We start out the day with a visit to the old Spanish Fort with their battle flag still flying over it. Not there yet but getting closer. More info at: http://www.nps.gov/foma/ jerr
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This morning we mailed the following from St. Augustine for Danielle’s grade school class. Forgot to put the date on it.
Hello Class of Mrs. Case,
I have visited the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean since I last sent and e-mail. We are now headed north.
I have sent you a picture of the Oldest House in the USA and built in the 1700’s. The main floor is the only room and is no larger than your bedroom. The house had no bedrooms and no dining room. The people ate, played and slept in this room.
Have a Nice Day,
Flat Stanley
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Our main event for the day was the Castlillo De San Marcos National Monument, another free activity. For those over 62, you can get a lifetime free pass for all National Parks for 10$ once and use forever. It is a fort built by the first Spaniards to protect their holdings. It was built with that shell clay rock coquina, it turned out that the cannon balls would only stick in the wall because of its composition and not shatter the wall. This fort had never been attached and conquered, Only during the civil war the confederates took it over from one lone Yankee and 200 of them.
An interesting fact was that during the early 1800’s the fort was a refuge for blacks. If they could get out of Georgia and Alabama and make it to the fort they could become free if they became Catholics and became soldiers. There were a couple hundred who did this.
It is an interesting structure as it is not square but has a buttress at each corner that opens in two directions for cross fire. There is a group of volunteers who on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays fire a cannon five times during the day, quite the spectacle. They wear the clothing of the Spanish period. I thought well be have seen Burg’s battery do it what could be so different. Well the pomp and circumstance of the lead up to the firing. The five men have their stations and a leader person shouts out the instructions in Spanish. They start off by kneeling on one knee and signing themselves. It took probably 5 minutes to conduct the firing and it made a loud noise. They said the small cannons could shoot up to a mile and a half, with the heavier shells thee and a half miles. Also they had great accuracy, he said because the men were soldiers for life and they got extremely accurate as they would shoot 77 cannons six times an hour, hour in hour out.
After the firing off to Savannah we go. We worked close to the beach mostly with A1A. We ate at Jacksonville Beach’s Eddie Bahama’s, the merlots were non-descript, Shirleen’s coconut shrimp delicious, my buffalo shrimp quesadilla was non-descript, to hot to have a flavor but the fries were good.
On the north side of Jacksonville we took a 10 minute ferry ride with the car over St. John’s Bay, 3.25$. Nice touch as we were not in a hurry. After we left Florid and got into Georgia we went to the highway as there are no intercostals that we could find on any map we had.
Arrived downtown Savannah at 5 o’clock on a Saturday afternoon over a music-fest weekend. No accommodations, even asked if the Hyatt or Hilton had any rooms, the Hampton said not even the hotel that starts at 309$ a night had any. We had to go 15 miles out of town to find a spot, I am sure one of the run-down places would have had one but we are on vacation not a quick jaunt through the countryside. It turns out these nightly stays have become home for us, not our real home as that could never be replaced.
Ya, time to eat. We went down the line from where we were at and found a place that had an outside area to eat. The Island grill in Port Wentworth GA. I have nothing against bikers except for their smoking cig and we happen to be down wind, every one of them. That is a problem with eating outside as that many times becomes the smoking area. Shirleen’s merlot and my Bud draft were just fine, well I really would have like a glass like the wine had but I must have looked to shifty for one. We had a quick split order of grouper fingers with onion rings, really tasty.
jerr
Saturday, March 24, 2007
March 23 Friday Day 26 still in St. Augustine
Update later, tired tonight, takes 1/2 to an hour to think and write. jerr
here goes:
To the Trolley we went. We thought what we would do to wake up was to ride the trolley for a while. It is really nice to hear different versions of St. Augustine, its places and history. We finally got off the trolley by the area where the first mass in the America’s was supposedly said. It is a little way off the main area by a peninsula in a bay. There is a 208 foot stainless steel cross at the point. As one walks toward the old church in the approximate area of that mass there is a cemetery. It had been used during the early years with one I photo’d that said: Don Oliuerco – 1800 Consort of Dona Gonzalez 1797; love the consort. A quiet place. From here we walked the rest f the day.
Time for lunch, we were told that the restaurant across the street from our motel was good. It was Le Pavillon, French and German foods. The owner was Claude with wife Geisle. She from German, he from Switzerland and Italy, he was a chef with the Hilton chain for many years. Nice old gent, we spoke with him at our table before our lunch. We had cabernet’s with Shirleen’s crepe with chicken and a light sauce, and I the Friday special there Seafood puff pastry, scallops, shrimp and a tasty sauce. What was special about this meal was the salad with Boston (butter) lettuce with a light Italian dressing accompanied with a super parmesan toasted bread. The bread was a nice soft texture, halved and spread with fresh parmesan and toasted. I think the bread was warm before it was toasted because the bread was soft and warm.
Flagler Memorial Presbyterian Church, the one Mr. Flagler built for his daughter and her child his first wife and his self. The church was built within a year. He hired two crews of 500 people who worked day and night to finish it by the anniversary of his daughter’s death. It was appointed with rich mahogany and marble. The baptismal font is a six foot by three foot solid piece of marble. The grounds of the church have a nice garden area with a wall for ashes. As you would expect quiet.
We also saw where Lincoln had signed the emancipation Act. The Woolworth where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a sit in, the pool where the owner poured hydrochloric acid into when DMLK was swimming and a house he slept in. and a church he preached in. Neat!!
Across from this was the Flagler College. It is the old Hotel Ponce De Leon that Flagler owned in 1877. He had his friend Tiffany do the windows in the restaurant now students eating area. They are valued at 37 million dollars. Not that exciting but for some multicolored ones higher up from the floor level ones. The chairs were also made by Tiffany, there were five left. They were wood back with a leather seat fully packed for comfort. The front legs had wheels on them for easy pulling out and putting under the ladies. The wood back had the face of a happy lion (lions were used throughout the structure as Leon means Lion) – guess you just change vowels for a Spanish influence. These chairs were sold to the prof’s for five chairs they paid 75$.
We walked over to the Lightner building which housed a large museum, but we opted out for a walk to the Hotel San Marco. Just a walk through not much compared to the college.
The bridge of lions is being refurbished. A bridge has been built alongside the old one. In another four years the new bridge will be removed and relocated to some other place as a bridge and the old bridge will be again in use. 67 Million dollar renovation. It is also a law that no buildings within the old district can be higher than 34 feet, three stories.
We thought we would try a different restaurant instead of eating across the street from where we were staying. So off for downtown we went, it was already 6:30 and hunger was evident. We walked past many places packed full on St. George street, the old city street. We made the corner and tried Hungry Harry’s again packed and a 45 minutes wait for an outside table. Stopped at the Hilton, no one eating we left quickly. Down the road we went, yes you guessed it, we ate at the place across from us. Again Shirleen with a cabernet and I with two faz bier Warsteiner’s, the bread, salad the same but this time we split a Vienne Schnitzel, made with pork. The breading was with an egg wash and then cracker crumb breading and fried in butter. Vegetables were carrots, green beans and a vinegary purple cabbage – I thought one of the best I have had. Split charge was only 5$. jerr
here goes:
To the Trolley we went. We thought what we would do to wake up was to ride the trolley for a while. It is really nice to hear different versions of St. Augustine, its places and history. We finally got off the trolley by the area where the first mass in the America’s was supposedly said. It is a little way off the main area by a peninsula in a bay. There is a 208 foot stainless steel cross at the point. As one walks toward the old church in the approximate area of that mass there is a cemetery. It had been used during the early years with one I photo’d that said: Don Oliuerco – 1800 Consort of Dona Gonzalez 1797; love the consort. A quiet place. From here we walked the rest f the day.
Time for lunch, we were told that the restaurant across the street from our motel was good. It was Le Pavillon, French and German foods. The owner was Claude with wife Geisle. She from German, he from Switzerland and Italy, he was a chef with the Hilton chain for many years. Nice old gent, we spoke with him at our table before our lunch. We had cabernet’s with Shirleen’s crepe with chicken and a light sauce, and I the Friday special there Seafood puff pastry, scallops, shrimp and a tasty sauce. What was special about this meal was the salad with Boston (butter) lettuce with a light Italian dressing accompanied with a super parmesan toasted bread. The bread was a nice soft texture, halved and spread with fresh parmesan and toasted. I think the bread was warm before it was toasted because the bread was soft and warm.
Flagler Memorial Presbyterian Church, the one Mr. Flagler built for his daughter and her child his first wife and his self. The church was built within a year. He hired two crews of 500 people who worked day and night to finish it by the anniversary of his daughter’s death. It was appointed with rich mahogany and marble. The baptismal font is a six foot by three foot solid piece of marble. The grounds of the church have a nice garden area with a wall for ashes. As you would expect quiet.
We also saw where Lincoln had signed the emancipation Act. The Woolworth where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a sit in, the pool where the owner poured hydrochloric acid into when DMLK was swimming and a house he slept in. and a church he preached in. Neat!!
Across from this was the Flagler College. It is the old Hotel Ponce De Leon that Flagler owned in 1877. He had his friend Tiffany do the windows in the restaurant now students eating area. They are valued at 37 million dollars. Not that exciting but for some multicolored ones higher up from the floor level ones. The chairs were also made by Tiffany, there were five left. They were wood back with a leather seat fully packed for comfort. The front legs had wheels on them for easy pulling out and putting under the ladies. The wood back had the face of a happy lion (lions were used throughout the structure as Leon means Lion) – guess you just change vowels for a Spanish influence. These chairs were sold to the prof’s for five chairs they paid 75$.
We walked over to the Lightner building which housed a large museum, but we opted out for a walk to the Hotel San Marco. Just a walk through not much compared to the college.
The bridge of lions is being refurbished. A bridge has been built alongside the old one. In another four years the new bridge will be removed and relocated to some other place as a bridge and the old bridge will be again in use. 67 Million dollar renovation. It is also a law that no buildings within the old district can be higher than 34 feet, three stories.
We thought we would try a different restaurant instead of eating across the street from where we were staying. So off for downtown we went, it was already 6:30 and hunger was evident. We walked past many places packed full on St. George street, the old city street. We made the corner and tried Hungry Harry’s again packed and a 45 minutes wait for an outside table. Stopped at the Hilton, no one eating we left quickly. Down the road we went, yes you guessed it, we ate at the place across from us. Again Shirleen with a cabernet and I with two faz bier Warsteiner’s, the bread, salad the same but this time we split a Vienne Schnitzel, made with pork. The breading was with an egg wash and then cracker crumb breading and fried in butter. Vegetables were carrots, green beans and a vinegary purple cabbage – I thought one of the best I have had. Split charge was only 5$. jerr
Thursday, March 22, 2007
March 22 Thursday Day 25
Today we wake up in sunny St. Augustine. Off to a Trolley tour of the city/old city. This gives us a good idea of where we should go back too. The architecture is of Spanish/Moorish days. The person most associated with the town is a Mr. Flagler, he had built a railroad from Pittsburg to Key West, all on the bet that there would be a need for coal to fuel steamers going through the Panama Canal. This was back in the late 1890’s to 1910. He was good to the people that worked for him, giving them a place to live and hospitalization. Along with this he built/owned three of the best hotels in the city. Turns out he lays claim to owning 3 hotels f stature within three blocks of each other. One way to fill them was by getting people down here. He did this by building many different denominational churches with the thought that the more denominations the more people would come here. The trolley we were on allowed us to exit and enter as many times as we want for three days. That’s why we are staying over a night. We also passed the Love tree, where it is said anyone that kisses the other, they shall stay together for eternity. So we did kiss!
Out first stop was the oldest house in the US. It was built around 1564 or so. The blocks to make up the base of the house were Coquina a shell stone that is quarried. The overhead beams were the originals, beds were actually bed rolls. So in the day they could be rolled up and placed against the wall. Remember the house was no more than 10 by 17 feet. In the direct center there was a 2 foot round low silhouette that burned charcoal. This would keep the place warm in the winter and keep the bugs and mosquitoes away. Now think of it there was no smokestack so it was the smoke that stayed in the house and into there lungs each day. No need for anti-perspirants! Being old like this it had many owners and uses over the years. There is a quaint garden and outside sheds with the house. One of the neatest things I saw was the rock that had been used as ballast in the ships. This rock was semi-porous and was used to filter their drinking water. The water in the top rock was like dirty river water and underneath in the catch basin was clear. Of course clear does not necessarily mean drinkable, but in there case it was as the town survived.
From here we walked to the old town and guess what we found a place to eat. The White Lion Pub and Restaurant. Shirleen had her chocolate martini and I a chardonnay. Her fried Mahi Mahi turned out to be two big hunks of fish, of which I got one, and I fried clams with pole beans well cooked with onions, really good taste; also had a bowl of yellow rice. Don’t need to again try a glass of Bud’s Heffevisen.
The afternoon was spent watching Shirleen eat an ice cream cone. The cone was one of those homemade dark batter sugar cone, smells go and tastes better. We looked at a number of shops and didn’t find anything to take back.
We found a new place to stay a Comfort Suites in downtown St. Augustine. We are just a couple blocks from the horse and carriages. We sauntered down for a delightful half hour ride through the city, many of the same stories but some with a different twist. Did I mention dinner time? We ate at O. C. Whites restaurant, Shirleen and I had a glass of house cabernet, She coconut shrimp and fries - tasty, I Pasta A La Vodka - plum tomatoes, with fresh basil and garlic simmered in a light cream sauce with a splash of vodka over angel hair pasta with shrimp, a great dish. We strolled back in the dark our hotel. We were passed by four groups of people who were doing the Ghost and Gravestone tours. A neat thing but we didn’t need it we walked past the Huguenot (French Protestants) Cemetery by ourselves. Not as scary as it used to be, maybe the closer we get to it ourselves the less scary it gets?
Tomorrow we will go to the fort and catch some of the other things we missed today. Really nice town, somewhat commercial but laid back.
jerr
Out first stop was the oldest house in the US. It was built around 1564 or so. The blocks to make up the base of the house were Coquina a shell stone that is quarried. The overhead beams were the originals, beds were actually bed rolls. So in the day they could be rolled up and placed against the wall. Remember the house was no more than 10 by 17 feet. In the direct center there was a 2 foot round low silhouette that burned charcoal. This would keep the place warm in the winter and keep the bugs and mosquitoes away. Now think of it there was no smokestack so it was the smoke that stayed in the house and into there lungs each day. No need for anti-perspirants! Being old like this it had many owners and uses over the years. There is a quaint garden and outside sheds with the house. One of the neatest things I saw was the rock that had been used as ballast in the ships. This rock was semi-porous and was used to filter their drinking water. The water in the top rock was like dirty river water and underneath in the catch basin was clear. Of course clear does not necessarily mean drinkable, but in there case it was as the town survived.
From here we walked to the old town and guess what we found a place to eat. The White Lion Pub and Restaurant. Shirleen had her chocolate martini and I a chardonnay. Her fried Mahi Mahi turned out to be two big hunks of fish, of which I got one, and I fried clams with pole beans well cooked with onions, really good taste; also had a bowl of yellow rice. Don’t need to again try a glass of Bud’s Heffevisen.
The afternoon was spent watching Shirleen eat an ice cream cone. The cone was one of those homemade dark batter sugar cone, smells go and tastes better. We looked at a number of shops and didn’t find anything to take back.
We found a new place to stay a Comfort Suites in downtown St. Augustine. We are just a couple blocks from the horse and carriages. We sauntered down for a delightful half hour ride through the city, many of the same stories but some with a different twist. Did I mention dinner time? We ate at O. C. Whites restaurant, Shirleen and I had a glass of house cabernet, She coconut shrimp and fries - tasty, I Pasta A La Vodka - plum tomatoes, with fresh basil and garlic simmered in a light cream sauce with a splash of vodka over angel hair pasta with shrimp, a great dish. We strolled back in the dark our hotel. We were passed by four groups of people who were doing the Ghost and Gravestone tours. A neat thing but we didn’t need it we walked past the Huguenot (French Protestants) Cemetery by ourselves. Not as scary as it used to be, maybe the closer we get to it ourselves the less scary it gets?
Tomorrow we will go to the fort and catch some of the other things we missed today. Really nice town, somewhat commercial but laid back.
jerr
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
March 21 Wednesday Day 24
at the St Augustine FL Quality Inn
One of the things I fail to mention is our side trips. We do not always stick to the A1A we slip closer to the ocean or gulf depending on where we were. Today we drove down Daytona Beach for half an hour each way, each of us one way. The speed, well not like a race track 10 miles an hour.
This morning started out at Daytona USA, the race track. We got there really early and people of all ages where visiting. There was a tour of the track and a stop for pictures at the Winners Circle. You get a real feel for what racing is when you look at the corners, they are three stories high around 31 feet. So you are running at about a 30 degree angle when making those corners. The next thing we did was take a ride on a simulated race track lap. It had all the bumps and jostling the intense noise of the high revving engines that one would have in the car. Really fun. There was an Imax NASCAR film in 3-D. Again it was well do, by Disney, and gave the thrill of a real race. The clincher was when the wheel came off one of the cars from in front of us and whizzes right to the right of our shoulders. Dale Ernhardt was mentioned a couple of times, tastefully. To this day he is alive in peoples heart much like Elvis lives. The day that Dale crashed on the last lap of the fourth curve of the Daytona 500 that Michael Waltrip and Dales son came in second and was right in front of Dale. Well as the race was about to start, the TV camera panned over to Dale and his wife holding hands and I said to myself, someday they won’t be able to do that, meaning he would be killed in an accident, I am not a profit but it does give me a funny feeling every time I see something about him.
We stopped at an Olive garden in Daytona for lunch, nothing different except Shirleen had a strawberry Siciliano ice cream drink.
Up the road we go towards St. Augustine, I have already mentioned the driving on the beach.
After bedding down we took off south to the beach area for eats. Looked in my rear view mirror and saw a red C-6 Z06 behind me, ah, I can always dream. Off to the left was a small road, so down it I go. It turned out to go to the beach, but right alongside the end of the road is a restaurant, Beachcomber, wouldn’t you know. We seat ourselves out side on the only open table. It turned out to have one of the few views of the ocean, as the dunes are high and in the way for a good view. The tables are thick wooden tables with wooden benches. We ordered house wines, merlot and shiraz, with a cup of Maorcan (not sure of spelling) clam chowder, spicy tomato base beans, onions and clams. We split a beachcomber fish combo plate consisting of fish of the day today fried in bread crumbs Mahi Mahi, butterfly shrimp and sea scallops.
Tomorrow we are doing the St. Augustine tour thing and off for Jacksonville. jerr
One of the things I fail to mention is our side trips. We do not always stick to the A1A we slip closer to the ocean or gulf depending on where we were. Today we drove down Daytona Beach for half an hour each way, each of us one way. The speed, well not like a race track 10 miles an hour.
This morning started out at Daytona USA, the race track. We got there really early and people of all ages where visiting. There was a tour of the track and a stop for pictures at the Winners Circle. You get a real feel for what racing is when you look at the corners, they are three stories high around 31 feet. So you are running at about a 30 degree angle when making those corners. The next thing we did was take a ride on a simulated race track lap. It had all the bumps and jostling the intense noise of the high revving engines that one would have in the car. Really fun. There was an Imax NASCAR film in 3-D. Again it was well do, by Disney, and gave the thrill of a real race. The clincher was when the wheel came off one of the cars from in front of us and whizzes right to the right of our shoulders. Dale Ernhardt was mentioned a couple of times, tastefully. To this day he is alive in peoples heart much like Elvis lives. The day that Dale crashed on the last lap of the fourth curve of the Daytona 500 that Michael Waltrip and Dales son came in second and was right in front of Dale. Well as the race was about to start, the TV camera panned over to Dale and his wife holding hands and I said to myself, someday they won’t be able to do that, meaning he would be killed in an accident, I am not a profit but it does give me a funny feeling every time I see something about him.
We stopped at an Olive garden in Daytona for lunch, nothing different except Shirleen had a strawberry Siciliano ice cream drink.
Up the road we go towards St. Augustine, I have already mentioned the driving on the beach.
After bedding down we took off south to the beach area for eats. Looked in my rear view mirror and saw a red C-6 Z06 behind me, ah, I can always dream. Off to the left was a small road, so down it I go. It turned out to go to the beach, but right alongside the end of the road is a restaurant, Beachcomber, wouldn’t you know. We seat ourselves out side on the only open table. It turned out to have one of the few views of the ocean, as the dunes are high and in the way for a good view. The tables are thick wooden tables with wooden benches. We ordered house wines, merlot and shiraz, with a cup of Maorcan (not sure of spelling) clam chowder, spicy tomato base beans, onions and clams. We split a beachcomber fish combo plate consisting of fish of the day today fried in bread crumbs Mahi Mahi, butterfly shrimp and sea scallops.
Tomorrow we are doing the St. Augustine tour thing and off for Jacksonville. jerr
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
March 20 Tuesday Day 23
Tonight we are in Comfort Suites in Daytona Beach.
We did not have breakfast at the Inn so we headed out to find something. We were going to see another Botanical Garden and on the way I spotted The Gathering in Largo FL. Turns out a home-style restaurant. Many selections on that menu, even half orders of eggs Benedict, with four different types. The coffee was tasty. Shirleen’s eggs and potatoes and my frittata with mushrooms, tomatoes, onions and ham were really good.
Off we went to the Florida Botanical Garden. This was a mix of gardens with many of the same palms we became familiar with more south of here. We see fewer orchids but still many lovely flowers. We did see Shirleen’s most sought after animal an alligator next to a Watch Out for Alligator sign, what a coincidence.
Another part of this Garden was a heritage farm. There were many structures, houses, barn, smoke house, general store with a little garage. The store had many cans of food, boxes of crackers, and man household items. The garage had a 1925 Model TT truck, the two TT’s are right. A neat sign which I think I will put up in my garage was “Mechanic Out”.
Down the line was a LaFrance fire truck, one of the different elements on that truck was the rear tire. It was solid rubber with a deep grove in it.
Then the quaint little house, a kitchen, setting room and two bedrooms, I found an instant connection with the front porch and two rockers, one which fit me just fine. To the back was an outhouse with directions for use, cute, wish I had photo’d, the garden for the house had carrots, little green tomatoes, a scarecrow with a moss beard with grass clippings between the rows of plants.
Now off to the University of Southern Florida’s Botanical garden. No need to go there, they are too interested in football and basketball to give monies to a program like gardening.
We found a nice place to stay for the evening. ¼ mile from Daytona 500 Racetrack! I asked the desk where a good steakhouse was? He said Gene’s Steak House in Daytona Beach since 1948. When I got back to the car Shirleen said she found a good place Gene’s, so must be good. After going the wrong way for five miles, I turned around and went another ten miles the other way to find the restaurant. It is an unpretentious building on an open highway. We were seated by the daughter of the owner. She told us that her grandparents owned the restaurant, when they died their daughter took over. The third generation daughter is now the manager, her brother the night manager and her mother owns it. We were handed a wine menu, it had some of the fine wines of France, most twice to 30 times my budget. Louie XIII shot of cognac for 125$, no period in there. We bought a bottle of Cabernet by Salmon Creek, California 2002, tasty. If we had not finished it there state law permits taking the leftovers home. There complimentary starters were spicy hot garlic pickles, baby corn with corn relish, and carrot sticks. We ordered a flame broiled filet Mignon for Shirleen with a baked potato and I a New York Strip with French fries. Our salads were accompanied by ranch and Roquefort cheese. Those steaks were among the best tasting I have had in a long long time.
Now came the fun part. Did I mention this restaurant caters to the rich and famous race car drivers, and motorcycle enthusiasts? Well it is. We sat behind a picture of Shirleen’s favorite race car driver – Paul Newman. At Elkhart Lake I have a pic of her by his pink race car. Pat, the owner, sat by the people who were next to us and soon we became part of the conversation. Pat had come by the table before we ate and I asked why she was working, she said one of the waiters had a sick mother in the ICU, so she came in to help. Turns out her son came in for a snack after working 14 days straight, now he is waiting tables to help out. A family thing I guess. Now the table next to us mentions Paul Newman and how he made her mother feel really good after she had lost her brother three weeks before. Turns out he rarely is part of a picture and never autographs. This gal had asked him to be part of the picture and he obliged and autographed for her. Well it turned out that he likes Oreo cookies for desert and they had given him the leftovers, which he gave to this lady. Turned out that her deceased brother, each night had had 6 Oreo’s with milk before sleeping. Paul giving her those Oreo’s was just divine guidance. Now the conversation drifted to his love of apple sauce. A couple times before they had made some for him when he came in. this time Pat made some from scratch, brought it out to him and he said no thanks. she said she had just made it for him, he said, he only used it on baked potatoes and tonight he had French fries. Really cute stories. Pat also talked about her run in with Montoya, Target’s race car owner Chip Ganassi. When we left she was sitting at the bar I went over and said how much we enjoyed the evening. Her question was, were we locals? No from Minnesota and had a daughter in Milwaukee. She asked if we had eaten at Mader’s, of course we had. She said the schnitzel was delicious and I agreed with her as I had also had it. She said go to the Harley factor and tell the president that Pat Young from Gene’s told us to stop by. Love these racing freaks, I fit right in. jerr
We did not have breakfast at the Inn so we headed out to find something. We were going to see another Botanical Garden and on the way I spotted The Gathering in Largo FL. Turns out a home-style restaurant. Many selections on that menu, even half orders of eggs Benedict, with four different types. The coffee was tasty. Shirleen’s eggs and potatoes and my frittata with mushrooms, tomatoes, onions and ham were really good.
Off we went to the Florida Botanical Garden. This was a mix of gardens with many of the same palms we became familiar with more south of here. We see fewer orchids but still many lovely flowers. We did see Shirleen’s most sought after animal an alligator next to a Watch Out for Alligator sign, what a coincidence.
Another part of this Garden was a heritage farm. There were many structures, houses, barn, smoke house, general store with a little garage. The store had many cans of food, boxes of crackers, and man household items. The garage had a 1925 Model TT truck, the two TT’s are right. A neat sign which I think I will put up in my garage was “Mechanic Out”.
Down the line was a LaFrance fire truck, one of the different elements on that truck was the rear tire. It was solid rubber with a deep grove in it.
Then the quaint little house, a kitchen, setting room and two bedrooms, I found an instant connection with the front porch and two rockers, one which fit me just fine. To the back was an outhouse with directions for use, cute, wish I had photo’d, the garden for the house had carrots, little green tomatoes, a scarecrow with a moss beard with grass clippings between the rows of plants.
Now off to the University of Southern Florida’s Botanical garden. No need to go there, they are too interested in football and basketball to give monies to a program like gardening.
We found a nice place to stay for the evening. ¼ mile from Daytona 500 Racetrack! I asked the desk where a good steakhouse was? He said Gene’s Steak House in Daytona Beach since 1948. When I got back to the car Shirleen said she found a good place Gene’s, so must be good. After going the wrong way for five miles, I turned around and went another ten miles the other way to find the restaurant. It is an unpretentious building on an open highway. We were seated by the daughter of the owner. She told us that her grandparents owned the restaurant, when they died their daughter took over. The third generation daughter is now the manager, her brother the night manager and her mother owns it. We were handed a wine menu, it had some of the fine wines of France, most twice to 30 times my budget. Louie XIII shot of cognac for 125$, no period in there. We bought a bottle of Cabernet by Salmon Creek, California 2002, tasty. If we had not finished it there state law permits taking the leftovers home. There complimentary starters were spicy hot garlic pickles, baby corn with corn relish, and carrot sticks. We ordered a flame broiled filet Mignon for Shirleen with a baked potato and I a New York Strip with French fries. Our salads were accompanied by ranch and Roquefort cheese. Those steaks were among the best tasting I have had in a long long time.
Now came the fun part. Did I mention this restaurant caters to the rich and famous race car drivers, and motorcycle enthusiasts? Well it is. We sat behind a picture of Shirleen’s favorite race car driver – Paul Newman. At Elkhart Lake I have a pic of her by his pink race car. Pat, the owner, sat by the people who were next to us and soon we became part of the conversation. Pat had come by the table before we ate and I asked why she was working, she said one of the waiters had a sick mother in the ICU, so she came in to help. Turns out her son came in for a snack after working 14 days straight, now he is waiting tables to help out. A family thing I guess. Now the table next to us mentions Paul Newman and how he made her mother feel really good after she had lost her brother three weeks before. Turns out he rarely is part of a picture and never autographs. This gal had asked him to be part of the picture and he obliged and autographed for her. Well it turned out that he likes Oreo cookies for desert and they had given him the leftovers, which he gave to this lady. Turned out that her deceased brother, each night had had 6 Oreo’s with milk before sleeping. Paul giving her those Oreo’s was just divine guidance. Now the conversation drifted to his love of apple sauce. A couple times before they had made some for him when he came in. this time Pat made some from scratch, brought it out to him and he said no thanks. she said she had just made it for him, he said, he only used it on baked potatoes and tonight he had French fries. Really cute stories. Pat also talked about her run in with Montoya, Target’s race car owner Chip Ganassi. When we left she was sitting at the bar I went over and said how much we enjoyed the evening. Her question was, were we locals? No from Minnesota and had a daughter in Milwaukee. She asked if we had eaten at Mader’s, of course we had. She said the schnitzel was delicious and I agreed with her as I had also had it. She said go to the Harley factor and tell the president that Pat Young from Gene’s told us to stop by. Love these racing freaks, I fit right in. jerr
Monday, March 19, 2007
March 19 Monday Day 22
Added a couple things later this evening.
Tonight we are in Clearwater FL Quality INN up 30 miles from St. Petersburg.
One of the reasons we came back to St. Petersburg, besides the warmer weather down here versus Daytona Beach, was to see the Sunken Gardens – A Botanical Experience. That was an understatement. The guide was a horticulturalist with a stunning presentation. It was a two and a half hour walk through a ¾ mile path. He, after being there since 1998, knew each plant there botanical name and common name. You would think we have seen everything tropical by this time as it is our 10th garden. Well we have but this garden was started in 1903, a number of the royal palms were planted that year and have withstood many hurricanes, graceful and tall. The Cuban flamingoes were from the early 60’s and generally live 50 to 60 years. There are a number of caged birds. They and the flamingoes are taken in to a shelter each night so the raccoons don’t get to them. There was a pond full of Koi, a couple adults and there offspring. I found a fascination in cycads: Cycads have crowns of large, feathery compound leaves and cones at the ends of their branches. Some have tall, unbranched, armor like trunks; others have partially buried stems with swollen trunks – from Wikipedia. These plants have survived for 200,000 years, I have heard this number used a couple of times and figure it is within two standard deviations of the real date. A must for those who love gardening.
Off to the waterfront in Tampa Bay for lunch. We found Fresco’s Waterfront Bistro, watched the sail boats and birds while we sat and ate. Shirleen’s Chocolate Martini was scrumptious and I started with a Maddalena Cabernet followed by a Mezza Corona chardonnay. Shirleen opted for the fish of the day – a baked trout with a fine mango salsa and I a Quesadilla. This I got for Abby, as she likes them, not sure this one would be similar to her liking. It had fire grilled chicken, Andouille sausage, green tomatillo, onions and jack cheese folded in a cheddar jalapeno tortilla. Wow what a bite to it.
Down the block for another one of those mind-boggling exhibits Dalí - http://www.salvadordalimuseum.org/home.html The current exhibit is DALI & THE SPANISH BAROQUE. The guide we had was marvelous, she pointed to the hidden portions of the paintings. Showing how his art incorporated other artist’s ideas. One of his themes was a small picture of a father, most of the time, holding his sons hand. This was what Dali would have loved to have had his father do. His father wanted traditional painting not this style. He did approve of his initial still lives. He was a master of color and technique. He had paintings that were line drawn, pastels and hard intense colors. One must understand what he has put into the painting and the time of the world he did it in. He was a very religious man in life and in his paintings. He drew a perspective of Christ on the cross; this picture was from the top and Christ's head hanging down so that one could not see his face. It turns out Dali does not paint the face of God, he always has something in the way, one was the fist of God in front of his face. This is the exact opposite of yesterday’s sculpture/painter. Dali's work included using the hidden - item – person – thing – into the picture, something you didn’t see until it was pointed out. Then you wonder how you missed it. One that I noticed was a painting with a line drawing of a lady, here nose and eye were actually a man on a horse holding a lance, yes really. I am now an avid lover of his work, I think ever since I saw his long legged giraffe elephant in a window in a French village near Cannes at a store in St Paul de Vence.
We went to the west to take in the sunset over the Gulf. But ended up eating again, at Caddy’s Waterfront BBQ and Restaurant in Treasure Island a couple glasses of Merlot and Shirleen’s pulled pork and my pastrami, we expected sandwiches it was just plated no bread with our double order of beans. The gals said she was glad she was not going to be between the sheets with us. The scenery was nice, but the food was just adequate. The wind had just changed direction now it is blowing from the Gulf all day it was the other way. Coats and sweatshirts came on, and me in my T-shirt.
We found the Quality Inn just in time, as the sun was setting out our lanai. The sun was obscured by clouds the last twenty minutes or so but the color was dramatic – yellow, orange and reds. Much like some of Dali’s work, jerr
Tonight we are in Clearwater FL Quality INN up 30 miles from St. Petersburg.
One of the reasons we came back to St. Petersburg, besides the warmer weather down here versus Daytona Beach, was to see the Sunken Gardens – A Botanical Experience. That was an understatement. The guide was a horticulturalist with a stunning presentation. It was a two and a half hour walk through a ¾ mile path. He, after being there since 1998, knew each plant there botanical name and common name. You would think we have seen everything tropical by this time as it is our 10th garden. Well we have but this garden was started in 1903, a number of the royal palms were planted that year and have withstood many hurricanes, graceful and tall. The Cuban flamingoes were from the early 60’s and generally live 50 to 60 years. There are a number of caged birds. They and the flamingoes are taken in to a shelter each night so the raccoons don’t get to them. There was a pond full of Koi, a couple adults and there offspring. I found a fascination in cycads: Cycads have crowns of large, feathery compound leaves and cones at the ends of their branches. Some have tall, unbranched, armor like trunks; others have partially buried stems with swollen trunks – from Wikipedia. These plants have survived for 200,000 years, I have heard this number used a couple of times and figure it is within two standard deviations of the real date. A must for those who love gardening.
Off to the waterfront in Tampa Bay for lunch. We found Fresco’s Waterfront Bistro, watched the sail boats and birds while we sat and ate. Shirleen’s Chocolate Martini was scrumptious and I started with a Maddalena Cabernet followed by a Mezza Corona chardonnay. Shirleen opted for the fish of the day – a baked trout with a fine mango salsa and I a Quesadilla. This I got for Abby, as she likes them, not sure this one would be similar to her liking. It had fire grilled chicken, Andouille sausage, green tomatillo, onions and jack cheese folded in a cheddar jalapeno tortilla. Wow what a bite to it.
Down the block for another one of those mind-boggling exhibits Dalí - http://www.salvadordalimuseum.org/home.html The current exhibit is DALI & THE SPANISH BAROQUE. The guide we had was marvelous, she pointed to the hidden portions of the paintings. Showing how his art incorporated other artist’s ideas. One of his themes was a small picture of a father, most of the time, holding his sons hand. This was what Dali would have loved to have had his father do. His father wanted traditional painting not this style. He did approve of his initial still lives. He was a master of color and technique. He had paintings that were line drawn, pastels and hard intense colors. One must understand what he has put into the painting and the time of the world he did it in. He was a very religious man in life and in his paintings. He drew a perspective of Christ on the cross; this picture was from the top and Christ's head hanging down so that one could not see his face. It turns out Dali does not paint the face of God, he always has something in the way, one was the fist of God in front of his face. This is the exact opposite of yesterday’s sculpture/painter. Dali's work included using the hidden - item – person – thing – into the picture, something you didn’t see until it was pointed out. Then you wonder how you missed it. One that I noticed was a painting with a line drawing of a lady, here nose and eye were actually a man on a horse holding a lance, yes really. I am now an avid lover of his work, I think ever since I saw his long legged giraffe elephant in a window in a French village near Cannes at a store in St Paul de Vence.
We went to the west to take in the sunset over the Gulf. But ended up eating again, at Caddy’s Waterfront BBQ and Restaurant in Treasure Island a couple glasses of Merlot and Shirleen’s pulled pork and my pastrami, we expected sandwiches it was just plated no bread with our double order of beans. The gals said she was glad she was not going to be between the sheets with us. The scenery was nice, but the food was just adequate. The wind had just changed direction now it is blowing from the Gulf all day it was the other way. Coats and sweatshirts came on, and me in my T-shirt.
We found the Quality Inn just in time, as the sun was setting out our lanai. The sun was obscured by clouds the last twenty minutes or so but the color was dramatic – yellow, orange and reds. Much like some of Dali’s work, jerr
Sunday, March 18, 2007
March 18 Sunday Day 21
Tonight we are in St. Petersburg Florida at another Comfort Inn & Suites.
We started the day by traveling south to Winter Park. We had seen a advertisement about an Art Fair, turns out the 48th one. It was four streets long and three tiers deep. Many wonderful crafts were displayed. We found people from the Twin Cities and Minnesota, along with a number of Wisconsinites. We found a nice piece of art from a lady in New York city it is a painted flower arrangement with a border done in another style. Many of her paintings reminded us of the 1800’s art we have seen overseas.
Time to eat, this time we ate indoors, as it was a bit chilly. Again it was a spot along the street, Pannullo's Italian Restaurant in Winter Parkwhere the art show was being held. After Shirleen’s Guenoc Cabernet and my Ravenswood Shiraz it was off to pizza. They had an item on the menu that was different, two pieces of pizza with three ingredients. Shirleen had pepperoni, sun dried tomatoes and onion; mine was fresh Italian sausage, spinach, and anchovies – what a treat. Turns out they pre-bake the pizza with cheese, then the ingredients you order are if to bulky pre-cooked and re-baked in their oven. What a nice touch.
The reason we went to Winter Park was to see a sculpture garden by the Slovak sculpture Albin Polasek from the Carpathian mountain area of what is now he Czech Republic or Moravia. He was quite the sculpture as he never had a problem with money. At the age of 72 he married a 62 year old woman who only lived 18 months. He then at the age of 82 married again and another 62 year old woman. He made a Christ on the cross looking up instead of down, named The Victorious Christ, a larger than life sculpture of the crucified Christ gazing heavenward. This signified his dying in Glory not defeat. He was deeply religious and had a prayer chapel in his garden. There were the Stations of the Cross that he had drawn but hid away. On these he had drawn his mother as Mary and himself as an observer who did not want to be seen as upstaging the reason for the drawings. The museum includes Polasek's former retirement home, studio, galleries, and chapel, as well as surrounding gardens containing figurative sculpture and mythological pieces.
Another attraction in Winter Park was Harry P. Leu Garden. An immense garden alongside a large lake with many trees, flowers and vines. The different item was a clock in the outer part of the garden. It was apparently run by a motor and place on a slant wall surrounded by petunias it was 12 ft in diameter. The time was right on 3:15, I had to wait until the minute hand moved to 25 to show the difference. During that time Steve A. called and they were in Marco Island, he asked where we ate and it turns out they are staying right across from the restaurant we ate at last week. Ya never know.
Where now? It turned out we got the answer from Danielle’s friend – Flat Stanley – he wanted to go to see the gulf. So westward we went to St. Pete. We plan on showing him the gulf tomorrow, those interested in him please write and I will explain this school project.
The traffic was heavy but interesting. Alongside came a pewter C5 Z06 and next to him a black Porsche turbo. They were pacing each other that meant to me if they had a chance they would see who would come out on top. When they got 5 car lengths ahead of me an opening to the right of the Vette came open, he burst through the small opening and the Porsche right after him. All I could see because of the many cars in between was two guys racing each other. Two minutes later another Z06 came by. I have seen many of them down here, also a lot of the new Pontiac Solstice converts.
Time for supper, we had passed the Texas Cattle Company – Worlds Greatest Steaks. According to the waitress, the owner originated Red Lobster and sold it to General Mills. Turns out it is one of eight in a local chain now owned by that same man. He also has one of the ten top steakhouses in the country – Charley’s in Orlando. Sounds like another adventure to me. Shirleen had a Tobin Cabernet and I a Rosemont Shiraz. Her fillet Mignon and my T-bone were real tasty. As we went into the restaurant we thought about our experience in the Cattle Company Steakhouse in the Twin Cities, that was a disaster and there are no longer open. This is not part of that chain.
Tomorrow will be another adventure I am sure. jerr
We started the day by traveling south to Winter Park. We had seen a advertisement about an Art Fair, turns out the 48th one. It was four streets long and three tiers deep. Many wonderful crafts were displayed. We found people from the Twin Cities and Minnesota, along with a number of Wisconsinites. We found a nice piece of art from a lady in New York city it is a painted flower arrangement with a border done in another style. Many of her paintings reminded us of the 1800’s art we have seen overseas.
Time to eat, this time we ate indoors, as it was a bit chilly. Again it was a spot along the street, Pannullo's Italian Restaurant in Winter Parkwhere the art show was being held. After Shirleen’s Guenoc Cabernet and my Ravenswood Shiraz it was off to pizza. They had an item on the menu that was different, two pieces of pizza with three ingredients. Shirleen had pepperoni, sun dried tomatoes and onion; mine was fresh Italian sausage, spinach, and anchovies – what a treat. Turns out they pre-bake the pizza with cheese, then the ingredients you order are if to bulky pre-cooked and re-baked in their oven. What a nice touch.
The reason we went to Winter Park was to see a sculpture garden by the Slovak sculpture Albin Polasek from the Carpathian mountain area of what is now he Czech Republic or Moravia. He was quite the sculpture as he never had a problem with money. At the age of 72 he married a 62 year old woman who only lived 18 months. He then at the age of 82 married again and another 62 year old woman. He made a Christ on the cross looking up instead of down, named The Victorious Christ, a larger than life sculpture of the crucified Christ gazing heavenward. This signified his dying in Glory not defeat. He was deeply religious and had a prayer chapel in his garden. There were the Stations of the Cross that he had drawn but hid away. On these he had drawn his mother as Mary and himself as an observer who did not want to be seen as upstaging the reason for the drawings. The museum includes Polasek's former retirement home, studio, galleries, and chapel, as well as surrounding gardens containing figurative sculpture and mythological pieces.
Another attraction in Winter Park was Harry P. Leu Garden. An immense garden alongside a large lake with many trees, flowers and vines. The different item was a clock in the outer part of the garden. It was apparently run by a motor and place on a slant wall surrounded by petunias it was 12 ft in diameter. The time was right on 3:15, I had to wait until the minute hand moved to 25 to show the difference. During that time Steve A. called and they were in Marco Island, he asked where we ate and it turns out they are staying right across from the restaurant we ate at last week. Ya never know.
Where now? It turned out we got the answer from Danielle’s friend – Flat Stanley – he wanted to go to see the gulf. So westward we went to St. Pete. We plan on showing him the gulf tomorrow, those interested in him please write and I will explain this school project.
The traffic was heavy but interesting. Alongside came a pewter C5 Z06 and next to him a black Porsche turbo. They were pacing each other that meant to me if they had a chance they would see who would come out on top. When they got 5 car lengths ahead of me an opening to the right of the Vette came open, he burst through the small opening and the Porsche right after him. All I could see because of the many cars in between was two guys racing each other. Two minutes later another Z06 came by. I have seen many of them down here, also a lot of the new Pontiac Solstice converts.
Time for supper, we had passed the Texas Cattle Company – Worlds Greatest Steaks. According to the waitress, the owner originated Red Lobster and sold it to General Mills. Turns out it is one of eight in a local chain now owned by that same man. He also has one of the ten top steakhouses in the country – Charley’s in Orlando. Sounds like another adventure to me. Shirleen had a Tobin Cabernet and I a Rosemont Shiraz. Her fillet Mignon and my T-bone were real tasty. As we went into the restaurant we thought about our experience in the Cattle Company Steakhouse in the Twin Cities, that was a disaster and there are no longer open. This is not part of that chain.
Tomorrow will be another adventure I am sure. jerr
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