St. Petersburg.........not just where you go to die anymore!

St. Petersburg Marina

We started our French adventure yesterday (Tuesday).  So far we've made it about 25 miles.  We are all the way in St. Petersburg where we spent the night.  Don't worry, this was all by design.  Our flight to Paris is later today.   Actually a little later than we had anticipated.  We were scheduled to go via Philadelphia, however due to a winter storm we were able to reroute through Miami.  We now leave Tampa around 3:00 PM and are scheduled to arrive in Paris around two hours after our original flight.
Growing up in Florida, St. Petersburg had quite a reputation back in the day.  The demographics were such that it was often referred to as "heaven's waiting room".  The average age of the residents of St. Pete were close to, if not the oldest in the US.  Funeral homes were as common as Baptist churches in Texas.  The city has undergone a slow but impressive transition over the past decade or so.  It is now a really impressive destination made up of a diverse population of residents and visitors.  There is still a large number of seasoned, well experienced folks. Now they are mixed in with an equal number of younger people to create a very vibrant city.  We've spent a little time here over the past few years but not enough to really appreciate all it has to offer.
Before getting to the hotel we checked out Pass-a-Grille Beach which is located at the south end of St. Pete Beach.  There are a few shops, restaurants and a nice beach that only has one down side, there isn't much shade.  What we really liked was the fact that so far most of the small homes that were built decades ago remain.  Along much of the west coast of Florida these quaint homes have been torn down and replaced by larger homes.

Pass-a Grille Beach

 After strolling around and enjoying a late breakfast at the Paradise Grill, which is a small beachfront restaurant, we were off to the winery.  Sarah, Joey and James had given us a certificate for a tour, tasting and bottle of wine at the Florida Orange Grove Winery.  The groves that once surrounded this building are gone and the fruit stand has turned into a winery.  The uniqueness of this winery is that all the wines produced there are with fruits other than grapes.  There were strawberry, mango, tangelo, pineapple, blueberry, kiwi and banana wines just to name a few.  The tour was interesting, the tasting fun and we settled on a bottle of Key Lime wine which is a little tart and very tasty.

Paradise Grill

Fruit wine smoothies...….so delicious and healthy you'll want to have two!

We are staying at a small boutique hotel, Hollander House which is just a few blocks from the bay.  If you're looking to visit St. Pete, I would highly recommend checking out this hotel.  The original building is an old cigar/cigarette factory that was built in the 1930's.  Like the city itself, the hotel has undergone a transformation.  The staff have all be super friendly and helpful, there is a nice restaurant in the hotel and free parking.  The location of the hotel exemplifies the diversity of the city.  If you go out the front door and turn right in one block there is a huge shuffleboard complex.  Right now every court is being used by seniors battling it out.  If you turn left and walk a few blocks you'll be on Beach Street.  Here you'll find tons of restaurants, shops and art galleries. This is also where you will find Vinoy Park which has a really great trail along the bay.

The Hollander Hotel...…….and a one way sign as a bonus

Serious shuffleboarding!

400 Beach   Like any good restaurant in Florida, they have a nice "early bird special"

Waterfront area in St. Pete

We're trending a little towards the shuffleboard demographic but we're not quite there yet.  We'll keep turning left out of the hotel for now and are already looking forward to coming back.

France North to South

We've thrown a few "cooler weather" clothes in the suitcase and are ready to start the next adventure.  We'll be flying to Paris, by way of Philadelphia on Wednesday.  We've spent a little time in Paris and really enjoyed it.  For this adventure we're simply flying into and out of Paris with one night at an airport hotel.  Our destination is Normandy in Northwest France and the Nice area, which is located on the Southern coast. 

In Normandy we will be staying in the small cities of Bayeux and Honfleur.  Bayeux, with a population of around 15,000 is about twice the size of Honfleur.  We've got plenty of activities on the agenda, but one of the main points of interests will be visiting a number of sites related to the D-Day invasion that played such a pivotal part in turning the tide of World War 2.  I have an uncle who was killed in action on July 11, 1944.  He is buried at the American Cemetery located in that area.  No member of my immediate family has ever visited his grave.  I'm looking forward to paying my respects to him as well as the thousands of members of the US military who are buried there.  I did a blog on him and his brother who was also killed in the war.  Below is a link to that blog.
Honor, Sacrifice and Keeping Their Spirit Alive
Once we finish in Normandy it's on to warmer, sunnier skies in the French Riviera near Nice.  We'll actually be staying in an Airbnb just outside of Nice in Villefranche-sur-Mer.  We'll be attending the Nice Carnival  and the Menton Lemon Festival.  Both of these annual festivals look like they will be quite lively and colorful.
Bayeux
Honfleur
Nice
Nice Carnival
Menton Lemon Festival
Beth and I put our heads together and collectively we came up with about a dozen French words we know.  Thankfully that includes the most important one of all...…………..baguette!

February 14, 1982

Earlier today Beth and I were reflecting back on past Valentines Days.  It took us a little time and looking back on this blog to figure out that we were in Utah last year on Valentines Day.  We had no problem remembering where we were on Valentines Day, 1982 (13,515 days ago).  We were in Tallahassee.  Beth was in her last semester of undergraduate school at Florida State.  I was in my final semester of graduate school at the University of Florida.  We had been dating for several years and while we were in different cities we were able to see each other pretty much every weekend.  Valentines Day in 1982 was on a Sunday.  The next day was Presidents Day and there were no classes so we had an extra day together before I headed back to Gainesville.
So the stage was set for a romantic Valentines Day.  First it was a free "movie on the lawn" on the campus.  It was a true romantic movie, "Creature From The Black Lagoon".  Afterwards we went to the Melting Pot Fondue Restaurant.  Even though it was Valentines Day, it seemed as if every couple in the place were in the midst of a major fight.  The stage was set for the big moment.  I reached down into my boot to pull out the big surprise only to discover that the box had slipped down to about my ankle, causing me to have to dig and claw a little deeper than I had planned.
I wrapped my fingers around that little box, pulled it out of the smelly boot, opened it and popped the question.
Thankfully Beth said yes, and thankfully she has tolerated me through the years.  It's been an amazing 13,515 days since that most memorable Valentines Day!  We celebrated Valentines Day today with a dermatologist appointment for me, a nice early dinner at an outdoor waterfront restaurant and a walk on the beach.  Here are a few pictures from tonight's sunset.

Fun and Fast Times!

This past Thursday evening around 8:00 PM Sarah, Joey and James made it to the island.  It was an incredibly long day for them.  They left their house in Novato at 2:30 AM.  It's around an hour drive to the San Francisco airport.  Parking, getting to the terminal, checking in, checking baggage and getting to the gate for a 5:30 AM flight is tough.  First stop was Dallas, then San Antonio before finally making it to Tampa.  Picking up luggage, then making their way to the rental car center for the one hour drive from the Tampa airport to Anna Maria Island.  They crossed two iconic bridges (Golden Gate and Sunshine Skyway) on different coasts of the US in the same day.  Amazingly, 15 hours or so after they left their home they were with us.  A little frazzled but still smiling.  According to his Mom and Dad, James was a real trooper the whole day.  Needless to say he had a little stored up energy, he and NaNa started entertaining each other (and us) right away.
The time passed quickly and this morning (Tuesday) we waved goodbye and they were off on the journey home.  It was so great having them with us.  There was plenty of beach time, good food, good fellowship and plenty of entertainment that only a two and a half year old combined with a ninety year old can provide!

The water was a little chilly but he loved it

Chilling with his Great NaNa!

We did a little fishing every day with the nice rod and reel his 

Aunt Debbie bought him.  The fish skunked us!

Right side up

Upside Down!

James loves his Mimi

The Spin Cycle

Our penmanship isn't good enough to do this as well as this one.  Hopefully the artist didn't mind us taking a picture of it!

Today was our last full day in Costa Rica.  It's been a great twelve days and somewhere that we are already looking forward to returning to soon.  If you're considering a visit we'd say without hesitation go for it.  Beautiful scenery throughout the country, friendly people, great food, affordable prices, great food and easy to reach.  From Fort Lauderdale to San Jose is a short two and a half hour flight and it's in the central time zone which means no major time zone adjustments.
We didn't want to get in a rut so we mixed it up a little bit this morning.  We've been easing into the day but decided we'd walk first thing this morning and go for a swim afterwards before the waves picked up.  There were plenty of other early morning walkers up and down the beach and even quite a few swimmers when we got in the water.  It was a refreshingly comfortable temperature and the waves were fairly small.  We could sense the intensity of the waves picking up slightly and then it happened.  We were talking and not really paying too much attention when suddenly...……..bam, it happened!  There was a huge wave that broke right on top of us.  We were turned, twisted, upside down, right side up and every other direction you could imagine.  My bathing soon was somewhere between my waist and knees when I came up.  Fortunately I was able to grab my sunglasses as I started going through what seemed like the spin cycle on a washing machine.  Beth's bathing suit was still in tact although both straps were off her shoulders.  When I inquired about her sunglasses she said something along the line of "I don't have them anymore".  They were a prescription pair but they were a few years old.  We had been talking about needing to update our prescription.  I guess we'll be doing that sometime soon!
Tomorrow it's back to Florida.  In just a few days we're going to be welcoming some special visitors from California.  That's going to be an exciting time on Anna Maria Island.  It's been about a year since James and NaNa were together.  Thanks to FaceTime they see and talk to each other pretty often but getting together again in the same room is going to be special.  Oh yeah, Sarah and Joey are coming too!
There is a common phrase used throughout Costa Rica, it's Pura Vida!  It has no specific meaning or translation to English.  It's used to say "hello", "goodbye", "everything's great", "cool" or pretty much any positive term.  We think Costa Rica is PURA VIDA!

Sunset at Playa Espadilla

Again?

Saturday night sunset!

I could blog about walking, eating and sitting in the shade enjoying the beach all day, but that's not really newsworthy.  That is what our day consisted of today and tomorrow is shaping up for a repeat.  Being a Saturday, the beach was much more crowded than on previous days.  It's a long and wide beach so even with the extra people it doesn't seem overcrowded.  In addition to a number of tourists and travelers enjoying a beautiful day at the beach, there were a number of Costa Rican families enjoying themselves.  It was fun watching all the small children playing in the surf, enjoying an impromptu soccer game in the sand and picnicking with mom and dad.  There is so much incredible natural beauty in Costa Rica, the friendly and welcoming spirit of everyone we've met adds to the allure of this amazing destination.
While our day wasn't anything out of the ordinary, we did hear of one newsworthy event.  For the second day in a row the beach in Manuel Antonio National Park was closed due to a crocodile(s) sighting. If you haven't read yesterday's blog it will help explain what I'm talking about.
If any of Beth's relatives want to send me Randall's phone number I'd be happy to pass it on to the park rangers!

Temptation just a few steps from our lounge chairs

I've never met a snowcone I didn't like...……..Strawberry with Sweet Cream!

Everyone get out of the water! Manuel Antonio National Park

We spent most of yesterday at Manuel Antonio National Park.  It was time very well spent.  The park is just a 10-15 minute walk from our hotel so getting there was easy.  As a general rule our "night life" is staying up until around 9:00 at the latest.  This means we're always up early, which allows us to get an early start.  The park opens at 7:00 AM and we were there well before it opened.
As I had mentioned in a previous blog, Manuel Antonio National Park is one of Costa Rica's smallest, but also one of it's most popular national parks.  The popularity is because of the diversity of plants and animals that can be found within the 7.5 square mile park, as well as the fact that there are several really nice beaches.
By the time the gates opened there were quite a few folks heading in, but we were ahead of the crowds, as well as the heat.  Unlike La Fortuna and Monteverde where the highs were around 70, the temperatures here are currently topping out close to 90.  The trails throughout the park were plentiful and easy to follow and mostly under the canopy of huge trees.  We made our way straight towards the beach area which is located some distance from the entrance.
When we arrived at the beach there were only a couple of people there.  The temptation of the warm, clear water easily got the best of us and we were soon enjoying a refreshing dip.  As the morning wore on a few more people joined us, including a nice young lady who is traveling independently.  We enjoyed sharing travel stories with her, learning a few things from her and hopefully giving her a few useful ideas.  When we got out we were surprised to learn that we had been in the water for around two hours, proving once again time flies when you're having fun.

Happiness is an empty beach!

We wanted to try the other beach for a few minutes before showering and changing clothes to explore some more of the park.  We had been in the water for about 10 minutes when suddenly there was a loud whistle and a park service employee motioning everyone out of the water.  He seemed rather insistent and somewhat frantic so we, along with everyone else who was enjoying the water complied without hesitation.  As we exited and took a quick look back we understood his urgent command as we spotted a crocodile enjoying a morning swim.  He wasn't real big like the ones in the picture a blog or two back.  He was probably around five or six feet in length, but clearly not something to be messed with since salt water crocodiles are known to have pretty bad attitudes, and who knows, momma may have been somewhere close by.
Beth did a little research on crocodiles in the national park.  While it's not a common occurrence they do show up there occasionally.  There was even an attack on an American tourist a few years back that sadly resulted in a partial amputation of his leg.  We hadn't planned on staying in the water much longer but obviously this cut our swim a little short.
We enjoyed several more hours of hiking the hilly and well maintained trails.  In addition to the crocodile encounter, we spotted several sloths, small deer and several large multicolored butterflies whose wing span looked to be around 8 inches.  The most plentiful animals were the white faced monkeys who would scamper about in the trees and on the ground within a couple of feet of us.  It was after 2:00 PM when we left the park and made our way back to the hotel.  Lunch and lounge chairs in the shade were calling our names and we had to answer.

That's a sloth doing what sloth's tend to do...…….not much of anything but munch leaves and sleep.

The iguana photobombed the picture

There were a couple of small deer and a mom near the entrance to the park.

A few helpful hints if you're visiting Manuel Antonio National Park:
As I had mentioned, the park opens at 7:00 AM.  Be aware that it closes early (4:00 PM).
Go early if possible to get a head start of the heat.
The park is closed on Mondays.
Tickets are purchased in a building on the right hand side just outside the park entrance.
They only accept cash.  US dollars are accepted (this is true throughout Costa Rica).  There is an ATM near the ticket windows.
Check on what you can bring into the park.  Water and drinks seemed ok but we don't think they allow food.  There is a small coffee shop inside the park near the beach area.
Other than sand trails near the beach, the trails are paved or boardwalks.  Comfortable walking shoes are all you need.  Be advised some of them are quite hilly.
THE MOST IMPORTANT HELPFUL HINT: If you're in the water and you hear a whistle and see someone waving their arms frantically head for the shore!

Dairy, Chocolate and Fruit......all known to have significant health benefits.  This must be a "super food"