Sunken Gardens

Spring at Sunken Gardens

We spent a couple of hours at St. Petersburg's Sunken Gardens on Thursday. Beautiful, tropical and just a little shabby. The map isn't very useful, and plants could all use better identification. The kookaburras and parrots need better enclosures, and koi ponds seemed a little slimey.

This oasis in the middle of the city that deserves a good board of directors, thoughtful fundraising, attention to infrastructure and beautiful outdoor spaces. Naming at least some of the animals (birds, turtle, tortoise) would create a sense of community ownership.

Loved watching an egret hunt in the jungly underbrush, but my favorite resident was the alligator snapping turtle. Didn't get a good picture, but he was fun to see in the minnow filled pond.

Sunken Gardens

Extraordinary: the feeling that we were in 1920s Cuba -- all those palms, banana and banyan trees, the feeling that snakes could fall out of the air or slither up from the, well, sunken gardens.

Coffee Making 101

I got distracted making coffee this morning and walked away from the pot to work on my photos. Sounds coming from the kitchen were a little odd but I'm unused to the pot and didn't pay much attention, until I heard a gurgling from the general direction of the coffee maker.

Oh oh. The pot was sitting on the counter and I guess it's not the kind of process that shuts itself off unless the pot is on the plate. The tiled floor was covered with grounds and a river of coffee flowed in the grout between the tiles. The counter and refrigerator were splattered with dirty brown liquid.

Marilyn helped me clean up the worst of the mess, but I still had to clean the coffeemaker, which was covered with gritty coffee. Lesson learned.

Lots of Room on the Beach

Bob's Laughing Gull

We bundled up, picked up a couple of Subway sandwiches, and headed to Pass-a-Grille for the sunset. Bob decided to walk with his sandwich and talk to us, with his back to the water. He quickly made friends with a laughing gull, and (not being much of a crust eater) he illegally started dropping chunks of bread, which were quickly scarfed up by the bird.

The gull's many friends soon arrived and circled Bob's head, screeching noisily for a handout. He soon looked like the Birdman of Alcatraz, though less serene. In fact, not serene at all. Maybe it was more like a scene out of Hitchcock's The Birds. The wind was blowing so hard that I didn't dare put my own sandwich down to take a picture.

Marilyn and Bob sat huddled on the park bench, looking as though they were going to dump me to wait in the car. However, they pressed on and we stayed until the sun dropped into the gulf. People scurried off the beach and it was soon quiet again, except for the odd evening walker.

Habemus Papam Franciscum

A new pope already! Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires, was elected on March 13, 2013. Lots of stories on Vatican News but, for the most part, we watched the coverage on CNN.

Pope Francis I, now Bishop of Rome, visited the papal basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore soon after his election. Bob and I visited the basilica on a choir tour in 1999. I returned later on my own for what turned out to be a private viewing of the famous mosaics, which I'd missed two decades earlier when I was in Italy with my mother.

It's awesome to remember the sights and smells (wax, incense, dust) of that lovely space.

Marilyn Makes Three

My sister Marilyn drove through snow and sleet on icy roads to get to YYZ yesterday morning for her flight to Atlanta followed by a connection to Tampa. We picked her up at the airport, which is much less busy mid-week than it was last Saturday when we arrived.

Marilyn Marshall. That's me in the reflection.

It was chilly but warm enough for lunch on the deck: cold cuts, cheese, salads, hummus ~ all washed down with a tasty but cheap Barefoot Riesling. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool, now bathwater warm since the heater was fixed. It had been broken over the weekend, which suited me fine, but even I was happy to slip into warm water on a cool day.

Still Got That Special Spark

The other side of the bay was barely visible in the rain and fog of Tuesday morning. I began the day with a solitary swim in the pool. A somewhat frisky older man who reminded me of Uncle Leo in Seinfeld chatted at me through the gate, reflecting loudly that he might join me in the pool, as long as there was no thunder and lightning. "You just try", I thought to myself.

Seems the scenarios don't change much as one ages, even if the quality of prospective suitors has taken a deep dive. Fortunately, nothing came of this one's intentions and I swam happily for nearly an hour.

Rainy Day

Shelling on Pass-a-Grille Beach

Pass-a-Grille beach is beautiful and ever changing. Because of the wind and rain, the gulf was quite choppy yon Tuesday, more like the Atlantic coast. We stopped at a few spots on the beach to take pictures and watch the waves splash on walkways and benches near the water.

Good Sailing Day

At the very end of Pass-a-Grille, we walked out to the point, a favorite rocky beach frequented by shellers. My Minnesota Vikings windbreaker is a conversation starter, in this case the catalyst for a visit with a young Stillwater family and, later, a man from Minnetonka.

We had lunch at Daiquiri Shak (burger for Bob, white chicken chili and salad for me). By late afternoon, the sky was clearing ... but it was definitely still jacket weather. The weather forecasters seemed to enjoy the change from "80 and sunny" and I had another great swim in the chill of the evening.

Florida Cool

Long time residents and northern visitors bemoan the cooler weather this winter. I really appreciated the cool wind yesterday afternoon when we visited John's Pass. The sun was San Diego warm rather than Miami hot, and I didn't spend the day in fear of sunburn.

The pier at John's pass was busy but not crowded -- bad for business, I suppose, but more enjoyable for visitors to this fun venue for people and pelican watching. We had lunch at Bubba Gump's outside bar and could actually find a spot at the rail to enjoy the activity at the dock. Lots of boats, fish, sea birds, and tourists, of course.

Alone in the Pool

We spent the later afternoon at the pool where the competent mother of four little boys played Marco Polo with her 10-year-old twins. At the end of the afternoon, I was, once again, the only swimmer. This morning, we woke up to rain: perfect swimming weather.

The sky seems to be clearing now, the 70-degree temps are unseasonably cool. Perfect weather for vacationing Minnesotans.

Technology Challenges

I have a new appreciation for fast wireless Internet. Internet performance seems to degrade as the day goes on and, for the first time in a long while, bandwidth has some limitations. Make that many limitations.

Not so many years ago, I was often one of two or three wireless users in a condo complex. Times have changed. Too many devices share an inadequate wireless infrastructure. Must be good work in this area for network engineers.

Red Tide Tragedy

For months we'd been looking forward to manatees in the bay and, in fact, chose a higher floor in the condo complex to have better perspective for photos. I was shocked to learn that the manatee population has been declining dramatically because of Red Tide.


This toxic algae bloom has infected the manatee food supply and yesterday the Tampa Bay Times published a story with the startling statistic of 174 deaths this year, a sad record.

Even after the bloom fades, the toxin persists in the manatees' ecosystem for several months, do the death toll will continue to rise.

Manatee in Boca Ciega Bay - March 2012

Sunday R & R

We usually attend the vigil Mass on Saturday evening, but our routine varies when we travel. Yesterday, we returned to St. John Vianney for 10:00 a.m. Mass. Many Italians in that parish -- Italians who still speak the language, even after several generations in North America. Listening to people visit after Mass transported me to the Jean-Talon Market area, where Notre Dame de la Défense is the mother church of Montreal's Italian community. We recognized many parishioners, particular the white dinner jacket and bow tie clad ushers. I loved the music -- mostly contemporary -- and the choir, though more attention was paid to key and time than to phrasing and musicality.

We spent part of the afternoon at the pool and enjoyed cocktail hour on the deck. Then we grabbed a sandwich at Subway and headed to Pass-a-Grille for supper on a bench before sunset. We were joined by winter visitors from Maryland, giving Bob his favorite opportunity to "talk to strangers", a pleasant couple looking forward to celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.

Spring Ahead

I love coming to Florida on this second weekend in March, because we go ahead two hours, one for the Eastern time zone and the other for the transition to DST. This is the one weekend of the year when I can be fairly sure of sleeping in until at least  5:00 a.m. This morning, I did wake before five by eventually went back to sleep and didn't wake until the eastern sky was brightening. The herons and egrets were fishing before dawn, but first light seemed to wake the gulls -- and they roused everyone else.

Canadians

Lots of Canadians here (Ontario, New Brunswick), some of whom we remember from last year. I had to laugh when people from Sarnia claimed to have come from the cold "60 miles from Detroit". Cold compared to where? The Fredericton contingent includes a couple who live "not 10 minutes" from St. Thomas University. The Ryans have a strong maritime connection, so I'm fairly sure we would discover that we know some of the same people.

Orientation Day

I wore my Sports Illustrated freebie Vikings jacket yesterday by the pool, while we waited for our condo to be ready. It was no heat wave but we were happy to have a beer (fresh from Norman's Liquors) in the gazebo area. Make that two beers.

We got our keys shortly after two. Same layout as last year's, two floors higher, with more panoramic view. The kitchen is better equipped and Bob is happy with the TVs. He's already referring to the second bedroom and bathroom as "Marilyn's", in anticipation of my sister's visit on Wednesday.

Shopped at Publix for a picnic supper (fresh gulf shrimp, roast beef, horseradish cheese, salads-Greek, chicken, fruit). By 7:30 I was fading fast so I headed to the pool, where I was the lone occupant for the rest of the evening, except for a couple of brief dips by kids in the hot tub.

We're Off!

For the first time ever, I had the foresight to take Friday off but, of course, I didn't have enough common sense to decompress a little before leaving on vacation. I have slept very little in the last week and was up at 4:00 a.m. nearly every day, so by noon or so I felt a little weary and doubled up on physical work to stay awake. Yesterday's activities included many loads of laundry and washing the kitchen floor and by 10 p.m. I was exhausted. Slept quite soundly until Chris let himself in around 1:00 a.m. - back from Wyoming after he and Scott drove for over 18 hours, alternating drivers with every tank of gas. I managed to sleep fitfully until 4:00 a.m. Chris drove us to the airport at 5:00, through the pouring rain. The alley was a sheet of ice but the rest of the ride to MSP was uneventful.