a day at sea

On our first visit to the Mote Museum we had not noticed their Sea Cruise offering so when we discovered it we circled back to take advantage.  It's advertised as a chance to see dolphins and manatees. We saw 2 or 3 of the former but none of the latter, which I suppose is not unexpected.

Exploring a Blowfish

It was a beautiful day and the marine biologist who was our tour director/docent was an excellent teacher.  Jennifer did a netting to pull up numerous species including 2 puffer fish and a sponge-like tunica that is being researched for a possible cancer cure.

The youngsters on board were enthralled with what she found and all the background information she provided to us.

The other half of our plan for this beautiful day was lunch at Sharky's in Venice.  I had been told to walk the beaches and pick up shark teeth there, but we didn't.  The food was good there and I purchased one of their nifty shirts.

the Ringling Circus Museum

We had to take a tour of this museum to honor our friend Zerelda, who invited Lonna to run away with her to visit the circus.  We hit the museum, the Tibbals Learning Center, the Original Museum, Ca'd'Zan, the John & Mabel Ringling Home, and Mabel's Rose Garden.  To put it in perspective - in the year(s) when the home was built, John gave Mabel $250,000 to build it.  That's an astonishing amount of money for that year, and she went a bit over budget, like $1,000,000 over budget.

The detail and craftsmanship of the workers seemed clear indication to me that they didn't just round up some locals to complete it.  As I recall, they did use several local natives for some of the heavy lifting, but the  skill work belonged to a number of Italians who were brought over specifically for the task.  It's all extraordinary.  I don't think I have a single picture that really reflects the quality, but the front view here gives some indication.

On the back side there is a beautiful terrace with inlaid stone.  It gets rented out for weddings and such.  An example is at the blogspot of Limelight Studios.  Just guessing - the rental probably exceeds $1,000 . . .

Along the way, at the Museum and at the Ca'D'Za, we met a couple of terrific docents (Wikipedia: a title used in the U.S. for educators trained to further the public's understanding of the cultural and historical collection.)  Both of them were knowledgeable, but more important were passionate about their topic, and we learned much.  It was worth the minimal cost.  This is a sitting room in the middle of Ca'D'Za.  Our house would fit inside it, I believe.

In the Tibbals Center we also viewed the scale model of a circus complete with menagerie, Big Top, Ford Tent, etc.  It was laid out over 3800 square feet that took 50 years to complete.  It was amazing.  Having read Water for Elephants before we got there made everything in the scenery make sense.  I have no photos but here is a video.

It was a beautiful day.

Places to eat

We chose not to go on the wagon ride at Robinson Preserve as planned.  Today was one of those rare days when rain fell, and the Mango Salsa Grouper that Lonna ate last night at the Sandbar didn't sit well, so she chose to "set" it elsewhere about noon.

Columbia Restaurant

But here are some great places to eat on or near Anna Maria Island -

• The Sandbar, in spite of Lonna's experience.  Michael Connelly references it often in his books.  It is located on the gulf shore towards the north end of the island where it provides a nice view of the sunset.  When we ate there a wedding was taking place on the beach.
• Fire & Stone Pizza - on Cortez Road.  All day buffet for little or nothing.  Like many places, they accept checks, and their only bounced checks are local.
• Beach House - very nice, like the Sandbar is on the beach also, owned by the same fellow, who also owns MerVista on Longboat Key.
• Oma's Pizza on Gulf Road was very good.
• Columbia Restaurant on St Armand's Circle, Longboat Key, is outstanding.  Founded by Cubans in 1905, we emailed for reservations and continue to get their email propaganda regularly.  I enjoyed the Roast Pork "A La Cubana" and Lonna had the Original 1905 Salad.
• The Mexicali Restaurant had very good fish tacos.
• Rotten Ralph's on the end of the dock had a great breakfast.
• Star Fish Seafood Market - on the beach south of Cortez Road.  Fresh fish, down home fixin'.  You order and pay at the bar, leave your name, and a server brings out a dozen or so at a time, yelling the name of the owners.  Good soup, sandwiches OK, ambiance very local.  Penguins swoop back and forth.

One place we found to be far less than suitable was the Rib House bearing the name of LeeRoy Selmon, a retired linebacker with the Bucs.  We discovered why it wasn't very busy, although the fried green tomatoes were good.  Selmon had been a positive role model and community philanthropist after his retirement, and unfortunately died not long before we were there.

Getting a haircut - and a tip

We ran over to Fantastic Sam's on Cortez Road where Lonna's stylist asked if we knew about the Robinson Preserve.  We did not, so decided to check it out that day.

At noon we had fish tacos at the Mexicali Restaurant on Cortez.  They were excellent.

Then we trucked out to the Robinson Preserve, where there are miles of biking/hiking trails in a restoration project for wetlands along Tampa Bay.  It's a great place to walk, with wildlife all around, and several kayakers.  On Saturday morning we can go back for wagon ride about the area, and a docent to tell us what we saw today and will see again on Saturday.

This shot, on a gloomy day, shows the boardwalk that conveniently carried walkers across the water.  The shot was taken from a tower located in the middle of the wetlands, built like a fire tower.

the trip to Florida

It was a four-day drive, across Illinois and Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia.  Usually it was overcast, and it was rainy in Tennessee.  In the past year I have read the story of Lewis and Clark's trip to the West Coast, culminating in his death just off the Natchez Trace, and April, 1865, the month that was the difference maker in the Civil War.  That led to this trip being, in large part, a study of the South and the War.

Somewhere along the way we saw a sign marking a monument to Jeff Davis, and though we drove 3 or 4 miles in both directions we never found it, and moved on.

Bypassing traffic in Nashville, we drove past Lookout Mountain and it's novelties.  in Atlanta there was heavy traffic on the south side, at the rate of 2 miles in 10 minutes.  Then we pulled off to find a station where we could relieve ourselves, and it was the worst bathroom ever.  In general, the bathrooms are low maintenance.

We rolled into Bradenton about 1 PM on Sunday and Randy was waiting.  If I could throw a rock I could probably hit the ocean from our front steps.  I was disappointed to find we were on the opposite side of Gulf Road from the ocean, but the price is right.

We settled in, prepared for a whole month here.  It will work!  So what did we do?

Hit the beach 3 or 4 times a week, for a couple hours each time.
Went to Mote Aquarium - it was great.
Rode the trolley to either end of Anna Maria Island - for free.
Visited the South Florida Museum and it was great, too.
Toured the Mixon Fruit Farms - it was impressive, but the oranges are for juice, not eating.
Viewed the junk at the Red Barn Flea Market.
Observed very artfully displayed junk at the Sea Hagg on Cortez.
Walked all over the fantastic Robinson Preserve.
Walked to the end of the historic Anna Maria Pier.
Rode the train and observed a Civil War battle re-enactment.
Spent a day at the Ringling Museum and Mabel's Rose Garden.
Ate lunch at the Columbia Restaurant - founded by Cuban immigrants.

Photos would be suitable if I can find them.  Here's one from the Sea Hag.

Meeting the Edgars

Today was the first day of our trip to Florida and it happened to coincide with the first gathering of Project McNamara.  The guests at the Ann and Dale Johnson farm included the Edgars, Everharts, Amber Carberry, Nancy Hengesteg, Tanna Moretz, Jan Mielke, and Art Kuennen.

During this time the photos were shared and the story laid out more fully, the conversation uncovering a variety of notes.  I took along the photos that were later added to the NK62 blog when we arrived in Florida.

The emotions of the day included meeting the son of a Marine killed in Viet Nam, his family, and our hosts the Johnsons.  The moment to remember was the moment when I touched the Purple Heart.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime event.  Shane, Kim, then Amber Carberry.  Shane, whose father died in Nam, was having so much info thrown at him that it had to be overwhelming.  I took h is photo with the Purple Heart, so impressive because the name Donald McNamara is on the back.  I said, "That's an expensive metal."  He said, "I know."  After I snapped the photo he gave me a bear hug, and we both teared up.

It was an emotional, celebratory day.  Donald McNamara was in the room.

Marv - what a fine fellow.
Ann - the straw that stirs the drink
Shane - a favorite son
Nancy - knows the truth
Art - "Whatever else I had to do today was not important."
Amber - tried to smother Shane, her cousin.

from left: Ann, Dale, Lonna, Lee, Kim, Shane, Marv, Shirley

A room full of strangers who bonded deeply.

The photo at left was taken in May after we returned from Florida, but includes the principals from the story.

The saga of Flat Kyle

We left for a trip out West, and for the benefit of Grandson Kyle, took him along as "Flat Kyle" for a project for his pre-school.  Our stops were numerous, culminating with a stop in Blaine, WA, to visit Lonna's brother  Dick.  We came back through Canada where we unfortunately left the original Flat Kyle in a hotel somewhere but compensated with Flat Kyle II.

Papa dipped a foot in the water along the way, in Coeur D'Alene, ID, the Pacific, Lake Louise, and finally Lake of the Woods.