A Book Busy Weekend

Sunday March 22. Today, I went to a book signing by author Randy Wayne White at his "Doc Ford's" restaurant on Sanibel Island. I bought a copy of his latest novel, "Cuba Straights," in order to satisfy the requirement to get his autograph on the book. But then, I also brought along my prized first edition of "Sanibel Flats," White's first novel, a copy of which I obtained back in November here at the flea market, for him to sign as well.

This turned out to be great fun. There were about 200 loyal fans at the signing. While seated at the bar waiting for White to arrive, I struck up a conversation with a couple of guys and we started talking about our favorite "Doc Ford" novels, and I pulled out my first edition of "Sanibel Flats," and you should have seen the commotion. People wanted to see it, touch it (I told them to keep it in the Ziploc bag I brought it in). I think one guy even wanted to smell it. It is considered the "Holy Grail" of Randy's book series, and one fellow at the bar offered me $500 for it on the spot, and that was before it was even signed. I turned him down, despite the $400 potential profit, and told him I wanted to keep it. So the guy hands me his business cards and tells me to contact him if I ever find another one.

White started with a discussion of his latest book, and answered questions from the audience. The book's plot is drawn from White's experiences during several (six or seven I forget) trips to Cuba, most of them illegal. One of his trips involved sailing a borrowed 50-foot fishing boat with a crew of three to Mariel Harbor during the government-sanctioned boatlift of 1980. He and his crew stayed in Mariel Harbor for two weeks, searching for some family members of a Cuban friend of White's, a family that had been separated for nearly 22 years. Well, word spread among the refugees that a 50-foot boat was available, and by the time White and his crew sailed (with the family members they intended to find) there were 147 Cuban onboard a ship designed to accommodate up to 12 people in a reasonably comfortable fashion (there was one bathroom aboard the ship). During the 100+ mile trip to Key West, they encountered storms nearly the whole way (this was in October, which is hurricane season) and nearly everyone on board was seasick the whole time. As they approached Key West, everyone on board gathered on the top deck and began chanting "Libertad," "Libertad" "("Liberty," or "Freedom") despite leaving all friends and family ties behind in Cuba. It is an experience, White said, that he will never forget, and he stays in touch with many of those that he ferried across, to this day. It is also a book about Cuba's love of baseball, a quintessential American game, which White helps to foster by bringing baseball gear to youngsters during his illegal trips there. If you would like to meet Randy Wayne White, here is a Youtube video:

Randy Wayne White

For you ladies, White also writes a "Hannah Smith" series with a female protagonist, who is a Florida fishing guide and private investigator.





Anyway, White tells a fine story in person, in addition to being a great writer, and one of the things I like about him is that he just a fine, all-around decent person. One of the things by which I judge a person's character is whether they have earned their parking space here on earth, or whether they just sit around and suck up oxygen, ala Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, etc. And White has certainly earned his parking space and more. I stood in line for about half an hour (we were called by letter groups we received on cards at the time of our book purchase) and I was able to get my picture taken with White. He signed both my copy of "Cuba Straights," and "Sanibel Flats," asking me where I got the book. He told me to hang on to it, because it is quite rare (and now even more rare because it's now signed). Here are some photos: 

 

After all the book signing hoopla, I met a woman named Judy at the Doc Ford restaurant for lunch. We met online at ourtime.com, and even though she is looking for someone local, we agreed to meet to see if we might be friends. She is a lovely lady, and works full time as a real estate broker. Just for laughs, we each brought along a couple of really bad profiles of people we had seen on the website. I brought a couple of women’s, and she brought a couple of guys’, since we don’t get to see same-sex profiles on the website, which is a shame because there are times when I would like to see what my "competition" is like. I brought one where a 60 year old lady was basically selling beauty products, and claimed someone had recently mistaken her for 38. Yeah, right. Maybe if that person was trying to sell her a timeshare! Plus the lady smoked. Judy brought a printout of a guy who stated: “Average looks, but a great sex partner. Don't contact me if all you're looking for is a sugar daddy.” Nothing more. There’s a real foundation on which to build a relationship! Anyway, we had some good laughs over this and shared some war stories about our most horrible first dates. Judy is a widow, and lost her husband about three years ago. He had an unexpected heart attack, and Judy was right there and did CPR on him and brought him back, but he had another heart attack in the hospital two days later and died. So no long lingering illness there. We parted after a couple of hours, exchanged business cards and agreed to stay in touch. The typical stuff when both parties realize we're not quite right for one another, but there's no reason not to be friends.

After lunch, I hustled back to the apartment to pack the cooler and take off for a beach walk/picnic/sunset viewing put on by a widows/widowers meetup group that I joined. We were to meet at the beach at Bonita Springs, about 16 miles south of me. Everyone was to bring a snack to pass (finger foods encouraged) and their own drink(s) and a beach chair. The big challenge was finding a parking place … this is the eternal issue down here. Great beaches, but insufficient parking.  I finally chanced a parking space on the street in front of a vacant lot. Posted as “no parking” but I didn’t think anyone would mind, especially when I put the car on the weeds off the street. I walked to our rendezvous spot, and we had about 12 people, four men and eight women. Here is a picture of me with a couple of other people who went:

 

from left: Bruce, Paula (the group leader) and Sue

 

After a little chatting, about 8 of the group decided to go for a beach walk along the surfline, with the other four staying behind, claiming various ailments and injuries. The barefoot walk was pleasant, although a little longer than I would have done, especially in bare feet. But a good walk, and built up a good appetite. Back at our “spot” we spread a couple of blankets and put out the food and everyone dug in. I had brought ham/Havarti cheese rollups, but we also had tons of other stuff. A lot was the usual stuff: pigs in a blanket, pizza, veggie trays, etc. But one woman of middle eastern Europe descent (Elaine) brought ethnic foods, including hummus, Baba ghanoush, and frozen mango sections for a dessert. We got our fill, then went around the circle and introduced ourselves and were asked to name one thing from our bucket list that we wanted to do. We then watched the sunset, then packed up and left. Interesting group of people. One person (Charlene) has buried three husbands (one for which she was a caregiver for 18 years) and said right out she is not looking for another husband. She works full time as a professional caregiver (I guess once a caregive …) and just wants a social outlet with the group. I don't know if this is the right group for me or not; it seems many of the women join to bond with other women and build friendships and go out on little shopping trips and cluck-fests with one another, versus looking for men. I, on the other hand, see this as another possible outlet to find a suitable female partner. Being a widower is not a state in which I want to permanently remain. I'm not certain the women (or at least the ones I've met so far) share my views. In any event, the group does have fun, and I think it's a good way to socialize without having to worry about any stigma attached to being a widow/widower when you're out with a group where everyone else is coupled-up, and you're by yourself.

My car was ticket-free upon my return. My GPS wanted to return me to the apartment via Estero Island, so I figured what the heck and went with it, so had a slow ride home through Fort Myers Beach, but I had good tunes on the Pandora Smooth Jazz channel, and leftover ham/Havarti rollups to nibble on.

Saturday March 21. It was another book day today, as I attended the annual “Reading Festival” in downtown Fort Myers. It’s pitched as a family event, as they have authors from adult, teen, and children’s book genres. Admission was free, with the cost being underwritten by the Lee County Library system and various other donors, plus fees collected from various exhibitors. I did not buy any books, as I have a surplus right now, but I did hook up with a couple of the exhibitors. One was the Southwest Florida Writers Association. I talked awhile with the president, a guy named Gary, and told him I would attend their next meeting on Saturday March 28. The other exhibitor was “The Renaissance Academy,” which is the adult continuing education (non credit) branch of Florida Gulf Coast University. Boy, have I had my eyes out for these guys, and it turns out they were under my nose the whole time … one of their biggest meeting places is at the Atrium Office Center on College Parkway, just about 0.5 miles from my apartment. So I grabbed a catalog from them. I also visited the library’s booth, and asked how I can get a library card, and will be doing that soon as well. All a little too late for this visit to Florida, I'm afraid, but all good stuff to keep in mind for the next visit.

After that, I headed over to the Downtown Deli for a hot pastrami/swiss cheese sandwich on pumpernickel, and then a slice of pizza next door at Downtown Pizza. Hooked up with some 20-year-olds at one of the canopied picnic tables on the patio, and turns out two of them were budding musicians (a guitarist and a drummer) and were performing at the reading fair. A third (female) was guitar player's girlfriend. I noticed guitar player was wearing a wristwatch, so I asked him about it, and it was a gift from his girlfriend, so we talked about watches and I told them what I thought were the best brands, and then we talked music for a while. Turns out they were pretty bright kids. When I left, I told them to “play on” and the girl said, “Have a nice day, sir.” So there you go ... some decent kids.

Back at the apartment, Abby and I chilled out (me with a Margarita, and her Temptations treats, while I looked over the course catalog from The Renaissance Academy, and chose a four-session course on “Jump Starting Your Intuition” held at the Atrium Center. The course looked kind of interesting, and besides there wasn’t much left to choose from because the semester is coming to an end. There were many interesting courses/workshops, and I will look forward to hooking up with them next time around. So I registered online, and my first session will be Monday from 1:30 to 3:30.

Friday March 20. Time to head back to the Lakes Park Farmers Market, after a three weeks’ absence due to foul cold weather on two occasions, and being in St. Pete/Kissimmee on one occasion. I hooked up with a small contingents of “Peckerheads,” the seniors bike riding group, and of course they wanted to know what happened to me, so I explained. Had a delicious breakfast of an egg casserole square served atop of bed of cheesy grits, a pint of strawberries, and a good cup of coffee.  Got a good chance to talk with Glen, the group leader, because the PHs are down to just a few members now that many of their ranks have left for the season. He was telling me about the benefits of “juicing” and how much it has helped his blood pressure and health. It was interesting, but I’ve done juicing (along with just about everything else!), and it’s not only very expensive (is it just me, or is produce becoming obscenely expensive) PLUS Glen uses only organic fruit and veggies to make his juice, which makes it even more so. Plus, there are pounds and pounds of pulp to throw away, which seems like such a waste.

Later in the day, I want to Fleamasters for lunch and to buy a leather band for a lady’s watch I want to sell on Ebay, plus I stopped to my book buddy, Chris. Boy, will he be surprised next time when I show him the autograph I got on the copy of Sanibel Flats I bought from him!

Thursday March 19. I registered with the Southwest Florida Younger (50-68) widow and widowers group on meetup.com (mentioned earlier) because I had gotten tired of the previous group I had gone out with a couple of times in Nov./Dec. They were a little too big and cliquish for my tastes. This group seemed smaller and more intimate. The group leader (Paula) approved my application pronto, and in time to hook up with them that evening for dinner and a movie. The venue was to be the Prado 12 Cinemas and Café in Bonita Springs, and we would have dinner at the theater’s café, which was actually quite good for your average movie theater food.  They had burgers, a couple of salads, and several pizzas including some exotic flatbread varieties. I met up with the group about 5:15 after doing a little grocery shopping at Dixie Liquidator Grocers (in the same shopping center) where I found a few bargains. At the theater, I had a bacon and bleu cheese burger with fries, which was pretty good. Some good conversation and joking around, followed by the movie “Focus” with Will Smith and relative newcomer Margot Robbie about a con man who falls for one of his proteges, which nearly costs him his life during their final “big score.” It was an entertaining little piece of fluff, certainly nothing that will win any awards. Afterward, anyone who was interested went next door to an ice cream place for a treat. All in all a pleasant evening.

The rest of last week was relatively quiet … mostly doing eBay and webpage listings, and restocking the larder after returning from the St. Pete/Kissimmee trip. Trying to eat a little healthier these final five or six weeks here and maybe drop a few pounds before returning to Cheeseland and facing all the taste temptations I’ve been missing these past five months! I did go on a gambling cruise Tuesday, St. Pat's Day, and won $45 at the craps table.

I did have an interesting experience with Amazon.com. I had placed an order with them prior to leaving for St. Pete/Kissimmee of a bathroom scale and a couple of books. I figured the order would be here by the time I got back. No such luck. The UPS driver totally fucked up and delivered the package to a warehouse dock somewhere in North Fort Myers. I called UPS, and they told me I’d have to handle the claim through Amazon. Weird. So I contacted Amazon, and after they confirmed the package had been incorrectly delivered, their solution was to refund me on the order and have me re-order everything. Completely messed up, in my opinion, especially since the package was only about 20 miles from me. And I have since lost interest/confidence, and will probably just buy the scale locally.

My other major accomplishment was gathering all my watches from the Kissimmee shows that were in need of repair, and sending them off to three separate watchmakers. That is always quite a little chore, because I always have to prepare return packages for them to send the watches back in. I also had to write letters to all three explaining to them that I needed the watches back in hand no later than April 30 when I begin the return trip to Wisconsin.

Monday March 23, I had my first session with the Intuition class, which was very interesting. The teacher talked about intuition and what it is and how it’s been defined and studied over the years (including her dissertation on the topic, which earned her PhD). We had seven class members, and we’ll see how many of them stick it out for the duration (you could take just one class, or the whole four-class course). The teacher is very good, and has a relaxed stage presence. I thought it was a little weird that she bought her actual bound dissertation with her to show everyone, and perhaps spent a little too much time describing the process of writing it, etc. She could have just told us she earned her PhD studying intuition, and I would have believed her. Anyway, the session was quite interesting, and I learned that everyone has intuition to some degree. It’s not just women either. Men have it too, it’s just they seem to prefer the term “gut instinct,” which she says is the same thing.

Dinner that night at Mel’s Diner, which I hadn’t been to in a while. Had the meatloaf blue plate, and am proud to say I brought half the meatloaf home for another meal.

Tuesday (March 24) I am once again aboard the Big M casino ship. I had to skip the craps table today, because they mysteriously upped the minimum line bet to $10, which is too rich for my blood. So I found a $5 blackjack table instead, and walked away $45 ahead. Spent the rest of the cruise reading (finished another novel, "Deadline," by John Dunning, and enjoyed the water and sunshine. The ship was rolling pretty good that day, and one woman got hopelessly seasick and was eventually taken below decks by her husband and a crew member to someplace where she could lay down. In the evening, I hooked up again with the widow/widowers club for another dinner/movie night. Dinner was at Buffalo Wild Wings, where I tried on of their burgers. Good, but not great. The chosen movie that night was “Insurgent,” but I opted for a different movie (The Second Best Marigold Hotel) because I’m not really into the whole “Divergent” series. The Marigold Hotel sequel was very good, and I rejoined the group after the movie for ice cream and conversation. Got back to the apartment at about 10 p.m.

Wednesday, March 25. I'm catching up on the blog today, and it's the second session of the "Intuition" course today. (Niece) Kris has been working on some new features for my website, and I hope to try them out in "test mode" today also. Tomorrow, friend Nora (I'll use her real name now instead of the made-up name "Rona") is supposed to come over to the apartment around 11:30, and we're talking a drive to as yet an un-named destination. We may go to Matlacha (pronounced mat-la-SHAY) which is a quaint coastal town, or to Tin City, which is kind of on the way to Naples and has lots of restaurants and shops.

That brings you up to date.

 

Bruce

 

 

Kissimmee and the Two Watch Shows

Thursday March 12: I arrived in Kissimmee from St. Pete at about 10 a.m. and proceeded directly to the first watch show (World Wide Traders) at the Park Inn by Radisson Resort and Conference Center. There were 104 tables, which was actually larger than their Miami show in February. I bought three watches, two of them Tavannes (one of which is 14kt solid gold) and an Alpina sport watch. It appears I have the two Tavannes already sold to one of my customers, after I have them cleaned and serviced.

For lunch, I refused to eat the overpriced garbage that was catered in by the hotel, so I went off premises to an Asian fusion restaurant that did a little bit of Chinese, Thai, and sushi. I had a delicious lunch of sesame chicken, spring rolls, and a diet Coke, all for around $14 including tip. Then back to the show to look around a little bit more, then to a Motel 6, where I had a booked a cheap room ($50) versus the host hotel (Radisson) at $120, which was supposedly WWT's "bargain rate." I chilled down the room and took a little nap, then headed out to dinner. I was so looking forward to eating Italian at a place called Tarantino's (no relation to Quentin) where I had dined before. However, Tarantino's is once again in the process of moving (they have moved twice since I started eating there) and so they are not operating. Bummer. I was SOOO looking forward to their chicken Parmesan, which is sublime. So instead, I ended up at a place called Pacino's Italian Restaurant (no relation to Al), which is family-owned and been in business 28 years. Despite fairly high ratings by both Yelp and TripAdvisor, I found the chicken Parmesan there a poor substitute for the heavenly dish they prepare at Tarantino's. The chicken breasts were overcooked, and the marinara sauce bland.

Back to my hotel room after that, and got a fairly good night's sleep.

Friday, March 13. I checked out of the Motel 6, and had breakfast at Perkins. Uninspired, I realize, but they were handy (right next to the motel) and I knew what the food would be, and besides I do confess to liking their apricot syrup on my pancakes. Then, headed over to the Radisson for the second day of the WWT show. I bought a dozen "project watches" from a dealer in Pennsylvania. I stayed until lunch time and socialized with various dealers, then left. For lunch, I ate at a Krispy Kreme donut shop, which I know is a terrible choice, but I am a sucker for Krispy Kreme, especially when you find an actual store and the donuts are fresh and still warm out of the fryer. I had two donuts and a pint of milk, so at least I got a little protein from the milk.

From there, I checked into my room at the Heritage Park Inn at the far eastern edge of Kissimmee, in preparation for the second watch show, the mid-winter regional by the National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors (NAWCC). This room was comped for me by the NAWCC as part of my compensation for an educational talk that I gave on Saturday. The motel was nothing fancy, your typical budget motel of the variety that dot State Hwy. 192 through Kissimmee like so many bug splotches on a windshield. But it was perfectly adequate, and both the Internet and the air conditioning worked well. I went down for another afternoon siesta, then searched out something local for dinner, and chose the "Cheesesteak Factory," which was a tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant with seating for about 12, attached to a 7-11 convenience store on Hwy. 192. For about ten bucks, you get a nice big Philly Cheesesteak with 11 ounces of sirloin steak, roughly chopped on a flattop grill, with cheese, onions, and peppers mixed in, served on a home-baked hoagie roll. I let it cool so as not to torch the inside of my mouth, and then dug in. Delicious.

Saturday, March 14. The first day of the NAWCC show at the Osceola Convention/Expo center, which was also hosting a wrestling tournament.  Many of the wrestler boys and their coaches/chaperons where also staying at the Heritage Inn, so the free breakfast bar was quite a donnybrook, with the big beefy boys stacking their plates high with pancakes and sausage patties.

The doors to the showroom opened at 8 a.m. for dealers, 9 a.m. for regular entrants, and it was a slow going show for me as far as selling anything. But, like most shows of this type, I make my money on my "buys," and it wasn't long before I had about six nice watches to sell, plus a watch for my personal collection. My presentation at 2:30 p.m. was well received, and I had about 18 people attend.

For dinner that evening, the show chairman, Joe Cohen (from Miami), took nine people from the show (show volunteers, guest speakers, a couple of VIPs from the association) out to dinner at an Outback Steakhouse up the road in St. Cloud. Joe is a bombastic, larger-than-life character, who likes everyone to know he's the smartest and richest guy in the room. He irritates many people with his blunt demeanor and use of foul language, but he is the only one who steps up to the plate every year to be chairman of this show. Failing health may prevent him from chairing future shows, but for now he's the man in charge when it comes to this show. And if there is any doubt, just ask him who's in charge. He held court at our table, forking large hunks of steak and lobster into his pie hole between bouts of pontificating, punctuated at one point by slamming his fist onto to the table. Anyway, the dinner was free (paid for by proceeds from the watch show) and my Porterhouse steak, prepared medium-rare, with a baked potato and house salad, was delicious. Joe even bought a round of drinks for everyone, so I enjoyed a Jack Daniels on the rocks. In addition, many of the other people at our table of 10 were very interesting and I enjoyed the brief moments of conversation I had with them between Joe's oratories.

Sunday March 15. After a good night's sleep, I had a little sampling of the motel's breakfast offering that morning, which was sausage gravy over biscuits. The wrestlers were gone (or sleeping in late) so I did not have to compete with them. Not being a huge fan of biscuits 'n' gravy, I stopped a Burger King on the way the conference center for a breakfast sandwich with some egg on it. The show was even slower the second day, but I hung around until noon talking with different people and got a couple of leads on possible stories for the NAWCC magazine.  Then, a 3.5 hour drive back to Ft. Myers. Had to get a few groceries because I was out of everything, get unpacked, do laundry, etc., so I was pretty beat by about 9:30 and about 15 min. later headed to bed.

My overall impression of Orlando/Kissimmee was not favorable. Not having been there the last couple of years, I had forgotten about the special blend of madness and mayhem that goes on there. I mean, it's busy practically everywhere in Florida this time of year, but it takes on a special flavor of its own in these parts. Minivans loaded with mom/dad and the kids darting in and out of traffic because dad has no idea where he's going. No one seems to be from here; rather they just ended up here. It is a city without a soul, similar to Las Vegas in that way I guess. I am so glad I had the good sense to choose someplace else as my winter headquarters after my brief obsession with all things Disney!

Hope everyone is well.

Bruce

Impressions of St. Petersburg

Monday March 9 -- Left Fort Myers about 11 a.m. and arrived at my "airbnb" house in St. Pete about 1 p.m. I met my host, Kelly, and got the tour of the place. Here is the outside of the house, and my bedroom:

This is my bedroom and door to the bath (right). The doorway you see on the left (partially) is my private entrance.

After that, I rode the Central Avenue trolley downtown, and did about 4 miles worth of of walking. I explored the restaurants, clubs, and funky shops. I had a late lunch at "Lucky Dill Deli" on Central Ave. and had a mile-high pastrami on marble rye, topped with cole slaw and melted Swiss cheese, a side of potato salad, and a Coke. Delicious. They brine their own beef briskets there. The bill came to $16, but the giant sandwich lasted me the rest of the evening.

From there, I visited the store/galley of a watch acquaintance of mine on 4th Street North, about 11 blocks off Central Ave. His name is Jeffrey Hess, and his business is called "Hess Fine Art." I wanted to see if his temperament and demeanor had changed any in the last five years since I last saw him, and unfortunately it hasn't. He wants me to collaborate with him on writing a book, I'm definitely interested in the topic (Omega watches) but I don't think I can work with him. But I'm glad I got to see his shop, which was very nice and connected to a jewelry store, which he also owns. Don't get me wrong; he's an OK guy, and he knows lots of stuff and some great connections in the industry. But I can only take him in small doses. He's a little heavy on the ego, and he has this constant need to prove he's the smartest (and the richest) guy in the room.

I stopped at a Starbucks after that for some caffeine, and also a CVS pharmacy to buy some snacks and a couple of daily bus passes. Then back to the house, where I got a good dose of Kelly's demeanor. Nice gal, but a veritable gumbo of neuroses, including OCD, ADD, hyperactive, and good dash of high drama thrown in. She keeps her office for her home-based business out in the common living area of the house, and maintains a running verbal dialog with the computer and the dozens of emails and texts that come in on an hourly basis. And, as a real estate broker, her phone is ringing a good amount of the time as well, plus she's regularly scolding her pet Chihuahua, Dakota, who barks at the slightest provocation and likes to lick people's bare legs. But the coup de grace of the evening was when the Internet went completely out at about 6:30 p.m., whereupon a flurry of expletives were uttered, and a long telephone conversation ensued with her Internet provider with her phone on speaker mode so that I could hear the blow-by-blow account between her and the customer service rep. Fortunately, this did not last long, and it was at least partially compensated for when Kelly told me to help myself to a six pack of beer left in the fridge by the previous visitor.

Kelly herself is 50 years old (by her own admission), is about 5'3", weighs about 100 pounds, 20 of which is boobs. She subsists, from what I was able to tell, on Chock Full O' Nuts coffee, tangerines, and rice cakes.

So I hope by how you are getting the full picture. Having said all that, I should emphasize that my overall experience at my airbnb location was pleasant, and both Kelly and Dakota (the Chihuahua) seemed to settle down after the first evening. Kelly and her boyfriend, Eric, went out every evening I was there, so I had the whole house to myself every evening. Even Dakota was sequestered in the private area of the house when Kelly was out. I retired to my private bedroom (with private bath) every night between 9:30 and 10:00, and I was never aware when Kelly/Eric returned from their evening outings because they were very quiet. Bottom line, if you go with airbnb, you are essentially a guest in someone's house and must more or less abide by house customs and adapt to the "vibe" of the household. Overall, the experience was pleasant, priced right ($60/night), and I will probably do it again the next time I travel solo to a place where I will only stay for a few days. (I notice since leaving that Kelly has increased the price of the room to $80/night!)

Tuesday, March 10. Beach day. I took the Central Ave. Trolley to a transfer point, and boarded a second "Suncoast" trolley, which took me to the beaches. On a hunch, I opted for Madiera Beach, north of of St. Pete beach, because it looked like there were more shops and restaurants to help round out the day, since my fair skin is not cut out for an all-day, lay-in-the-sun-on-the-sand kind of day. My hunch played out well. I opted for a stretch of Madiera Beach known as "John's Pass," and on one side of the road was a lovely shopping/eating/drinking complex, and on the other side of the road was a beautiful stretch of white sand beach. Here are some photos:

On the boardwalk

The drawbridge at John's Pass

Some kind of motorized parasail contraption that some guy was flying up and down the beach

On the beach

For lunch, I ate at the "Friendly Fisherman" at the shopping complex and had a cup of what was maybe the best clam chowder I have ever eaten, and a fried grouper sandwich with cole slaw, all washed down with a pina colada. All was delicious. From there, I crossed the road (under the draw bridge) and walked the beach's surf line barefoot for about 1/2 mile in each direction. Beautiful. I would have to say the beach is quite a bit nicer than Ft. Myers beach in that it is more pristine and less "tacky" than Ft. Myers Beach.

I returned to the house by way of the dual trolley buses, and for dinner that night, I ate at "O' Bistro" just up the street a ways on Central Ave. from the house. One of their nightly specials was a 6 ounce filet mignon (I had mine prepared medium-rare), served with a cheddar-bacon potato gratin, and fresh lightly steamed green beans, washed down with a tangerine martini (Kelly's influence, no doubt!). Awesome food.

Wednesday March 11. Back downtown today to visit the Dali Museum. But first, a stop at Haslam's Book Store, at 20th and Central Ave., which is billed as Florida's largest and oldest used bookstores, founded in 1933, and with an estimated inventory of 300,000 books. I was in book heaven, and spent about 1.5 hours there, and bought a couple of used books. Here are a couple of photos:

One of the store's mascot kitties

From there, I hopped back on the trolley and went all the way to the end of downtown at the city pier and walked the length of it, just to say I did it. I was told there were shops and restaurants at the end of the pier, but the building is closed and I was told it is soon destined for the wrecking ball.

From there, I took the "City Looper Trolley" to the Salvador Dali museum and paid my $24 to see the largest collection (outside of Dali's home country of Spain) of Dali art. Some say he was a genius; others say he was mad. Certainly I found his early work to be more traditional, with a splash of impressionism thrown in. But at some point, the man was definitely "touched" with some sort of inspiration (perhaps fueled by copious amount of hallucinogenic substances), and his paintings became wild, filled with optical illusions and tons of hidden images.

The one that fascinated me the most was this picture titled "Lincoln." Viewed close up, you see the backside of a naked woman looking out the window at a sunset. A tiny monochrome portrait of Lincoln can be seen to the left of the woman's left foot. When you back way from the painting, the entire picture looks like a portrait of Lincoln. Some weird stuff.

I had dinner that night at a Mexican restaurant close to the house called D'Mexican, where I had chicken enchiladas topped with a most delicious mole sauce made with about 20 spices, served with beans and rice, and I also got an order of chips and salsa. It was some of the best Mexican food I've had in a while, but I fear the place will not be in business long as I was the only customer in the place.

Thursday March 12, I woke about 6:30 and was on the road by 7 a.m. My overall impression of St. Pete was very favorable. I could certainly see myself wintering there. The downtown is without a doubt more vibrant and there's much more going on there than in downtown Fort Myers. I can't speak for St. Pete beach, but Madiera Beach was certainly lovely and more pristine than Ft. Myers Beach. On the downside, the public transportation system sucks ... there's just no other way to say it. You waste half your day waiting for buses, and the schedules, if there are such a thing, are quite erratic. You'd really have to either drive and struggle for parking (yuck!) or figure out a suitable bike route, which St. Pete does appear to be a bike friendly city. Also, the cost of living here I'm fairly certain is a notch or two above Ft. Myers, and I seriously doubt I would find an apartment of equal quality here for what I'm paying in Ft. Myers. And finally, the Tampa ship piers are about a 45 minute car ride from most anywhere in St. Pete, so the piers are not as close as I thought. So when all is said and done, I think I'm going to stay put in Ft. Myers, at least for another year. But it was definitely worth the trip here, and I had a great time exploring the city these past three days. And the airbnb experience was a good education.

On to Kissimmee!

Bruce

'Gators and Herons and Egrets, Oh My!

It's Friday March 6, and I'm at the Sanibel Cafe on Sanibel Island sipping a cold lemonade. I've rented a bike for the day, and have the Prius parked down by Billy's Bike Rentals. Just finished touring a little bit of the annual shell festival at the Community Center, and am taking a little break until my friend "Rona" shows to help with show registration at 2 p.m.

Backing up to Wednesday, it was an eventful day, as "Rona" drove the two of us down to Everglades City for lunch and to have a ride through the 'Glades on an airboat, my first time. We first stopped for lunch at "City Seafood," which is both a restaurant and seafood market:

It looks kind of "touristy," but actually it's a favorite of both the locals and tourists and boasts some of the best and freshest seafood around, with an amazing variety of both fish and shellfish. You order your food at a window, then sit at benches right along the river and pick up food at another window when they call your number. It's all very casual and laid back, and the food was awesome. I had a crab cake, which was the size of your average saucer and about an inch thick. Add to that an order of 'slaw and hush puppies, and an ice cold Heineken. "Rona" had a fish platter with blackened grouper, slaw, and a salad, and ice water. Bill came to $36, and I treated because she drove.

Everglades City is an interesting town because there is only one road in and out of the city, along State Route 29. The only other way in and out is by boat. So it makes for some interesting travel and sights along the roadside ... basically for 20 miles when you exit Route 41 onto State Highway 29, it looks like you're traveling along an asphalt bridge with endless marsh on either side of you.

Anyway, we got to our airboat outfitter outside of town, and signed on with "Captain Rick" who, for $40 each, took us and seven other passengers on a rollicking airboat ride through a veritable maze of waterways lined with mangrove, cypress, and sawgrass. At top speed, our boat of nine people was cruising at somewhere around 30-35 mph, and Captain Rick was banking the turns really sharp to make it look like we were careening into the brush at numerous points along the way. We saw many birds, most of which took flight as the noisy airboat approached. We did creep up on one Roseate Spoonbill so as not to scare it, so that we could see it up close. We also got within about five feet of one alligator, about a 7-footer. Neat stuff. Here are some photos:

Gator

 

At the end, we went back into the welcome center, and got to hold a couple of baby alligators that they keep in a tank and presumably release into the wild when they reach a certain size. Here are a couple photos of that:

Nope, not a rubber alligator!

From there, we drove back to Fort Myers (about 1.5 hours) and "Rona" dropped me back off at the apartment where I invited her into the apartment to download her photos from her I-phone (I had managed to forget my camera that day!) and also to show her the apartment (that took 2 minutes!) and also introduce her to Abby. Abby was her usual congenial self, and the two made friends quickly. "Rona" went on her way, and spent the rest of the evening relaxing with dinner (Italian sausage on a a bun) and watching a couple of my favorites on Netflix and Hulu. I slept very well that evening, what with all the fresh air.

Thursday, I spent most of the day in the apartment writing my wristwatch article for the NAWCC Watch & Clock Bulletin on Eterna watches. This was on top of my script I wrote for my talk at the NAWCC Regional in Kissimmee next week. So everything kind of bunched up on me, but isn't that the way it always goes? I did take a break at about 5 p.m. and drove over to Outback Steak House, which is a couple miles from the apartment. I broke with my tradition of avoiding chain restaurants because I wanted something quick and easy so I could get back to the apartment and continue writing. Plus, the 15% AARP discount doesn't hurt either! I had a 10 oz. ribeye with baked potato and salad for just under $20 including tip.

Today, as I mentioned, I am at the 78th Annual Sanibel Shell Festival, which is a VERY big deal here on the island and draws exhibitors not only from the immediate area, but from around the country and even some international folks. There are shells for sale, and shells just for show, including scientific and artistic exhibits, which are judged not only by professionals, but have a people's choice award, too. Dawn, there are many of those Junonia shells on exhibit. Also shells collected from around the world, as far away as Australia, and I think you would really enjoy seeing this. Some of the artistic exhibits are simply awesome, ranging from the tastefully kitchey to simply gorgeous.

pictures made entirely of shells

So that pretty much brings you up to date. I will be finishing my story during the weekend. We gain an hour on Sunday morning, which will be nice and make the daylight last longer. Then Monday I take off for my little adventure to St. Petersburg and Kissimmee.

Bruce

Listening to Some Local Musicians

Saturday Feb. 28

I finally got a chance to listen to local piano player/vocalist Chris Workman, who performs Saturday nights at the
Lighthouse Waterfront restaurant. I went with “Rona,” who finally appears to be getting a break from playing host and tourguide to friends and relatives. We arrived in separate vehicles at the packed restaurant at about 6 p.m.in a
pouring rain, and were lucky enough to score a high top table in the bar not far from the stage. I was drinking Jack Daniels, while Rona was alternating vodka/club sodas with ice water. Chris started about 7:30 p.m. He’s a fair pianist, playing a Korg electronic piano with some extra voices which he uses sparingly … mostly strings on some of the ballads.

But for the most part, he’s old school, avoiding pre-recorded background tracks and drum machines. It’s just his voice and the piano, which is nice. He played a variety of music, but I would say his style is predominantly blues, with a voice that reminds me a little bit of Marc Cohn. In fact, one of his songs on his playlist was “Walking in Memphis.” He also did some Dylan, Dobie Gray (“Drift Away”), some Don MacLean (“American Pie”). He did a number called "Suzanne," by Leonard Cohen, who is perhaps best known for his song "Hallelujah," which is being performed by everybody and his brother/sister right now. And of course some Billy Joel (“New York State of Mind,” “Captain Jack,” and “Piano Man.”) He also did some ballads, including “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” which Rona and I danced to. We stayed until 11 p.m. when Chris closed down. I bought two of his CDs, and if you want to hear samples of his music, you can go to his website here.

It was great fun listening to his music, and Chris was a very down to earth kind of guy … I talked with him for a while about his style and his choice of instrument. Turns out he’s originally from Maryland, but the northern part around Cumberland, not the southern part where Aunt Pat lived.

For food, Rona and I each had a cup of the house lobster bisque, which was hands down the best I’ve ever tasted --- a thick creamy base with pieces of lobster the size of M&Ms. That was served with a basket of homemade sourdough bread and butter. Then we shared one of the appetizers, a beef tenderloin flatbread topped with roasted red pepper and a balsamic glaze, then finished with watercress and shaved Parmesan cheese.
Delicious. The bill came to $82, which my date and I split down the middle, and each of us left tip on our portion. So the Lighthouse isn’t cheap, but I thought it was a good value for the quality of the food and the music.

Today, (March 3) I am on board the “Big M” casino ship, where I just won $85 at the craps table. I’m on the top deck enjoying the warmth (mid 80s), sunshine, and calm seas. I started the morning at a new (for me)
restaurant on the beach called “Heavenly Biscuit,” just down the road from the Lani Kai about one-half mile. This place is all the rage among the locals and the tourists thanks to websites like yelp and urban spoon, and it’s easy to see why. The cinnamon and pecan rolls are some of the best around, and their made-from-scratch baking powder biscuits from the backbone of their breakfast menu, with a variety of egg, meat, cheese, and veggie combinations that are … well … heavenly. I had a pecan roll, an egg-cheese-bacon-tomato biscuit, and coffee, all for $10.55. The place is teeny tiny, and only seats about a dozen people inside, but most people eat outside on café and picnic tables, or take their orders to go. The line was outside the door and around the side of the building when I arrived at about 8 a.m.., and can stretch well into the parking lot (I'm told) by 10 a.m. They are only open 7:30 a.m to 1 p.m., but the place is a gold mine, proving once again my old axiom that if you build a place that serves a great breakfast, the world will beat a path to your door.

This afternoon/early evening, I met “Rona” at about 5:30 p.m.  on the rooftop at the Lani Kai for drinks, to watch the sunset, with the sun dropping below Sanibel Island:

From the Lani Kai rooftop, with the city fishing pier in the background.

and to listen to the band. The lead singer, Mary Winner, is a good friend of Rona’s, and she was on guitar and vocals, and had a second guy on mandolin and harmonica. A bass player friend of Mary's stopped in and joined the duo and made it a trio and helped to fill in the music a little better. Mary's voice was the showcase, and she sounds little bit like Bonnie Raitt at times, and also a little bit like Carrie Newcomer. They did a variety of music from LInda Ronstadt, to Eagles, to Credence. A friend of "Rona's," named Mimi, dropped in unexpectedly, and joined us for a while. It was a lot of fun watching the cast of patrons at the Lani Kai (a great people watching place) and we stayed until 10 p.m. when the band shut down. "Rona" gave me a ride to my car, which was parked on the opposite side of the beach, and I drove back to the apartment pretty pooped out because I spent the entire day/evening at the beach. Here is a picture of "Rona" and I:

It’s official: spring break has started, and traffic on and off the beach will be horrendous now for the entire month of March. This is the month where it’s just as fast to reach the beach by bicycle as by car! So that's why I secured myself a nice parking place for five bucks for the day.

Today is is my airboat tour of the Everglades with “Rona.” We’ll be leaving Fort Myers about 11:30. She has offered to drive, and I will buy lunch, and I am very much looking forward to this, and plan to take lots of pictures.

I have completed my slide presentation and script for my speaking engagement at the mid-winter regional, coming up next week, and this is a relief to have that done. The show chairman called me and said my hotel
reservation was now been made at the "Flamingo Waterpark Resort," just three blocks from the show venue. My airbnb venue is secured in St. Petersburg, and I’m looking forward to meeting Kelly, my host, who happens to be a Realtor and property manager, and she has already indicated she would be more than willing help me find a rental for next season if I decide to give St. Pete a try.

I can scarcely believe I have just two months before making the trek back to Wisconsin. The time has truly flown by down here. I’ve already looked into storage lockers here for my stuff, and have found a nice location on
Cleveland Ave. that has inside climate controlled cubicles that go for about $70 per month for the size I need, if I decide I need storage. If I can’t find suitable and affordable quarters in St. Pete, I’ll likely renew the lease here in Ft. Myers, so we’ll see. St. Pete has a vastly more vibrant downtown, and long stretches of beach, but I would certainly miss my Sanibel Island!

Bye for now,

Bruce