The 14th Colony (yes there were really 16, not 13)

Between holidays, we jumped in the car and headed for St. Augustine, the oldest city in the United States. Mark, with his Turkish perspective, wasn't too impressed with a date like 1513, but he considered the continent and feigned interest.

I was happy to see the old town was renovated and busy. There are plenty of museums to visit, but all require admission. It was great to see both the Spanish Village and Fort Castillo de San Marcos had employees and volunteers who dressed and played the roles of residents or army in the period around 1740.

I didn't get Florida history in school (since I wasnt in Florida when it is taught), so I found out some interesting things. For example, there were really 16 colonies, not just 13. Florida was split into 2 British colonies: East and West Florida. Because the 14-16 colonies were happy being loyal to the Queen, they didn't fight in the American Revolution, and for that they got no star on the flag! If you are wondering, the 16th colony was eastern Canada.

We enjoyed the mix of British and Spanish history (Florida went back and forth between the countries before becoming a state, and the abundance of sangria and ales to represent both sides. We saw and definately heard canons and flintlocks fired. We saw very old houses. Though St. Augustine was burned down by the angry British who couldn't capture the fort -which held the cities 1500 residents for 50 days- so I guess the houses could have been older!

St. Augustine had a resurgence back in the 1880's (until around 1914) when Henry Flagler built his railroad to the city so that the first snowbirds could come down in the winter. Being the entrepreneur he was, he also built fabulous hotels to house these wealthy people. One of the hotels, the Ponce de leon, is now the main Flagler College building while the Alcazar was purchased by Mr. Lightner for his museum. The Alcazar housed the largest indoor pool in the world at the time...though the water was from a sulfur springs which must have really stunk in an enclosed area. St. Augustine lost its luster when Flagler continued his railroad to West Palm Beach, and then to Key West. It seemed the further south those snow birds could go, the happier they were...until the depression when everyone stopped traveling.

For the holidays, the city was decorated in white lights which made the evening magical. While the country is in a recession, it appeared that a trip to St. Augustine during the holidays was a must-do. The streets were full of festive people wandering the town from morning to late night. It felt a bit like a tame mardi gras in New Orleans.

Farkels and Pancakes

Its about time!!!! Ya, that is what I was thinking as Mark and I drove over for a Farkel meeting...the 1st since we moved here. 'Farkels' you ask? In 1976, 8 girls (yes we were definately 'girls')went to Europe for part of the summer with Elmar, a history professor at UCF (called FTU at the time). Quite a memorable trip for each of us, which for me included a broken leg from sliding down an Alp. We all promised to stay in touch...and in fact, 5 of us have. For easy reference we are called the Farkels. The name is a long story, so just go with it.

We've gathered mostly over the holidays to catch up on marriages, divorces, children, dating, travels, excitements and disappointments. Gatherings have always included food and often drink. But life sometimes gets in the way of things, and it seems to have done a bit of that the past year or so.

With me back in Florida (most Farkles live in FL), I was hoping reunions could be more often than annual. In fact, they've been LESS. So, with great anticipation, we plotted and planned an appropriate time and setting for the 2008 gathering of Farkles.

3 of the 5 made it as the other 2 had iron-clad excuses for not coming. We met at DeLeon Springs, a beautiful state park complete with an age old pool built around the springs, and the spring fed river flowing from it. But even better than the natural setting was the food! The pancake restaurant was still there (visited in Farkel gatherings decades prior). Even the staff were the same.

But we each had 'our man' in attendance on this reunion...highly unusual for Farkle gatherings. So we introduced them to the art of cooking whole grain pancakes on the electric skillets built into the center of the table. Molasses, honey and maple syrup containers stood guard as we poured each pancake. We added toppings of bananas, berries, and apple slices while each pancake cooked, flipped them over either too early or too late, to be rewarded with heavy, hot bread covered in favorite things.

While the food was great (as expected at any Farkle gathering)it was so nice to catch up with each others' life adventures, some happy and some not. We knew that anything we did or said would be met with support, some laughs and some sighs. And we also knew that we wouldn't wait so long for the next gathering.

Mark's Handiwork Solves the Stuff Problem

Believe it or not, we've been living in our Florida house for almost 14 months. All of this time, the garage and house have been the storage locations for boxes of our books, photos, and 'stuff' accumulated while traveling or found on my doorstep (cause i swear i didnt buy any of these things). Yes, I did get rid of many boxes of 'stuff' before we moved, including a large box of pigs. But I think 'stuff' has the power to regenerate and warm weather expedites the process.

Mark had his job cut out for him - lots of shelves to build!

He was undaunted by my specific demands including shelving to wrap around the corner with 45 degree angles, shelves that slant to smaller depth to fit the nearby window, shelves to the ceiling which isn't consistently the same distance from the floor, etc.

I love the results! We have photos, books and 'stuff' within view and reach. Many boxes are gone... but somehow there are now several boxes of items to give away.

I tell you...'stuff' regenerates in this warm climate!

Xmas Boat Parade

We made sure we got to the Dunedin Xmas Boat Parade this year. Living near the ocean In Florida brings an interesting twist to celebrating Christmas. While we are used to the European version of the season with evergreen trees and snow, here in Florida you are apt to find decorated palm trees (actually more aligned to a Bethlehem location), and parades of decorated boats driving up the coast and back supported by the applause and hot toddies of the bystanders.

The parade began soon after sunset and the colorful boats followed a line of Christmas tree buoys. As the boats approached our location near the Dunedin Marina, we could hear the celebrations on board.

One boat highlighted an American Flag decorated in lights, with bongo drummers and fire eaters. A local preacher motored his sail boat that was highlighted by a shooting star and angels. One cruiser seemed to have a green gecko lit up...making us wonder if this was their version of an elf.

The evening was complete with Santa arriving from the marine police boat, and lighting the large Xmas tree in the park. Celebrants could eat s'mores and hot chocolate while listening to the town band play Christmas music.

A very nice evening.

Neighbors

One of the things that we've noticed in moving to Dunedin is that we have little in common with most of the people we've met here. We're a bit surprised to find this, having found good friends while in California.

Here's some examples of our experiences: The backyard neighbors asked us over for dinner. I cancelled my evening meetings, we grabbed a bottle of wine, and knocked on their door at the proper time. The door opened to chairs around the perimeter of the living room, focused on the TV. Dinner was purchased sandwiches with lemonade on a small table, and next to it sat a very large man wearing a Walgreens name tag. Hmmm. This looked very odd. So much for a good dinner. The hosts informed us that other neighbors were showing up - so this sounded kind of nice with the opportunity to meet more neighbors. One showed up, an elderly woman who was the original owner of her home across the street. They had picked up the guy from Walgreens when they got their flu shots.

We politely ate our store-bought sandwiches and sipped our lemonade while making polite conversation. Mark and I were considering our exit when the host wife stood up and said we would now watch a video on love. What is this?? Neighborhood porno?

Alas, this was a religious video hosted by Rick Warren (who's name was familiar to me because of the 2005 Atlanta killing spree by Brian Nichols. Mr. Nichols ended up in Ashley Smith Robinson's apartment where she stayed alive and managed to convince Mr. Nichols to surrender after reading to him from one of Rick Warren's books). Mark and I were not enthused by the duplicity of the evening and sat through the video impatiently. When it ended, i took over the conversation, not wishing a preachy evening. I enjoyed meeting the elderly neighbor, but otherwise, the evening began to form our opinion of our neighbors. Walgreens guy just kept eating sandwiches.

Our next door neighbor invited us over to taste some of the lobster he caught in the Bahamas. This was following a fabulous dinner that Mark created a few months before for neighbor and his wife. They are friendly neighbors, love to golf, and have 2 little 'yippy' dogs that Mark plays with. We arrive for dinner and are very well fed, nice wine, good conversation. 5 minutes after dessert was put on the table, we were told that he had an early tee time and we'd need to leave. So, our evening was barely 1 1/2 hours!

Mark befriended a fellow Turk who works at Home Depot - where Mark spends most of his week. Home Depot Turk and his American wife asked us to join them at the nearby Irish pub for Friday night. This sounded like fun and they are pleasant to join for the evening. Mark was called on Wednesday that the evening was 'off'. Apparently they were only going to listen to a favorite musician and they found out he wasnt playing. So, the evening was called off. Gee, Mark and I thought they wanted to get together with us - but it was really about them going to hear the musician.

We have met one couple who are 'normal' for us. We picked up Camille on nearby Honeymoon Island during a fierce storm in august. She didnt mind walking back to her home in the rain, but the lightening was too dangerous. So, we offered to take her back with us. Tulin was visiting, and sat on my lap so we all could fit in Mark's truck. Only then did we find out she was a neighbor! There was a thank you note in our mailbox the next day with an invitation to come over.

Mark and I headed over when schedules permitted (she's a flight attendant so has a crazy schedule). Husband Glenn is a consultant... maybe in the media business, his profession. They've lived in many of the same cities as I have. They've lived in Asia and Europe as well. We find we have a lot of similiar interests and have a good time when we get together. Now, this is what we are looking for.

Making friends does take time. And without the benefit of jobs to meet people who may have more in common with us, we are at the mercy of our daily activities to find folks we like. We really appreciate the friends we have, and we clearly need to expand the perimeter of our lives a bit!!!

Air boats, aligators, iguanas, vultures ...the glades!

Our adventure to south Florida couldn't be complete without a trip into the Everglades. While driving on I-75 (called Alligator Alley)gave us a glimpse, we really needed to get into an airboat and go into deeper into the glades.

Holiday Park was recommended to us. We drove over from Ft. Lauderdale and were greeted by peacocks and peahens, wise cracking Florida natives, and... a Turk. Yep, they seem to be everywhere...those turks. This one was the photographer for Holiday Park and seemed quite happy to bide his time in the swampland.

We climbed into our twin cadillac engine airboat with 3 boisterous and cellphone addicted ladies from either NYC or Miami, a lesbian couple, and 3 travelers from Germany. All wanted to see alligators. Our driver lived in the glades and was definately homespun Florida boy. Complete with a cracker accent. He showed us the power of those twin engines - my favorite part! We zoomed out of the dock and headed out to the grassy waters, gliding over mounds of water lilies. We found out that stopping a speeding airboat is quite similiar to a downhill ski stop...without the ensuing 'yard sale' (term for tumbling down the side of the mountain while losing hat, gloves, poles, etc. along the way).

Besides the speeding boat maneuvers, the other highlight is the wildlife of the glades. Of course we saw aligators, though they were more shy than I expected. We found a tree full of vultures, and others full of giant, multi-colored iguanas. Our glimpse of life in the glades was interesting and made me realize there was much more to see...perhaps another trip?

The Fun Architecture in South Beach Miami

I remember when South Beach Miami was a bit of a slum (early 80's). The art deco buildings were crumbling in disrepair. The streets were full of garbage. Elderly people walked the sidewalks with shopping carts, picking up treasures from the street and beach. That was then, this is now.

SoBe is now full of energy and international flavor, colored by the renovated art deco hotels and beautiful people. No wonder it is such a popular spot for TV and movie location shots. The easy going attitudes are definately staged because it costs an arm and a leg to live there!

Key West Food

I keep hearing how everyone wants to know more about the food part of our trips. My last visit to Key West many years ago was very different in this respect as there were only a few 'better' places to eat, yet many dives where one could drink. Key West has done a lot of catching up and there weren't enough days to eat all that we wanted to try. I'll highlight our favorites. But we are looking forward to the next visit to continue our 'research'.

We ate at the touristy El Meson de pepe right off Mallory Square. This is a Cuban restaurant with a broad menu and great location. The food was tasty, but expensive, and of course we realized this and decided to go 'local' the rest of the trip.

A laid back and delicious 'local' spot was the Half Shell Raw Bar at the seaport....way way to the end. Fresh seafood included Florida lobster, crab, local fish, great raw bar. Plenty to eat, in fact too much for me. No air conditioning and sitting on the docks watching the boat activity brought everything down to basics, and fun!

Our fun discovery was the Better Than Sex desert restaurant on Petronia Street between Duval and Whitehead. Mark and I walked past in the morning and decided we needed to visit on our way back to the hotel that night. After all, they are open 6-midnight (Tuesday through Sunday). Perfect for the late evening snack.

We arrived just before 9pm to a quiet spot that we appreciated as 'our' place for the evening. The low lighting, plush couches and seats, elegant and funky chandeliers, deep red draping and candles help set the stage. This was completed with age-old classic love songs and black and white photos of happy and celebrating couples. The menu is a fun double entendre list of enticing deserts - all sized for sharing. Some examples:

Jungle Fever
Smooth. Soft. Supple. A warm chocolate brownie body Oozing a dark pudding. Rubbing up against cool white vanilla bean balls.

Naked Nut
Upright & Firm- this airy & dense cake is easily excited by the Essence of Almonds and Performs At its Best accompanied by our very own Signature Lubrication (White Chocolate Crème' Truffle)

There are an assortment of wines, ports, and coffee drinks on the menu. We were excited to find the port and cabernet sauvignon served in dark chocolate dipped glasses.

The concept and desserts originate from the creativity of Len and Dani Johnson who opened the restaurant 3 months ago. I didn't get much background except that this has been a passion come true for them. And that passion is clear through the whole experience.



Mark and I pondered and pondered, finally deciding on the evening's special - One Night Stand. A tasting plate of Naked Nut (almond cake), Better than Sex (chocolate with cherries cake), and Tenderness Torte (a layered chocolate pudding dessert with strawberries).
 


Mark ordered the port and it arrived in an interesting blown glass device that one can sip from a small spout. The thinking behind this design is that the port is not exposed to oxygen, preserving its richness. I had dry champagne which was perfect with the sweet desserts.

While I'm a chocolate lover, both Mark and I agreed that our favorite dessert was the Naked Nut almond cake. The almond flavor was rich and addicting, while not to sweet. The tort was tasty, but messy to eat while the 'Sex' cake had almost a crumbly brownie-like texture heavy with chocolate, mixed with some Bing cherries as a nice added zip.

I have to admit, we returned the next evening to find a packed restaurant - some of it because of our freely disbursed recommendations throughout the day. Looking around, we found the chocolate dipped cabernet seemed popular. This was confirmed by the couple next to us who wore their chocolate lips with glee.

We couldn't decide on a mutual dessert choice, and since it was our last night, we went hedonist and ordered two dishes. Too much to even try the chocolate dipped wine. The Jungle Fever which is like a warm brownie lava cake- but unexpectedly not overly sweet. And the Karezza Key Lime that is Dani's take on the local favorite key lime pie. She mixes key lime into a mousse that doesnt diminish the tart and rich flavor. Remember, both desserts are really meant to be shared. But, undaunted, we manage to work our way through most of both dishes. Mark found the key lime pie to be too tart - but eating a serving for two might have had something to do with that. Now for the chocolate dipped wine glasses...may have to experiment with that until we get back to Key West.

Key West Sites

While the size of Key West is small, there seems to be plenty to do. With the slow pace, you don't want to do too much. After all, you want something to look forward to on your next visit. And, with the humid heat, moving quickly is not an option unless you are moving into a cool bar.

Of course, we visited the southern-most point, only 90 miles from Cuba.

This distance from the mainland US helps keep the independent spirit alive in Key West. When we were asked where we were from, the reply was - oh, you are from the United States. The Conch Republic is a proud attitude, if not a real government.


Sitting at mile marker '0' helps reinforce the distance!



Remembering the discovery of tons of gold and silver in ship wrecks, I've always been curious about Mel Fisher's fascinating marine archeology. His story is interesting and includes years and years of minor finds, and even the deaths of his son and daughter-in-law in the process. His focus and enthusiasm for the search resulted in the development of the discipline of marine archeology along with unique equipment and techniques used to find what the sea has taken.


We stayed next to the lighthouse, which lit our way home each evening - a nice touch the city added for our convenience. Hemingway's home was across the street which made me think that, in his often altered state, it would have been a great help to follow the lighthouse home at night.



An area that has been developed since I was last in Key West (over 20 years ago) is the Truman Annex and Ft Zachary Beach. This is military property that has been converted to public use, much like the Presidio in San Francisco. The homes are very well preserved in beautiful neighborhoods, just down the road from a wonderful beach. While not as 'perfect' as our own Caledesi Island, the crystal turquoise water is very enticing and the beach is considered the best on the island.

It is great to see so many conch houses being renovated. Mark's favorite is the one with the swordfish gingerbread. gee...i wonder why.

Missing Cruise Ship

The Bermuda Triangle DOES exist. I have proof! It made an entire cruise ship disappear. Thankfully this happened before we boarded. Whew! That could have been a whole different adventure.



Instead, we wisely headed off to Key West for a few days, after our personalized tour of South Beach in Miami where we started the trip at an Irish Pub and identified filming locations for current, and old, TV shows(see later blog entry, and toured Wyland's 99th wall (100 was done in Beijing during the olympics).


Micki was an active audience for Wyland and his crew when they were painting this wall in North Lauderdale this year.

While I've been a fan for a while, Mark is now interested in Wyland's and Guy Harvey's paintings...could it be the fish?


After the bustling Miami scene, the real south Florida starts south of Homestead with fewer malls and shopping centers - though this is changing - and more open space, more flying and crawling critters, and water, everywhere. The pace definitely slows, the volume of low end boats increases, the number of dive bars is bountiful and the road stretches straight for 113 miles, across 42 bridges. The water becomes unending shades of turquoise contrasting with the robin's egg blue skies and fluffy clouds that almost touch the water.

Important to Key West - alcohol, sunsets, food, water sports, alcohol, conch houses. We did well on all accounts. We attempted another 'ship' ride and were more successful with our sunset cruise, made complete with me driving for a while. Our catamaran sailed around lazily to accommodate plenty of rounds of beer and sunsetting views, including the nightly celebrations at Mallory Square.

 

Look for more entries on: Key West food, Key West sites.

August- A Busy Birthday Month

Mom and Dad both have birthdays in August. So it was a busy month with lots of cake and parties!! Mom finally got her scrapbook of the Galvin reunion that she was obnoxiously hinting about.