Lenten Fish Fry

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Every year we see a notice in St. John Vianney's Sunday bulletin for a fish fry on the Fridays of Lent. I've always been somewhat interested in attending, but not until today did Bob show any enthusiasm at all.

After an afternoon in the pool, we showered and enjoyed our view of the gulf for an hour or so on the front balcony. As we drove to church, I felt somewhat apprehensive, knowing that St. John's would be written off if the fish meal (baked or fried fish, French fries, cole slaw, hush puppies, beverage, dessert) turned out less than "good".

My concern was unwarranted. The parish hall was crowded but the event was well organized and we were soon seated at a long cafeteria table, beside an older couple originally from Maine. The husband, an Air Force veteran, had spent time at Fort Snelling (Minnesota) in the early 1960s.

Our dinner companion had a comment on every subject, including politics, football (he'd once met former Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton in St. Pete Beach), Rotary International, the Tampa Bay Symphony. He founded an electronics company forty years ago and firmly believes that "if you can stay awake for eight hours, you can make money in St. Pete".

We enjoyed our meal very much. Bob had apple cobbler with ice cream for dessert (delicious) and I saved my butterscotch brownie for later consumption. We were particularly impressed with the happy and competent volunteers, who provided an excellent meal, served promptly and with impressive efficiency. All for $20, including the $2 donation Bob left on the way out.

Accident on Gulf Boulevard

Accident scene in front of our building

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We often hear sirens, especially in the evening. For the most part, we've learned to ignore them: Gulf Boulevard is busy most of the day and night so occasional incidents are inevitable.

While we were eating dinner on Thursday, we heard sirens from several different vehicles stop in quick succession, obviously very near us. Bob couldn't resist going outside and I soon followed, with my camera, of course. The emergency vehicle response (two fire, several police, one paramedic) seemed excessive for what looked like a minor accident between two vehicles facing north on Gulf Boulevard. Bob summed it sum as "Piece of sh__ car hits nice car and nice car calls police".

It was dark at 7:00 p.m. and we were too far to hear any conversation on the street below. Five or six police officers spent what seemed like forever around the POS car. Eventually, both vehicles involved in the accident turned into TradeWinds Resort , turned around and drove south on Gulf Boulevard.

Our Osprey Family

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We checked on our osprey family right after we arrived. We soon saw the familiar white breast of one of the parents guarding the nest from a high branch in the tree across the bay from us. It's quite far away so it's hard to get a half decent shot from the balcony.



Last winter we watched the adult birds for several weeks, until all activity around the nest suddenly stopped. We sadly concluded that some predator had stolen the eggs and the adults had no reason to stay around.

On our first day we witnessed a couple of crows trying to gain access to the nest. The osprey sentinel fought them off but the attack almost seemed like a test run for a pair of clever crows. The osprey would be a poor match for an aggressive, determined team of crows. I just read an interesting article about the life of the crow, and it seems that their predator behavior is not uncommon.

I was surprised that the 50X zoom of the little Canon PowerShot SX530 does a great job, rivaling the long lens of the Canon Rebel.

Feels like Home

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We've spent five of our six St. Pete Beach vacations at The Sunrise Resort. This is our second year in the same condo unit, and we were at home the minute we walked in. Love the fresh new couch and loveseat, as well as the faster Internet access.



I never tire of a sunrise over St. Petersburg

Our first day was very quiet. We took care of checking in first thing in the morning and had breakfast on Pass-a-Grille, at our favorite Seahorse Restaurant, followed by a quick visit to Land's End.  Picked up groceries at Publix. We ran into our friend Carol Van Ells, who has been a regular here for many years.

I walked on the beach across Gulf Boulevard after lunch while Bob napped -- well deserved after a couple of grueling days on the road. I went for my evening swim after dinner. Heaven for me!

The night was dark and filled with the familiar sounds of our March home.

Arrival in St. Pete Beach

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We left Panama City Beach before 9:00 a.m. and were encouraged by the GPS prediction of a 6h22min trip to our destination. Turns out it's a slow ride on Hwy 231 and I10 to I75. Lots of trucks and plenty of traffic. Our rest stops used up about an hour so it seemed like a long day already by the time we approached Tampa.

View from our balcony. Unit 208, Sunrise Resort.

We were delayed by an accident on I275 at Hwy 4. All lanes were closed and traffic was diverted off the freeway, but we were on our own to figure out the next turn. The GPS took us around the block and back on I275 before the Howard Franklin Bridge. The rest was trouble free but we were both tired and the sun was beating down on us.

We arrived at the condo after 5, so our keys were in a lockbox. We read the instructions for gaining access to our apartment but neither of us could get the box open. Fortunately, a guy "with experience" came along and took charge of the situation. He soon determined that were entering the wrong combination of numbers, a variation of our AREA code, not our ZIP code. A few clicks later, we had keys and access to the condo.

A few hours later, we'd put away most of our stuff and were ready to enjoy our first evening.

Panama City Beach

Pat and brother Bob on the beach

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A change-up this year. We  visited Bob's sister Pat and her husband Jim in Panama City Beach where they spend a month every winter. The stop took us off our route but it was fun to visit the Florida Panhandle for the first time. Panama City Beach, always been a draw for spring breakers, has  implemented a 2015 ordinance that bans drinking on the beach, and apparently the kids are staying away this season. We did see a few younger faces, but cound the beach very empty for the time of year.


Sea cucumber

The area reminded me a little of Atlantic City (which I haven't visited for many years), unplanned and overbuilt. Single family residences are squeezed in between highrise buildings that restrict the view and light of their neighbors. However, the beach itself is beautiful white sand, great for walking and, of course, sunbathing. A local fisherman had four rods in the water, and he cheerfully answered questions about his catch (pompano and, he hoped, grouper). He identified the strange looking creature we were wondering about - sea cucumber blown in by a recent storm.

We had dinner at the famous Pineapple Willy's, directly on the beach. The most fun for us was the deluxe tour of Panama City Beach, with color commentary by Pat and Jim, and, of course, catching up on family news. They are gracious hosts who made the visit a major highlight of our Florida road trip.



Montgomery, Alabama

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Sunday was a better day. We woke up to sunny skies and rising temperatures. This would normally have been our “nightmare day” driving through Atlanta but, despite lots of traffic, getting through Birmingham was trouble free.
We saw only patches of snow in isolated, shady places and no ice in the rocks along the highway. I finally noticed a few spring flowers on the side of the road near Cadiz, Kentucky, but nothing in full bloom until we reached our hotel, another Drury Inn, in Montgomery, Alabama. Here, spring is old news, but the air is fresh and full of promise.

Infomercial for the weary traveler: the Drury Inn is great on a road trip because the rooms and amenities are cookie cutter: free one hour of domestic long distance, identical wifi connectivity, Keurig coffee maker, comfortable bed, same white linens, bathroom fixtures identical to the last hotel we were in.

The full hot breakfast is free and so is the happy hour food (salad, pasta entrée, baked potatoes, nachos, hot dogs) and three alcoholic drinks per person (beer wine, mixed drinks). Popcorn and soft drinks are free in the lobby from 3 p.m. – 10 p.m.). Nothing great, but very welcome after a day on the road. Staff are pleasant and well trained. This morning, I reported a broken hair dryer and a replacement was delivered within 5 minutes.

We were exhausted last night and fell asleep during the Oscars. I was awake well before 5 this morning, but feel ready for the day.

Spring on the Road to Mount Vernon

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We left home just before 7:00 a.m. and the temperature was already well above freezing. I discarded the lining of my winter jacket before leaving the house and soon took off the outer shell. Early spring!

I woke up in a foul mood, feeling somewhat anxious about the long day on the road and still tired despite a fairly good night's sleep. I was angry with myself for not programming the GPS last night, because sure enough I had forgotten how to use it in the months it has been sitting in Bob's glove compartment. For some reason, unless I entered "Madison" as a coordinate on the trip planner app, I couldn't get the device to accept "Mount Vernon, IL" as a destination.

That decision added to confusion around Madison, because the GPS directed us through the city center, a definite costly "wrong" turn for us. I scrambled to read the paper map and kept us on a route that avoided the city. Bob was sure we were on the wrong route but turns out we were not. Anyway, we stopped for gas not far down the road and confirmed that we were going in the right direction. However, I was flustered and furious, and remained so throughout the day.

A good strong drink might have improved my mood but wait, I can't drink alcohol. Damn. For the first time I regretted the "no booze" restriction imposed by one of my medications (isoniazid - the precautionary drug for latent tuberculosis because of last December's positive TB test, due to childhood exposure to TB or perhaps to subsequent vaccine).

I wished I hadn't worn a warm sweatshirt today! The temperature rose to 58F sometime in the early afternoon. I drove a few miles toward the end of the day and we pulled into Mount Vernon shortly after 6. Our hotel, the Drury Inn, is quite comfortable. Free food and adult beverages from 5:30 to 7:00. We'd snacked on the trail mix Sonia packed for us and weren't particularly hungry, so I picked up a couple of hot dogs -- plenty of food for us.

Ready for Florida

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Tomorrow the temperature will rise to 40F in St. Paul, but winter returns on Sunday. Time to get out of town.

We leave for Florida in the morning - a trip that was very iffy when I was so sick last fall. Two months ago I had been out of the hospital only five days and was barely able to navigate stairs. The short walk between the house and the garage was a challenge and I was weak from lack of sleep, probably because of the 40 mg daily dose of prednisone. Today I feel healthier and more energetic than I've been for several years. I am thinner (or, rather, less fat!), very lucky and so grateful.

My stamina is still lacking and I was a little afraid of a grueling road trip with crazy Bob Hennessey, who is always ready for the extra mile, or 100 miles. Fortunately, we've added an extra travel day and will spend Monday night with Bob's sister and her husband in Panama City Beach, a new part of Florida for us to discover. This is our route:

St Paul MN-Mount Vernon IL-Montgomery, AL-Panama City Beach FL-St Pete Beach FL