Last time I posted we were hunkered down in Ft. Walton Beach in self-imposed quarantine fighting off the bug from hell. I have to admit, Heinz definitely got the worst of it, clinging to his symptoms for more than a week, while I shook it off in about four days.
We returned to the land of the living in time to spend Saturday with friends from back in our Travis AFB days. While the heavens opened up and the rain poured down, and down, and down (6 inches in 12 hours) Shiraz, Sadia and their two gorgeous girls had us over for a great dinner and a lot of laughs. Heinz went into “grandpa training mode” and went for a plasma car ride around the living room with Ilana (easy Jess/Tash, no need to rush things).
Getting ready to ride...
Sunday morning dawned bright and beautiful with nary a cloud in the sky. We enjoyed a great brunch at The Donut Hole without getting close to a donut. While they had a lot of them in the display cases, we indulged in a crabmeat omelet and pancakes instead. We followed all those calories with a stroll along one of the famous white sand beaches, followed by frozen yogurt with Shiraz and Sadia at the favorite hangout of the little ones, Shakes.
Everybody loves the beach.
Come on Mom, just one more bite!
Monday we packed up and drove down the Gulf Coast to MacDill AFB and Tampa/St. Petersburg, breaking our trip with a nice overnight stay Manatee Springs State Park in Chiefland, FL. The park is about 5 miles outside of town, has lots of RV sites in the middle of red oak woods with water and electricity (no sewer) for only $21 a night. It has a natural spring just down from the campground that produces 100 million gallons of clear water daily! The area is known for snorkeling, scuba diving, and swimming.
We could tell that it’s getting to the end of “snowbird” season by all of the RVs we spotted that were headed north. The FamCamp on MacDill AFB is still rather full, but it only took us 2 nights in overflow before getting a spot with electricity and water, much faster than usual during the deep winter months according to some of the regulars. And when I say regulars, we’ve met people that have been coming to MacDill for the winter for 20+ years - some winter here upwards of six months at a time before ether head back north to their "homes"!
We’ve been enjoying the area, lots of sunshine, warm temperatures (mid-80’s), and cool breezes. My sister-in-law used to live here and she keeps reminding us to not get any ideas of settling down here just yet - we’re here during the absolute best time of the year. No complaints from us!
During the past week we have been having a ball checking out the area. We headed downtown and checked out the Florida Aquarium. It’s listed on more than one website as one of the top ten aquariums in the country. It was a very nice aquarium; complete with Australian sea dragons, absolutely my favorite sea creature ever, and reputedly VERY hard to keep alive in captivity. Only 3 other aquariums in the U.S. have them, Long Beach, Monterey, and the Shedd Aquariums.
Sea Dragon fantasy
While there we also took the Dolphin Cruise offered by the aquarium. It’s a 90-minute cruise out into the bay to watch the dolphins playing. On the way out the boat guide kept talking about how they always see lots of dolphins swimming up to the boat and traveling alongside, while squealing to the people on board. Well, she obviously didn’t realize that the ultimate fish-icer was on board…me. I’ve managed 5 whale-watching trips with one, count ‘em, one whale sighting. Yep, you guessed it; we saw 3 dolphins in the channel, at a distance, no frolicking by the boat, not a peep out of any of them. Heinz is now mumbling that I may not be allowed to go deep-sea fishing with him in the Keys - hmm!
Tampa skyline from the cruise boat.
We have been putting a bit of quality beach time while here, but no full days lazing around on the sand yet. But we’ve hunted for shells and shark’s teeth (nice haul on the shells, but nary a tooth to be seen), watched sunrise and sunset, and strolled along hand-in-hand enjoying the sensation of sand and water on our toes.
Quality beach time includes watching the girls.
Shell line = tide line
Warm water, warm sand, warm sun...ahhh!
We took another morning to stroll around the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg. The museum houses the collection of Salvador Dali works owned by the Reynolds/Morse family, 96 paintings, 100+ watercolors and over 1,300 photographs, sculptures, and object d’art completed over a 60-year span. It was quite interesting to see his work laid out in chronological order, from his early realism paintings through his Surrealist period and ending with his massive mature works incorporating religious and scientific themes.
Helical staircase inside the Dali Museum.
What's a visit to a Dali museum without a melted clock?
We’ve enjoyed some good food while here, both in the local restaurants and fresh fish at home. We had dinner one night at the Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City. This is the oldest restaurant in Florida, opened in 1905 and now run by the 6th generation of the family. Heinz's grandfather came here when he was 19 - touring with the philharmonic. The restaurant is famous for Cuban and Spanish food. Heinz had a marvelous seafood paella, while I opted for the crab stuffed pompano. We finished off with a dynamite flan and key lime pie for desert.
Here at home I made fish tacos one night and last night tried a new recipe for grilled red snapper that was wonderful. I’ve tacked on the recipe at the end of today’s blog. I served it with Spanish rice with black beans and a nice light slaw.
We also took most of one day to enjoy the Ringling Museums in Sarasota (of Ringling Brothers fame). This is a complex of 2 museums and the house of John and Mabel Ringling. The Ringlings bought 22 acres of waterfront property in 1926 and built Cad d’Zan, their home on the Gulf. By the standards of the rich for the day, it was a small house, only 10 bedrooms, but they packed in the amenities…electricity, refrigerators instead of ice boxes, tinted hand-blown Parisian glass for all the windows (including the kitchen and the servants quarters), hand glazed ceramic panels outside, and the first residential Otis elevator in America to name a few. John Ringling went broke during the Great Depression and died with $4.25 in cash, but owned countless property and hundreds of great works of art that he refused to sell as he had promised to donate everything to the people of Florida in his will.
Cad D'Zan from the front.
Cad D'Zan from the rear.
Hand blown Parisian tinted glass was in ALL of the windows.
On the grounds of the house, now owned and operated by Florida State University, is the Ringling Circus Museum. I first saw this museum years ago when I was a teenager and it’s bigger and better than ever. The museum opened in 1948, and is devoted to the history of all circuses, not just the Ringling circus. Included in the display is a panoramic diorama of a circus, from railcars to parade, to back lot and sideshows, to the big top. It was created by Howard Tibbals, who spent more than 50 years building the display.
Oh, those pesky zebras.
Elephants on parade
Sideshow wonders
Under the big top.
The last museum on the grounds is the Ringling Museum of Fine Arts. This was built in 1927 to hold John Ringling’s personal collection of old masterpieces. In 1936 Ringling died and left the museum and all of its contents to the state of Florida, with the stipulation that there would be free admission one day each week. Therefore, to this day, no admission fee is charged on Mondays. We highly recommend a trip to the Ringling complex, but if you go, plan on spending all day. We stayed 5 hours and did not see everything on offer.
We also took in a couple of Farmer's Markets in Ybor City and Tampa while we were here. It's strawberry season and we have been gluttons for those juicy little bits of paradise. Heinz had quit smoking cigars before we got here, but Ybor City used to be the cigar rolling capital of the US (500 million cigars were rolled in 1929 alone). Cigars are still sold everywhere (even in weekend farmers markets), and all that availability got his tastebuds rolling again.
Locally-rolled cigars - the coffee beans are used mask
the smell of manure used as fertilizer for the tobacco.
At one of the markets, we met a high school student and advisor demonstrating the robot the students were building as part of the FIRST Learning Project. There are several programs for grades K-3, 4-8, and high school. It is designed to introduce students to science and technology and features real-world challenges to be solved by research, critical thinking and imagination. The youngest students work with LEGO robot game bricks and by high school are competing head-to-head with other schools in designing, building, and programming robots to complete a series of tasks. The teenager we talked to said that before he got into the program he was a "so-so student", and now has plans to study particle physics after high school. What an inspiration!
Tomorrow we pack up and hit the road again, this time heading further south for two days of exploring the Everglades, then down to the Florida Keys for some snorkeling and deep sea fishing.
Here are our friends of the day:
Brown pelican looking for a quick meal.
Blue heron posing on the pier.
Who do you think you're looking at?
Excuse me, but you interrupted my nap!
Grilled Red Snapper with Mangos and Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette
Makes 4 servings
6 tbsp olive oil
5 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 ½ tsp grated lime peel
Salt and pepper to taste
4 (5-6 oz) red snapper fillets
2 large mangoes, peeled, cut into thick wedges
¾ tsp cumin seeds
Heat barbecue grill to medium heat. Whisk oil, 4 tbsp cilantro, lime juice, and lime peel in a small bowl. Season vinaigrette with salt and pepper. Brush all sides of fish and mango with some of the vinaigrette. Reserve remaining vinaigrette. Sprinkle fish and mango with salt, pepper, and cumin seeds. Grill fish without turning until fish is just opaque in center, and mango is soft and beginning to brown (6-15 minutes depending on thickness of fillets).
Plate fillets and drizzle with remaining vinaigrette and cilantro.
Good times. I miss many aspects of life at Eglin (friends mostly) except hurricanes and flying to Abilene with aircraft. White sand...amazing
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