Hi all,
Yet another month has become days gone by! I’ve learned that when we are underway the
blog flows freely. Not so much when we
are in port. However the blog is the
record of our travels, so however belatedly, here we go to catch up.
To facilitate reading, I’ll
simply bullet some of the great people, places and things we’ve encountered in
sunny St. Pete…
· Spring training of the Grapefruit League in Tampa—just
½ hour across the Bay at George Steinbrenner Field. We did get to two Yankee games and I did get
my Louisville Slugger bat signed by a real live Yankee (a relief pitcher) but
Derek was home with his cranky ankle so we missed him. Joba Chamberlin pitched an inning for us, though--wouldn't have recognized him with his newly svelte figure and sporty mustache!
· Concert at the Mahaffey Theater---Keith Lockhart and
the Boston Pops with a tribute to Barbra Streisand. The following week I went to a volunteer’s
luncheon at the Mahaffey and when we return I’ll usher for a dance troupe from
China. Fun.
· Concert at the Palladium---the Canadian Brass! 5 incredible musicians playing two trumpets,
a French horn, a tuba and a trombone.
What a great evening. They played
multiple genres of music, including a ballet!
If you get a chance, go see them!
· The St. Petersburg Grand Prix. For over a month, city laborers erected
barricades, fences and lanes to create a race track on city streets (the marina
was blocked off during the actual races) and the Alfred Whitted airport
runways. An incredible number of workers
and volunteers were put in place for the 3day event. Fred and I signed up to work at concession
stands during the races---figured the sound of the cars whizzing around the
track (very loud) would be less annoying if we were participating in the
event! And it was oh, so true! We sold $2000 worth of beer and soda one day,
and nearly $1000 on the last day of the event.
And there were at least 20 concession stands! Sheesh!
The big deal race (there were several categories) was won by the GoDaddy
team—beat the favorite (Hitachi—I was rooting for them in honor of Linda Lee!)
but it was an emotional win as GoDaddy lost a driver at the recent Las Vegas
meet, and that driver’s family was in attendance at St. Pete. 150+ laps around the track! It was a hoot! Big kids, big toys!
· Continued to enjoy the UU of St. Pete, a small Unitarian
Universalist congregation with a big agenda!
Lots of activities geared to short-term attendees like us---there is a
Very Large Snow Bird population here. We helped with a dance class when the
congregation organized an Intergenerational Play Sunday after the
services. Other activities offered
included a drumming circle and 12 tables with a birthday cake for each
month. We met new people at the July (gluten
free cupcakes were offered) and August tables, respectively. Also Fun.
· Picked up a ton of samples at a Gluten Free For Life
Expo at the St. Pete Coliseum. Happily,
in the 5 years that I’ve been playing that tune, many companies are creating
more and more delicious products. Prices
still need adjusting downward, but we’re moving in the right direction.
· Chuck, the new aluminum dinghy, will be propelled by a
9.9HP Lehr PROPANE powered outboard.
Chuck is getting painted while we are in NY. The painters are at a St. Pete company called
Yacht Restoration, and also while we’re away they’ll come to YOUNG AMERICA to
sand and varnish the floors. The craftsmen
at Yacht Restoration take old boats that are sturdily constructed and rebuild
the innards so they are up to date, modern and beautiful. We’re happy to have found them.
· Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance. Fred always has lists that are way too long
for the allotted time! But two big items
have moved to the top of the list and are now completed! The awkward screw on connection for the
electric power cord has been replaced with a state of the art clip on connecter,
and the lint collecting hose from the washer/dryer (which goes inside, behind
and under a lot of things that must be moved for access) has been cleaned
out! That is big! We use the machine nearly every day, and were
happy to see that while there was a lotta lint, the pipe was not clogged and
dangerous. In another 3 years or so we
might do that again!
· I made a quick trip to IL to be with my brother, Gene
and his family as his wife, Marilyn quietly passed away. She’d been plagued with arthritis and
Parkinson’s for many years.
Suddenly, April is upon us, and the taxman
beckons. Saw a one liner that made me
smile---to wit. “Have you noticed that
if you write THE IRS and skip the space, the word is ‘theirs’. So on Good Friday we reluctantly left the
sunny 70’s of Florida to head north and fulfill our obligation.
We just missed the Clarhart (our kids—my side of our
Brady Bunch blended family) Easter dinner at Ada’s house in Chester, NY, but
Jen and Chris, Casey and Rebecca were heading for PA and route 81 to get back
to VA as we were nearing the NY border.
We met in Milford and had a great, short visit with many hugs! Communication is so slick, isn’t it? Ten
years ago we’d have passed them and not known they were on the other side of
the road.
So here we are, and there you are, and we send you
good wishes. Be well, and do remember to
breathe!
