Stream
photo published in
/2021/03/31 on April 2, 2021 at 2:43 PM
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¶There’s a storm sweeping across the route home today, so we’ll stay another day. Darn. ;-)
post published in
/2021/03/31 at 12:38 PM
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¶We hadn’t really been to the beach during this trip—water was still too cold! We decided to dip our toes tonight though, thinking it wouldn’t be a complete trip without doing so.
¶I caught this shot of Renee and Pam as we headed out. Sisters, headed to the beach. Not sure why, but I like the black and white treatment on this photo.
photo published in
/2021/03/31 on April 1, 2021 at 1:35 AM
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¶Spending a little extra time at the pool today before heading home tomorrow. Weather is absolutely perfect.
photo published in
/2021/03/31 on April 1, 2021 at 1:22 AM
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Sounds from Upham Beach
¶I recorded this clip during our quick trip to the beach. The water was a bit warmer than I expected, but the sounds were exactly what I expected.
audio published in
/2021/03/31 on April 8, 2021 at 1:20 AM
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¶I’m old enough to think about retirement, but young enough to not have any details on what it might actually look like. Seeing this guy on our morning walk is a little inspiring for me though. A good book and a seat by the beach. Add a view and I think I’d be quite content.
photo published in
/2021/03/31 on April 1, 2021 at 1:18 AM
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¶Relevant data points for the day.
photo published in
/2021/03/31 on April 1, 2021 at 1:14 AM
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Sounds from our last morning
¶Our last morning on the beach was…perfect. The patio is one of my favorite spots in the world, and mornings, with Renee and a coffee, could not be better. This bit of audio captures the environment pretty well.
audio published in
/2021/03/31 on April 8, 2021 at 1:02 AM
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¶We can back to The Hangar restaurant at Albert Whitted airport for a second time. The plane watching and the food are always great, so Renee and I were happy to come again when Jake asked.
¶We watched several smaller planes take off, and this Pilatus PC-12, a single engine turboprop. Several helicopters made their way in and out, too.
photo published in
/2021/03/30 at 7:34 PM
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¶We enjoyed another perfect sunset here tonight. I love this casual shot I captured of Renee and Jake watching it over the railing on the patio.
photo published in
/2021/03/30 on March 31, 2021 at 12:24 PM
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photo published in
/2021/03/29 on March 30, 2021 at 8:03 PM
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¶And to prove that progress isn’t all bad, here’s another shot from our balcony looking over the preserve at Upham Beach. In the Aquatarium photo above, you can see the beach is only…a beach. At some point they established a preserve between the beach near the water and the street. Now it’s lush, green, and full of birds and other wildlife. It’s a beautiful and functional buffer.
photo published in
/2021/03/29 on March 30, 2021 at 7:56 PM
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¶To complete the walk down memory lane, here’s a shot from our balcony, looking straight down Beach Plaza. In the picture of the Aquatarium above, this is from inside the parking lot looking through the entrance to the parking lot at the bottom right of the photo, down the street.
photo published in
/2021/03/29 on March 30, 2021 at 7:50 PM
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Beautiful sunset with a not so beautiful view (St Petersburg, FL)
¶People watching turned interesting when a distracted man hit his gas pedal instead of his brake. This resulted in a torn-off bumper and many shocked people. From 2021-3-27
photo published in
/2021/03/29 at 3:47 PM
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¶The story of the Florida Aquatarium is short and sad, but I’m sure people all over the world have fond memories of that place. I’ve always viewed it as an “in between” attraction—bigger than a roadside attraction, but not quite the destination attraction that Disney ushered in.
¶I think my grandparents took me there once as a kid, likely after it had become Shark World based on the dates and my age at the time. Weirdly, my dominant memory is of the distinctive radial parking lot.
¶Renee has memories of walking along the sea wall you see in the picture posted above.
¶The Aquatarium is old school, beach town Florida, for sure. I miss the simplicity of it a bit, and I say that as I sit on our balcony in the air above that old parking lot in the photo above.
post published in
/2021/03/29 on March 30, 2021 at 3:47 PM
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Vintage St. Pete: The Aquatarium (stpetecatalyst.com)
¶Bill De Young’s article on St. Pete Catalyst has the most detail on the Aquatarium I’ve been able to find online.
link published in
/2021/03/29 on March 30, 2021 at 3:46 PM
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¶Wikipedia has some details on the history of the Aquatarium, too.
link published in
/2021/03/29 on March 30, 2021 at 3:41 PM
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¶There aren’t many good photos available of the old Florida Aquatarium that used to sit on the property our condo is on now. I’ve found a couple over the years but not many. Tonight, we stopped in the “library” in the condo to find some good beach reads and I noticed this photo hanging in the corner. It’s been there all along, I’m sure, but I’ve never noticed it before. I love it!
photo published in
/2021/03/29 on March 30, 2021 at 3:36 PM
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¶We ended our morning adventure with a trip to the St. Pete Beach Farmer’s Market. It felt good to be outside, with other people. It’s probably the biggest crowd I’ve been part of in a year. It was all outdoors and it was easy to stay socially distant, and most people were wearing masks, so we felt comfortable. It really made me appreciate the mental benefit that comes with being fully vaccinated—it literally frees your mind.
¶We took Teddy with us and he did really well. Stayed calm, visited with a few of the people that wanted to pet him.
¶Great adventure!
photo published in
/2021/03/28 on March 29, 2021 at 12:41 PM
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¶A detail view of the Corps of Engineers survey mark.
photo published in
/2021/03/28 on March 29, 2021 at 12:13 PM
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¶There’s a second mark on the rock at Pass-a-Grille, this one a bit more recent and detailed.
photo published in
/2021/03/28 on March 29, 2021 at 12:04 PM
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¶Here’s a detail view of the George T. Ward Poppas Point marker in Pass-a-Grille. I can’t find any detail on either Ward or Poppas Point online. Ironically, there seems to be no permanent reference to Poppas Point or George T. Ward. Sort of weird, actually.
photo published in
/2021/03/28 on March 29, 2021 at 12:02 PM
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¶At first I was a bit frustrated with this couple because I couldn’t get them out of the frame as I tried to snap a pic of this marker. Then I realized how much I liked the composition.
photo published in
/2021/03/28 on March 29, 2021 at 12:00 PM
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¶Some of the rocks on the pier have carvings in them. You couldn’t miss the giant PAM carved into this one. Made me think of our Pam, of course, so I snapped a pic and sent it to her.
photo published in
/2021/03/28 on March 29, 2021 at 11:49 AM
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¶I found a perfect sand dollar–no chips or anything. Unfortunately, I put it in my pocket and forgot about it. It was crushed to bits by the time I got home, maybe the seatbelt in the car or something. Lesson learned for the next time I find one.
photo published in
/2021/03/28 on March 29, 2021 at 11:47 AM
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