St. Petersburg Florida

Our stay in St. Pete, Jan 28 – Feb 6: 

St Pete skyline

Looking out at the Bay from St Pete City Marina

What a superb area St. Petersburg, Florida is! We had a wonderful stay in this area of a resurrected downtown city. Amenities for us to enjoy during our stay here and within walking distance were museums, restaurants, city parks, a city pier, festivals, farmers markets, and friends. Our friends Bruce and Kathi live close to our marina and, as such, we were able to enjoy a number of events with them. Too, our friend Darryln is within driving distance so we had opportunity to rendezvous with her as well.  

We follow Tumble Weed, a KS Looper, from Clearwater to St Pete--still have the water spicket and PVC pipe from Clearwater Beach Marina attached to your water hose?

One of the low bridges on the inside route

The north end of the Tampa Bay Skyline Brdge

A recount of some of our activities follows...

We were greeted as we cruised toward St. Pete downtown marina by many dolphins, including some babies. Such fun to spot them and to enjoy their antics as they break the water's surface. We docked at the marina, got acquainted with the marina facility and its offerings, then walked a short distance to a wonderful restaurant (one of many in the immediate area) called Bella Brava. Good choice!

Our morning walk on Wednesday was interrupted by rain and then dropping temperatures.  No matter how you slice it, weather can be an albatross to a boater, either at sea or tied at shore. But, within walking distance was a Publix grocery store, so Clay and I donned gortex jackets and walking shoes mid-afternoon and made a grocery run, picking up area brochures to enable us to plan the next few days' activities. Bruce and Kathi picked us up for dinner at a favorite spot of theirs called Wood Fired Pizza, and we yet again sloshed thru puddles to split a delicious Big Sexy pizza (had brussel sprouts and pistachios among other unusual ingredients) and Caesar salad. Yum!

Every morning on our walk, we went by Al Lang Field on the St Pete waterfront.  Al Lang Field is where the St Louis Cardinals played their spring training baseball in the 1950s and 60s.  If you are younger than 60, you don't remember Dizzy Dean calling the play-by-play from "Alll Lang" field.Al Lang field has seen better days but is still used by some minor league teams.

Al Lang Field

Thursday found us yet again enduring windy, wet, cold-for-FL temps (43 this a.m. with wind chill of 37 when we walked) with overcast and winds that make us hunker down in our wind-bloc fleece jackets. Brrr.  We chose this day to visit the Dali Museum and the special attraction of the Andy Warhol exhibit there. Spent 2+ hours there and could have spent longer! We went for a quick crock pot meal (yummy recipe I found...and so easy), then on to the pix show to see 'Saving Mr Banks' at the nearby theater complex. As I mentioned earlier, St. Pete downtown offers something for everyone!

Clay revisited the movie theater Friday evening to see 'Lone Survivor' while Sal opted instead to stroll thru the downtown shops, viewing their diverse offerings of antiques, ice cream, and incense, and people-watching! Don't know who had more fun, Clay or Sal!

Sailboat sailing by the marina in Tampa Bay

Sail regatta for hundreds of teenagers in Tampa Bay

Another foggy, drizzly day dawned Saturday, but it was this day that enticed us to stay thru the weekend in the St. Pete area. Three 'festivals' were on tap, according to the multi-page St. Pete Downtown brochure. First on the agenda was the Saturday Farmers Market for which the skies cleared and the temps warmed! Yay! Again an opportunity for people-watching and for shopping with local produce, locally-made crafts, candles and salsa among the many wares.  Live music, too! Second stop was a once-a-year event called 'Localtopia' which took place in nearby Williams Park. Again, live music ongoing throughout the day, this time on a huge stage with a sound system to match. Plus, many artisans and crafters marketing their products. We opted out of the third festival and returned to the SaSea Sally for a late lunch. A  weekend race for junior sailors had been delayed this morning due to intense fog, but by now it was well underway, giving Clay a photo shoot opportunity. Was such fun witnessing the excitement of the kids and their parents...and seeing the mass of masts and volume of furled sails!

Dinnertime Saturday night found us walking back to Williams Park to hear Betty Fox belt out some more wonderful Blues onstage, followed by a late sidewalk dinner at 400 Beach, recommended by fellow Loopers.

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Bruce LaBaron, Daryln Caudill, Sally and Clay Logan

Sunday dawned again with fog, again delaying the second day of the sailing races. But, when the fog lifted, the races resumed. Clay and I retrieved our bikes off the boat's front deck and, having located a Panera Bread some 19+ blocks north, we set off for lunch and in search of some printer ink. Upon our return, we encountered an art-in-the-park Art Fair in a park adjacent to the marina and again browsed the offerings, appreciating the talent of these Floridians. Evening brought dinner aboard while viewing the Super Bowl, a short-lived event for Sal, but I think Clay stuck it out.

Bruce LaBaron in his new kitchen

Highlight of Monday was an impromptu cocktail party aboard the SaSea Sally when we interrupted Kathi's dog-walking Obi. Bruce shortly followed, and we yet again enjoyed time with our friends!

Tuesday tested my patience with my biking partner when he detoured from my lead and disappeared. Now those of you who know Clay KNOW that his speed will almost always put me in the lead. I 'blew him off' and went my merry way, at my merry speed, then hooked up with him as he tried desperately to locate 33 4th Street N for computer repair. Yep, his notebook computer was infected with a virus. It's our lifeline to the world so repair was imperative!

After dropping the computer, praying for a good-reputation repairman, we headed for Publix intent on stocking up on Clay's beer. Clay had plans for transportation. I was blissfully ignorant of his plans until, post-shopping, I found myself with a case (24 pack) of beer strapped to my bike's back fender and bound by 2 backpacks weighing a total of probably 40# (I kept asking Clay why we were buying all of this other stuff and how we were gonna carry it). Clay had a skinny 12-pack strapped on his bike's rear fender at which time, now cycling toward the marina, I burst into song (mom had a song for everything), "I had an ole mule and her name was Sal, fifteen (?) years on the Erie Canal." I successfully made it to the boat, but nursed strap marks 'burned' into my shoulders for at least 8-10 hrs. I blamed my heavy load on Clay (duh!),  citing Clay's less-than-stellar biking skills (I don't think he trusts himself on a bicycle, especially in heavy traffic); he said it was because he feared the add'l weight would break the bike or burst the tires! Pack mule here, glutton for punishment, repeated the routine later in the day, but we bought only beer, so the load was much less!

Gratzzi's for dinner, a highly recommended restaurant in downtown St. Pete, gave us a chance to enjoy St. Pete nightlife and a night away from galley cooking.

Wednesday, our last day in St. Pete, we decided to visit the Chilhuly Museum. We admired the beautiful glass 'sculptures' of this famous glass-blower, then found our way to a nearby shop which featured works-for-sale by local (in the area) artists. That shop was as much fun as the Chilhuly Museum, though I won't discredit Chilhuly because many of the shop's offerings were pieces modeled after Chilhuly.

Our final night in St. Pete found us back at Gratzzi's as Clay had found a second entree Tuesday night which lured him back on Wednesday. Most of the entree made its way to Clay's mouth; unfortunately, some made its way to Clay's shirt. I'm getting good at spot cleaning, especially his fishing shirts where dipping oil has special attraction. Dawn dishwashing detergent...miraculous!

Pat and John Pitney

Pat and John Pitney visited friends in Sarasota and stopped by the SaSea Sally for a visit and lunch on their way back to the east coast of FL where their boat, Satisfaction, was located.  They will resume their Great Loop trip in the spring of 2014.

Sally and Pat

Thursday's departure happened mid-morning at which time we launched for Longboat Key...a memorable time in St. Pete with wonderful memories to last a lifetime.

Clay and Bob Mustell docked next to Seabatical in WI during 2012.  We encounter them again in St Pete.

EDITOR'S NOTE:  Clay's computer went in the shop in St Pete and permanently died in Sanibel, hence delayed posts to the SaSea Sally blog.  A new computer was accquired in Ft Myers but has taken a couple weeks to get functional.  Many thanks to Hamilton Perez who was able to locate a new laptop PC at very competitive prices and to my specs, deliver it and get it going (most of the way that is).