without a car!

There is a trolley that gives guided tours downtown, and is very expensive!  Inside a certain zone the fare is free, but outside that zone, the cost is 50¢ for seniors and 75¢ for the rest of us. 

St Pete Trolley

In addition, the trolley stop was a block away.  The decision to take the tour was an easy one! It would give us “the lay of the land” so as to figure out the location of museums and other activities that interested us.

Just up from the first stop is a public restroom.  As the story goes, the architect that built St, Mark’s Cathedral was short changed by the church when being reimbursed for his fees.  So he got even, and build the public restroom in the image of the church!



Public restroom in St. Pete



We went full circle on the trolley, and then walked to downtown.  Museums and eating establishments abound!

The St Pete skyline from the marina is great.



View of the St. Pete Marina from Sea Fever

Hunger was gnawing at us, so lunch at Bella Brava, spoke to us.  Our server was a kick, and had grandkids in St. Paul.  She applauded our efforts to escape the northland, and worried about her grandkids freezing to death! Lunch was good, not terribly expensive. We walked some more.  As the afternoon went on, the weather changed, and dropped about 20 degrees in a half hour. 

Upon returning to the marina,  a 39 foot DeFever trawler was docking in front of our boat, and we met Frank, Fonda, and their dog Buster.  We helped them dock and then hustled back to the boat, turned on the heater, and hunkered down.

Wednesday, January 7

Just a few blocks up from the marina was the Chihuly Glass Museum, so that was our destination for the day. It defies description, although I will try!  We long ago decided that we like guided tours, so we took the one of this museum.  It was amazing.  The guide told us was that we would want to touch the exhibits…and then went on to say DON’T.  One of Tim’s challenges, as chief photographer, was that he couldn’t just take a photo of the art…the picture never would show the scale of these massive glass sculptures.  He finally got a few pictures with people in them.  They were beautiful. On the tour, the guide told us that the Chihuly staff came in to put together the pieces.  Each piece of glass for each sculpture was individually wrapped and numbered. Then the staff put them all together.

Full-size wood dingy filled with glass balls floats on a black glass sea

 

Above left/ The chandelier that hung in the main exhibit room. note the scale of it with the person to the right

Above right/ The sea in glass.  It is 40 feet long, at least.

Out to the street. It seemed that there were ice cream shops every other shop, and so what choice could be made but to have some ice cream, watch people, listen to street musicians, and head back to the boat.

January 8^th, Thursday.  The day we couldn’t get off the boat.

The weather was cold this morning…about 43. The weather forecast was a high of about 61 around 4 PM.  Kathy made ready to head to a spa appointment.  Tim looked outside and realized that the dock, because of the combination of the tide and the wind, was chest high from the deck of the boat. That would be HIS chest high. No way were we getting out of the boat. 

Kathy cancelled her planned spa day...and they actually charged her 1/2 price because she was unable to show up.  She was plenty ticked. So much for the spa of relaxation!

After a wonderful day, yesterday, it was cold and blustery day today.

January 9^th, Friday

Our boat neighbor, Frank had been to a boat salvage place when he and Fonda had visited before, and wanted to visit it again.  So we packed into their car, found a big breakfast place, and headed just outside of town.   The name of the salvage was Don's Marine Salvage. It was 6 acres of boat parts.   Everything from anchors, to electronics to line.  It was the kind of place that should advertise "if you can't find it here, you don't need it."

Fonda and Kathy got cold and bored and headed for the car.  Nothing was purchased, but the boys had a good time'

Don's Marine Salvage

When we returned to the marina, Kathy secured a haircut appointment, went to the market, and while she was away, Tim installed her Christmas carpet.  What a difference it made in the cabin.  The new carpet freshened the whole place up. 

January 10^th, Saturday

Again, a pretty Florida day, so we decided to walk up and see what the Farmers Market had to offer.  Fresh sunflowers were for sale everywhere.  Strawberries that were red all the way through!  Artisan breads and sausages! Mimes and folks playing music!  It was quite lovely.  We brought our strawberries and oranges back to the boat, and headed out for another adventure.
 

 

Farmers Market in St. Pete

 

The Dali Museum was next on the agenda.  It was an easy walk along the waterfront, and the museum is quite lovely.  But boy, Dali was a weird dude.  The featured exhibit was a tandem showing of Picasso and Dali’s work, primarily during the Spanish Civil war.  It was interesting to see two contemporaries feature the same events in their work. 

We got a little weary of the docents explaining what Dali was thinking as he created his masterpieces and escaped to the great outdoors to see the glory of the building itself.

 This is from the Dali Museum website:

 Designed by architect Yann Weymouth of HOK, the new building combines the rational with the fantastical: a simple rectangle with 18-inch thick hurricane-proof walls out of which erupts a large free-form geodesic glass bubble known as the “enigma”. The “enigma”, which is made up of 1,062 triangular pieces of glass, stands 75 feet at its tallest point, a twenty-first century homage to the dome that adorns Dali’s museum in Spain. Inside, the Dali houses another unique architectural feature – a helical staircase – recalling Dali’s obsession with spirals and the double helical shape of the DNA molecule.

Nice, but we just thought it was pretty.

      

The Dali Museum

Frank and Fonda  (and of course, Buster the dog) invited us for wine and cheese on their boat, Miss Grace.  Kathy got a tour of Miss Grace.  Oh, what a lovely boat it is.  

Sunday, January 11^th

We spent much of the day getting ready to get underway on Monday.  Stocked up on groceries, worked a bit on the blog, and we had ordered a pumpout.  Midmorning, the pumpout boat pulled alongside!  Another first experience!  Went out for pizza with our boat neighbors, and tucked in early.

Back to Bradenton in the morning. And plan our trip to Sarasota.

Christmas through New Years (and a few more days)

Bradenton, Tuesday, 12-23 through Sunday, 1/4, 2015

Our time at Bradenton was fun. We laid low on Tuesday, the 23^rd, did a grocery run,  and went for a walk. The Twin Dolphin Marina is on The River Walk.  It is a lovely walkway along the river, with sculptures, play areas for kids and just a great way to stretch our legs after a long time of sitting on the boat.

Egret watching the tide go out

Kathy sunbathing on The River Walk

Twin Dolphin pool

And, it was alight with Christmas displays. 

Christmas lights at Twin Dolphin



Christmas lights at Bradenton City Hall

Kathy purchased some mini-lights at the grocery store and decorated the boat with those as well as a few ornaments packed from home.

Kathy and T2 waiting for Santa on Sea Fever

Christmas Eve was a great day.  We set out to buy new indoor outdoor carpet for the boat (Kathy’s requested Christmas present) and found success at Lowe’s.  We then cooked up our signature wild rice and packed up our green vegetables to contribute to the feast, and descended on the Finney’s about 5, where Christmas activities were in full-fledged swing.

Christmas Cooks

Yoshi, the dog came by Tim for a pet, and charged right at Kathy, knowing that she would wrastle with him! We aren’t strangers anymore!

Dinner was great, turkey and all the fixings’. All dug into the dinner, talked and laughed, laughed and talked. And tried not to drop any turkey on the floor for Yoshi.

After dinner dishes were cleaned up, we retired to sit in front of the Christmas tree.  Young Mike was asked if he was interested in opening his presents from us, since apparently Santa doesn’t deliver presents in Bradenton until Christmas Day.  He looked at us in childlike wonderment as though we were stupid to ask the question, and ripped into the presents. Such fun.

Christmas Day brought a Skype session with Kathy’s family in Amherst.  Gregg and Audrey, sons Carl, Paul and Chris were joined by sister Karen, and the newest addition to the family, Carl’s fiancé, Kristin. It was fun to see everyone.  Adding to the fun was telling stories about Gregg’s wayward ways in his youth!  As Chris (the youngest son) commented on the story about Kathy and Gregg’s early experimentation with cigarettes, “I didn’t see that one coming!”

Friday, Mike and Jackie brought young Michael to visit Sea Fever.  Young Michael said that it was just a very small house on the water.  Very small. And then off to lunch at the Cortez Kitchen, a favorite of Kathy’s.  The grouper sandwich is to die for! It is adjacent to a fish market, which is stocked by boats bring in their catch. Everyone knows that a visit to Bradenton is not complete for Kathy without a grouper sandwich from the Cortez Kitchen!

Cortez Kitchen, home of Kathy's favorite grouper sandwich

 Sunday, Dec 28th

We were invited to a party at the Finney’s.  We were quickly identified as “the people from the boat”. How Bogart and Hepburn is that!!  Well, without the malaria thing going on! nIt was a great gathering with golf friends of Mike’s, and once again, great food.  Wine flowed, and we enjoyed being included.

Some folks headed for home, and several of us plunked down in the living room and shared stories which included tales of our first cigarettes, how family order influenced our lives, and other such things. Laughter reigned supreme. And new friendships were forged.

Monday, Dec 29 through January 4^th.

These were a few laid back days.  After spending so much time meeting deadlines, it is nice to just relax.

We enjoyed a barbecue with our friends from Brisa, and joined the Finneys for two movies.  The first was spectacular.  It was “The Imitation Game” about Alan Turing and the cracking of the Enigma Code in WWII. “Big Eyes” was a weird movie, but then, what can one expect from Tim Burton?

Tim got a little fishing in, and Kathy spent a morning to herself, we made reservations at the Saint Pete Municipal Marina and got ready to head out on Monday, January 5, 2015.