Gasparilla

Wayne at Gasparilla Festival of Arts, Tampa, FL

The first of March and spring as definitely arrived.  The sun felt warm and wonderful on our skin as we sat out for Tampa and the Gasparilla Arts Festival.  The Festival is one of several events that orbit the annual Gasparilla Pirate Festival.  Jose Gasparilla is a mythical Spanish pirate that lived in and plundered the Tampa area.  Since 1904 there have been parades (much akin to the Mardi Gras parades) and events celebrating the apocryphal event. To read more about this event please see the Wikipedia article.  The Festival of Arts hosts hundreds of artists and offers $75,000 in prizes, first prize equating $15,000.  The art offerings run the gamut from kitsch to masterful.  Sunday was marred for many artists because of the mud invasion.  You can watch a video and read more about this here. We were not deterred and walked every corridor.  There were 2 music venues, one a folk venue and the other a Broadway offering.  A tenor at the Broadway setting was just magnificent in his rendition of Les Miserables songs. Sculling was happening on the river.  The event is adjacent to the Tampa Museum.  We took a quick tour of the very small museum where their Classical holdings were on view.  After, we drove over to Ybor City to check it out.  It is much larger and really a wonderful street of restaurants and shops.  We will definitely go back there.  

Fins and Feathers

Starfish Market, Cortez, FL

It was a raining and mild today, 2nd day in a row I did not walk.  Wayne the ever vigilant went to the Community Center, and I painted.  It was so dark with rolling gray clouds that I didn't see well enough to paint for long.  Around 5pm we went to Cortez to buy fish and clams for tonight's dinner. This is the coolest little town.  It is completely unaffected by the influx of affluent tourists and retirees.  The Starfish Market has very fresh catch, neat art and t-shirts.  One can also dine out back on the deck adjacent to fishing boats and a variety of large birds.   

It is the last day of the month and the Saturday that new renters arrive.  They were everywhere evident by the erratic driving, hordes of children with elderly (grandparents, I assume).  We stopped in Publix for basics and bird food (chicken).  The hordes were stocking up on all that nutritious vacation food: candy, candy, candy, chips, chips, chips, soda, soda, soda.  They were all walking around with their heads in the clouds and sauntering like life was grand, which it is.  

Pelican at Cortez Starfish Market

Eat Here

5 Lakeview Place, Anna Maria, FL

Following a normal day of painting, computering, and exercising we went to Eat Here, the affordable version of The Beach Bistro.  Both are owned by the same proprietors and both have excellent fare.  The Beach Bistro is situated on the beach with beautiful views and lavish interior accommodations.  Eat Here is in a plaza next to a dentist's office.  It does offer a pleasant interior with great paintings and a long, raised community table.  Last year we ate several times at Eat Here and were able to make reservations.  Reservations are no longer taken.  I think it is part of the "We are great and you have to wait like everyone else to have our fabulous atmosphere and food" approach to alternative advertising. Against the advice of Martha and Oleg we went at 6pm, the height of elderly dining, and were informed it was an hour wait. During that hour we made great friends with a couple from New Hampshire who have been coming here for 15 years.  His brother was with them and knows people in Marion at Burr Brothers Boats.  There were also 2 women from Tennessee who have lived in Little Rock and Pine Bluff.  All of us were lamenting the very bad winter in New England and worry about our roofs.  It was a most interesting and uplifting hour.  Oh, and yes the food was worth the wait.  

Fog, Sun, Fog Again

Gulf of Mexico

The fog was thick today.  Despite this, the beach was filled with people as it was quite warm.  

Since my main objective with writing this blog is to act as an accounting for Wayne and me to remember places and events, I'm going to concentrate on our evening.  We went to Martha's and Oleg's in Bradenton Beach for sunset hors d'oeuvre, dinner at the Blue Marlin and a screening of my Costa Rica video.  The fog actually lifted around 6pm and we were hopeful for a beautiful sunset lighting some spectacular clouds.  Unfortunately, the horizon was shielded by a large, long blue cloud that we thought was sky.  We walked to Bridge St where the Blue Marlin is located.  By the name you could guess they specialize in fresh fish.  Our waitress was from Western MA and chatted with us about all things Berkshire.  We all liked our dishes.  I had black grouper Provencal and Wayne had clams and fish bouillabaisse.  All 4 of us shared 2 deserts:  key lime creme brûlée  and chocolate pate.  I would give it a 3 out of 4.  Service and atmosphere was a 4.  My dish was more like a 3.  The sides were black-eyed peas over rice that tasted like the peas were reconstituted and haricot verde that were over cooked a bit.  Also, I had asked for red snapper and got black grouper.

Back at the condo I presented my video to accolades.  It is too large to upload here.  So I will offer my beach walk video instead.

Lunch with Friends

Harry, the Great Blue Heron

Janet and Jeff Hathaway come up from Fort Myers today.  We spent some time on the deck talking about life in Florida and gated community living.  Harry offered some entertainment.  We ate out on the Anna Maria City Pier, our first time there this year.  As I remembered, it's not the best dining in town.  My shrimp and rice dish had so much sweetener in it to be on the level of a dessert.  But the pier is nice to be on.  People were catching fish, a musician was playing the guitar and singing, the pelicans were preening.  After lunch we walked up and down Pine Street.  The weather was warm and delightful.  

This evening we watched the Oscars for about 5 hours.  We had seen Birdman, The Budapest Hotel and Boyhood.  Having not seen the other nominees for best picture, we were happy with the choice of Birdman. Now we have a host of unseen movies to fill our nights.  

Let The Sun Shine, Let The Sun Shine

Sunset Lakeview Place

Today was the reason we love this place, perfect weather with temps in the 70's. After we lolled around the house until noon, we both exercised.  I walked the beach which was packed with February vacationers.  The town has really picked up in the last week with visitors.  We walked to the Sandbar for lunch.  There was a 30 minute wait in which we had a beer while sitting out on the beach benches.    A game of pool (Wayne is killing me nightly) finished off the afternoon.  We are watching the Oscar nominees nightly in anticipation of Sunday's award ceremony.  Tonight's performance is Whiplash.

Wherein We Toast the Sunset with Friends

Gulf of Mexico, Bradenton Beach, FL

Today was unusually cold. only reaching the 50's.  Last evening there was a frost warning.  We persevered through the cold and after a typical Anna Maria day of Community Center workouts, feeding the birds, and painting, we went to Martha's and Oleg's in Bradenton Beach to have hors d'oeuvre and toast the sunset.  Their second floor condo faces the gulf and is so close that at times it appears one is on a ship.  It was a short walk to French Table where we had dinner.  Three of us had the moules et frites, and Oleg had roasted chicken.  No one found their dishes to be extraordinary as we always expect French cuisine to be; Martha said their previous dining experience was better.  The owners are from Provence having been here only since October.  Their kids roam around helping and being cute French children.  Back at O&M's we had dessert and solved a lot of the world's problems.  

Wherein Figaro Gets Married

Female Cardinals, Oil on Board, 8"x8"

I have been able to paint on this trip.  Rather than trying to adapt my abilities to watercolor, I simply packed my oils and prepared boards.  I have 8 boards and am currently working on 5 of them.  I'm set up next to the large sliding doors.  The light is good, but I miss the accommodations of my studio.  

Tonight we went to the Sarasota Opera with Oleg and Martha.  We picked them up at 5pm during a deluge and drove over an hour due to heavy traffic.  Reservations at Selva Grill in Sarasota were for 6:15; we arrived on the dot. The Selva Grill is a Peruvian restaurant.  They served the most delicious sauces with small plates and ceviches.  Unfortunately, our waitress was less than attentive, and we arrived late for the opera. The overture to Mozart's Marriage of Figaro was playing, thus we were seated in the back row waiting for Act III to take our seats. The performance was so delightful, playful in the way Mozart can be.  The sets, 4 of them, were magnificent. 

St Petersburg and the Dali Museum

Dali Museum, St. Petersburg, FL

We took off around noon for St Petersburg and the Dali Museum.  It was a bright and warm day.  To get to St Pete from Anna Maria, one drives over the skyline bridge.  This is one of the most beautiful bridges I've been on.  Also, it is an engineering marvel.  From the top one can see St. Pete, Tampa and also Anna Maria Island.  The beginning sections of the old bridge have been left for fishing.  

Skyline Bridge viewed from our car.

The Dali Museum is located on Old Tampa Bay and adjacent to the Mahaffay Theater on beautiful grounds.  The garden is designed in a Surrealistic manner with melting benches, a giant mustache and little surprising sculptures.  As soon as we arrived we realized it would be crowded; there was no parking remaining in the Museum garage.  We found parking near enough, though, and walked to the Museum to be greeted by a line that stretched around the side.  Wayne reminded me of my NMWA pass with reciprocity.  Sure enough the Dali was on the list and we were able to skip the line, the outside line.  Inside proved to have its own line that took about 20 minutes.  The place was packed everywhere:  shop, cafe, bathrooms and most of all the Picasso/Dali exhibit.  It was so difficult we decided to come back another day.  We stopped at the cafe for a delicious Cuba sandwich in the delightful garden.  By then it was 4:30 and the place seemed to have emptied.  So we went back to the exhibit and were able to enjoy it.  

The Picasso works were few and not all that intriguing.  One nice work was the Portrait of Olga, Picasso's first wife.  I was unfamiliar with the work. It's always nice to be surprised by something unknown.  Dali was a Fascist, which makes for a nasty taste when viewing his work.  But as George Orwell said, "One ought to be able to hold in one's head simultaneously the two facts that Dali is a good draftsman and a disgusting human being.  The one does not invalidate or, in a sense, affect the other."

Olga by Pablo Picasso

Tropicana Field

Wayne outside the Dali Museum

The Dali Museum and Garden

St. Petersburg from the Dali Museum

Birds, Art and Piers

Great White Egret, Lakeview Place, Anna Maria, Florida

Generally our days begin with the illegal activity of feeding the birds.  That task takes on a whole new meaning in here.  We don't need to fill a feeder with seed.  No, indeed, we only need to have some sardines on hand.  Wayne has been buying frozen sardine bait (he doesn't have the heart to feed them living beings) and offering one fish per day.  Our visitors include Harry, the juvenile great blue heron, Leroy, the alpha male great blue, Harriet, the great egret, and a small to be named snowy egret.  It's sometimes a battle when they appear all at once.  

Tonight we were to meet Martha and Oleg at our place to have a beer at The Sandbar and watch the sunset prior to attending the art opening at The Gallery on Pine.  We decided it was too cold for the sunset and headed straight for the gallery.  The show was a grouping of Cuban artists' works, all of which had a surrealistic overtone.  Oleg bought a collagraph by??  The works were very interesting and very narrative.  

We had dinner at the Rod and Reel Pier Restaurant.  The waitress was a hoot, a take off on Seinfeld's soup nazi, the small space crowded with tables.  But the food was fantastic, the wine delicious.  We came back to the house for key lime pie.  

Exhaust and Exhaustion

Hernando de Soto National Memorial

When we left for Florida our car's check engine light was on.  This has happened before with the manual indicating we left the gas level fall too low.  We expected the light to go off after a week as it did before.  This did not happen.  Thus, we made an appointment in Sarasota with the Infiniti dealer.  At this point I need to explain that although Sarasota is a mear 26 miles from Anna Maria, the drive is over an hour.  So, we got a loaner and came home.  Infiniti called around 4pm. We barely made it before the 5pm closing only to have the engine light come back on as we left the lot.  Back in the loaner we spent about 5 hours today traveling and still don't have a car.   What we did do though was stop at the Hernando de Soto National Memorial Park.  It's a pretty little park on the Tampa Bay.  There are at least 3 guides continuously offering insight.  We only got a feel for the place and will return for a more through visit.  

P.S. I know that Hernando was a son-of-a-bitch.  Why there are so many local venues named for him is a mystery.  

You've Got Friends in Fort Myers

Jeff, Janet, Christy and Wayne in Fort Myers, FL

We spent the better part of today with our friends Janet and Jeff Hathaway.  They moved to Fort Myers last July from Onset.  A big life change for them that they are delighted with.  Their home is in a large gated community with a town center that includes a theater, outdoor performance area, gymnasium and soon to arrive grocery store.  Wayne is now thinking of the gated community life for our future.  

Janet served us lunch on the lanai next to the pool.  After lunch we went downtown to the Arts Festival.  We remembered attending last year, too.  It is very large and stretches all along the marina and into the side streets.  We had an early dinner at Pinchers.  The drive is over 2 hours to Fort Myers and is always a few degrees warmer than the Sarasota area.  But, I like the Sarasota area better.  The Sarasota historic district is more charming, offers more diversity in restaurants and shops, has a beautiful library and the opera house.  Fort Myers seems to have a zillion law offices in the historic district and only a few restaurants.

Bradenton Art Walk

Pigs Do Fly! Christy at the Bradenton Art Walk

Bradenton is 8 miles east of Anna Maria, just over the bridge.  It is a vibrant community with a Riverwalk, the Pittsburgh Pirates winter home and the Village of the Arts.  Oleg, Martha, Wayne and I went to the First Friday Artwalk today in the Village.  The walkable neighborhood is comprised of art galleries, studios, restaurants and speciality shops housed in colorfully restored 1920's bungalows.  I felt like I was transported to 1967 Haight Asbury.  Touted as Florida's largest artist community I question the validity.  Most of the art was pathetic and appeared to be made by quacks that took up art while in detention somewhere.  There was the occasional professional gallery.   We ate at Ortygia Restaurant, Sicilian style cooking.  It was so noisy that we were literally screaming to be heard over our very loud waitress and an adjacent table full of chatty women.  The food was okay but I would never return.

Back in the AM, Back in the AM, Back in the AMI Life

Sunset, Gulf of Mexico

We are back in the land of glorious sunsets.  Upon our return from Costa Rica, we spent the night in Miami and ate again at the Cuban restaurant.  Next day we drove across the Everglades and stopped at Clyde Butcher's Gallery.  We spent the next night in Fort Myers and explored historic downtown.  Thinking we would eat at a Greek Restaurant and reminisce about our time there, we drove to Opa, which was closed.  Our next best option was a local BBQ place.  It was nothing to rival previous bbq joints.  There are more attorney's offices in that area than I have ever seen in once place.  Our speculation is there are few regulations in Florida and much litigation to counter that.  Today we stopped in Naples for lunch at our usual place, Vergina.  The day was lovely and encouraged us to walk main street.  As we came into Bradenton, we remembered all our shopping spots and stopped at Fresh Market to stock our pantry and ABC to buy our wine.  We arrived for our 3pm check-in and waiting with the rush of people for our keys.  The house has changed little (our charcoal grill is still here!).  We spent the afternoon unpacking and are happily settled in.  

Tortuguero National Park

We awoke at 5 am in order to see the early rising fauna. Our boat captain, Ronnie navigated us through natural and man-made channels brimming with birds and flowers. We have 2 birders in our group, Nancy and Steve from Colorado, who are great at spotting and naming some of the birds. Steve has an excellent camera with which he get very high definition closeup shots.
Ronnie is amazing in his ability to spot critters. There were 2 types of lizards, ,so well camouflaged that I almost never found them. But Ronnie spotted them immediately.
Iguanas and monkeys were abundant, too. After lunch we toured the grounds of the lodge viewing more bird species and orchids. On our way back to the room we could hear a howler monkey, followed his call and enjoyed finding him. In the early evening another guide, Jeffery, took us out on the channels again. We were in a lot of black water with wonderful mirror like reflections. More monkeys, more birds and boa constrictors entertained us.

Christy and Wayne

Sarapiqui Day 2

We took a 6am bird walk into the botanical gardens across the highway from our lodge. The birds are too numerous and diverse to begin to name. Nacho is very adept at spotting and identifying them. We returned for breakfast and prepared to take a white water raft ride. There were 5 of us and our guide, Walter in the raft: Shirley, Vern, Carol, Wayne and I. I felt as if I had been transported back in time to The Little Missouri River. The Rapids were category 2 with occasional spots of 3 new were safe at all times. Lunch was again spent with the birds. There is a feeding station adjacent to the dining room. All the walls are open and you can sit with a view of the feeding birds.


Christy and Wayne

Sarapiqui

This morning we boated back through the canals to pick up our land transportation to Sarapiqui. Sarapiqui is still on the Caribbean lowlands, but not wet lands. The tree are somewhat different. The lodge is on a private preserve teeming with birds and plants. After a orientation to the grounds and safety (don't walk off the path!!!!) we checked into our room, which again is like an attached cabin only raised about 15 feet above ground. Nacho led us on a forest walk where we had to cross a very long and very high suspension bridge. Yowza! Our destination was a tree remaining from the primal forest. Beginning in the 80's almost 90% of the primary forest were cut. Now some secondary forests have been introduced. We found the grand daddy tree. Over 400 years old, it sores into the sky. The circumference is about 30' and the interior hollow. The path was quite muddy. Happy to have my waterproof sneakers. This evening our lecturer, Willy, explained the efforts to create bio corridors to assist wildlife and plants with migration and reproduction. Today large pineapple plantations are inhibiting that to a degree.

Christy and Wayne

Tortuguero

We started the day with a five hour very bumpy bus ride. Along the way we stopped for lunch on some private grounds where the gate guard was excited to show us a poison red dart frog, all of about 1/2 inch, which he keeps in a hollow bamboo section. He also pointed out 2 3-toed sloths. On the grounds is a kook tree which is called the big belly tree by locals because of the enormity of the trunk and root system. It is also the tallest tree in the low lands. As re approached Tortuguero and the waterways we left the bus for a water taxi. It was an hour and half ride to the lodge. A beautiful ride in a warm humid climate.
Our lodge is actually composed of many small cabins some with multiple rooms, some single. We are in a complex with Romie, Vern and Shirley. After settling in, Nacho took us by boat to the turtle conservancy. There is really nothing to see except a video about the efforts to protect the nesting grounds and tag the nesting females. We walked down the black sand beach to the town of Tortuga, a single long street of small one person craft shops. Most things were crude coconut carvings or she'll jewelry. About 500 people live here totally dependent upon tourism.
After dinner we attended a lecture by a local gentleman whose father was one of the first settlers of Tortuguero. He gave the history of the settlers, the expansion of the lumber companies and finally the appearance of Archie Carr, an American who came to save the turtles. As a result of his efforts President ... took position of 25 miles of coast line, declared it protected. Carr also spent much time and energy convicting the locals to save their land. Now they are very vigilant in doing so.


Christy and Wayne

Biodiversity with Java

This morning we met with our very likable group of 14, including us. They are all about our age and with similar interests. We met our guide Ignacio or Nacho as he likes to be called. He is young, handsome, like able and charmingly attentive and knowledgeable. He introduced us to our first lecturer, Luis, an ecologist. Highly educated he presented us with a through lecture on the climate, geology, and fauna and flora diversity. Costa Rica has the highest diversity of plants and animals in the world. After the lecture we took a bus ride to the Daka Coffee plantation. The tour covered planting, growing, picking, sorting, drying, and then drinking coffee. There was also s wonderful mariposa garden. (That's Spanish for butterfly) We had lunch in the plantation cafeteria and then left for the BioPark, a privately owned 400 hectare park which strived to preserve, educate and research the biological systems of Costa Rica. As we walked through the forests we saw sloths, beautiful birds, butterflies and plants galore.
Dinner was with our group at the hotel. Nacho provided more insight into the history and language of CR. Tomorrow's day begins at 6am with a bus and boat ride to Tortuguero on the Carribean Sea.


Christy

Bienvenido San Jose

Landing in San Jose

Our flight to San Jose was a mere 2.5 hours. The country is mountainous and green. It was 78 degrees and we are all smiles. Our driver, Jose, from Road Scholar met us which made the transition to the hotel very easy. We are in a Radisson with beautiful grounds. No one else from the tour has checked in. So we ate lunch and walked the grounds. The waitress was very funny trying to speak English. But her most difficult time was with tagliatelle, on the menu. Tonight we went to the lounge to eat. I had chifrijo and Wayne had chicken fajitas. Meetings begin tomorrow. 

Miami Bound

This morning we were greeted with sunshine and warm temperatures. St Augustine was in her glory as we drove off through the old city. Miami was less than 250 miles but still took all day. There was a long stand still at one point and heavy traffic in Miami. It was around 6pm when we checked in. We switched out our bags for Costa Rica and stuffed everything else into the car trunk. The hotel will keep the car for 12 days. We ate at a Cuban restaurant across the highway. Wake up call is for 6:45am. Good night

Saint Augustine Bound

It was another miserable day of driving through rain. I suppose that was better than ice, but we were hoping for sun by the time we reached the Carolinas. A high point was the South Carolina Artisans' Craft Center. We saw a sign on the highway and went for it. Our first encounter elicited groans of, "oh, no. What is this?" The place appeared dilapidated and belonging to a wacko. But we drove by a second time and thought, "What the hell? Let's look". The parking lot was as you see above. The inside was an artist's paradise with fabulous works. Our favorites were the carved duck decoys and the pottery. I bought a small pottery piece to use as a salt cellar.

It was dark when we pulled into St Augustine, well past when we planned to arrive. Thus, we opted to walk next door to our hotel to eat at Harry's Seafood restaurant. It was a New Orleans themed restaurant and good. No one was out in old town, so we just went back to the room.

Florence, SC, Not Italy

We left DC this morning in freezing rain. On the way out we passed a beautiful monument to the Airforce the 3 monoliths suggest the soaring of jets. Our drive was long and difficult with areas of ice. We are listening to Ken Follet's trilogy, Century, which helps pass the time. Tonight we are in Florence, SC for no other reason than it was the proper distance from DC. It did have the advantage of a BBQ joint (what Carolina town doesn't?), Wholly Smokin'. The ribs were very tender and moist but lacked a smokey flavor. There was a salt rub that I found much too salty. The stuffed potatoe salad was worth the drive.

Washington DC

Wayne in the National Portrait Gallery

With the entire day ahead of us, we walked to the Smithsonian American Art Museum.  We arrived at 10:30; it opened at 11:30.  We briskly walked down to the Mall and the National Art Gallery, braving a wind chill of 27 degrees.  Our time there was spent in the Italian Medieval and Florence Renaissance rooms.  We saw many paintings that we've studied for our Florence trip:  Fra Anglico and Filippo Lippi Adoration of the Magi, Lippi's Madonna and Child,  Castagno's David with the Head of Goliath

National Gallery of Art

At the 11:30 opening time we walked through the sculpture garden where we stopped to admire Roxy Paine's steel tree.  We have seen another of her trees at the Crystal Bridges Museum.

Wayne with Roxy Paine Sculpture

At the American Art Museum I wanted to see an exhibit on birds in art and Wayne was interested in the Grant and Lee exhibit.  The Singing and the Silence:  Birds in Contemporary Art held a large variety of mediums.  The use of the materials intrigued me as much as the depiction of the birds.  Petah Coyne had two large pieces.  I don't really like her work at all.  It always looks dirty, dusty and ugly to me.  Other works were amazing in their detail and interpretation of our treatment of birds.  Particularly nice were the photographs of birds held by bird banders.  

A walk through the Modern and Contemporary Gallery gave us a look at a beautiful David Hockney piece that was painted on the floor and wall of a black gallery and changed with different colored lights projected upon it.  

David Hockney, American Art Museum

The Grant and Lee exhibit had wonderful death masks of both men.  Tonight is dinner at the Woodward Table around the corner on H street.  

Florida Bound

On a dreary and cold New England day, we started out south to Miami where we will eventually fly to Costa Rica for 12 days.  On our return to Miami we will drive to Anna Maria Island and settle in for 6 weeks.  Today we drove as far as Washington DC where we planned have dinner with Adam and family, do a bit of sight seeing tomorrow and head out on Wednesday.  Adam emailed while we were on the road that he has the flu. Against my advice he intends to meet us tomorrow night to pick up his Moxie.  I'm not convinced he really wants to see us, just get his Moxie.  If we get the flu from him and miss our Costa Rica trip, he is definitely disinherited.  So this evening we ate a mediocre dinner in the hotel and kicked back in the room.  Wayne had a long, hard 10 hour drive in the rain.  

Millinium Park & Second City

Selfie at the Bean

We spent a good part of the day in Millennium Park, an expansive green space along Lake Michigan created under the leadership of Mayor Daley. Here their are large open gallery spaces, the famous Anish Kapoor Bean, Pritzker Pavilion designed by Frank Geary,  and Juame Plensa's Crown Fountain.  A great serpentine walkway, also designed by Geary, led us to the bicentennial park where we watched skaters of all ages enjoy an ice track with hills and turns.  In one of the open gallery spaces Plensa also has a temporary exhibit of gargantuan heads.

Juane Plensa

We had lunch in a tavern down Michigan Avenue, and watch the Patriots route Miami. They now have clinched the AFC East.
Tonight we went to Second City where we laughed and laughed for 3 hours. They were very good.

Chicago from the Serpentine Bridge

Pritzker Pavilion

Serpentine Bridge