Leaving the Village

February has slid by like a dolphin playing peek-a-boo at the docks. We're packing up again for our departure tomorrow, going from our last sunset on the Gulf to our first sunrise on the Atlantic side of the state. John's Pass Village has really suited us because our apartment is quiet and private, but the boardwalk is in sight from our windows. Within a minute you can mingle with the visitors, watch the boats come and go, or listen in to the live music from several spots. Pat gave computer tutorials to the e-newbie neighbours and I could talk cars, motorcycles, and even Latvian history.

I have a whole new appreciation for this part of Florida. It's my natural habitat with sunny days, sea breezes and miles of beach, waterways, and canals. The main revelation to Pat has been the huge number of parks, public ocean access, and interesting wild areas. We'll miss this place, but on to Door #3!

Opening Day

As a kid in Windsor I was a Detroit Tigers fan in the days of Al Kaline, Charlie Maxwell and Jim Bunning and they later won a World Series for me in 1968. Then as an adult based in Toronto I followed the Blue Jays especially when they won 2 World Series for me, 1992 and 1993. The Jays had Roberto Alomar, Joe Carter and Tom Henke. Not much interest in major league baseball since as I can't identify with guys who switch cities and big salaries as fast as a Harley down here switches lanes.

Still, I couldn't resist going to the Opening Day game in spring training just 45 minutes up the road in Dunedin because my 2 teams were playing each other! Sunny and hot, peanuts and crackerjack (not for us --- Pat packed a healthy picnic), first pitch by a U.S. veteran, multi-millionaires striking out twice in a row, funny guy selling beer by yelling "Canadian beer in an American can!" I could hardly recognize any of the players but the crowd and the ritual are the same since Harvey Kuenn threw me a ball during Tigers batting practice, summer of age 7.

An Awesome Discovery

The controlled chaos among we masses of shuttle-watchers was totally outweighed by the controlled grace and beauty of one solitary Discovery. The unspoken tension was palpable in the crowd as the epic 5-4-3-2-1 boomed out. No one breathed.

Discovery is my favourite. It was the first launched on August 30, 1984, 2 months after my mom passed away and I always think she's stowed away on it. First one up after both the Challenger and Columbia disasters. Delivered the Hubble Space Telescope. 39 times in space, more than any other craft ever. First and only shuttle to fly 4 times in ONE year. First female pilot. Took John Glenn back into space at age 77. First to dock with Mir. My only other launch in person, 1990. And more and more and more. Can you say "big white beautiful go-to workhorse" boys and girls?

You see it, then you hear it, then you feel it. The oxygen molecules in the air explode around it, trying to move aside. The ground grumbles, realizing this giant machine has slipped it's grasp. The cloud formed behind it can't keep up. The last view of the ship is a tiny speck lit up by the afternoon sun, like a diamond on blue velvet. Safe journey home Discovery, then you'll wow the crowds forever at the Smithsonian!

Pre-Shuttle, Post-Shuttle

Months ago I noticed that a space shuttle launch would take place while I was in Florida this time. Not only that, but it is the third-last launch of the 27-year shuttle program, and the last trip for Discovery. I just had to see it, so yesterday we drove right across the state, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. Only 150 miles, how bad could it be??

Turns out, REAL bad. Left at 8 a.m. allowing 4 hours to get there, find a spot, and wait til blast-off at 4:50 pm. BUT. No direct route, rush-hour through Tampa, Disney hordes around Orlando, spring breakers, many toll booth stops, and then huge crowds arriving on U.S. 1 for exactly the same reason I was there. Lucky to arrive in 5 1/2 hours and had to take the first "parking" spot I could find. On a grassy strip by a sidewalk at the SPCA Thrift Shop in Titusville.

Hordes of people massing right up to blast-off. Lineups at deteriorating washrooms 40-people long. No police directing traffic. A wild mix of Woodstock/Pope visit/tailgate parties/Johnny Cash free concert. We found a great spot across the channel from the launch pad, side-by-side with the estimated 250,000 others. The blastoff gets its own separate blog, right after this one.

Literally one minute later, every one wanted to leave at the same time. A wild mix of hurricane evacuation and road rage. There followed the worst traffic jam I have ever experienced in my 600,000+ miles of driving. 5 hours to creep the first 10 miles. 8 hours to go the 150 miles home, and already the shuttle had orbited earth 7 times! Crazily, it was totally worth it.

OMG! FBG Needs PR

Blog Note: Here's the latest post from Pat, on her favourite theme...

One of the great things about Florida is being able to leave the beach, traffic and hubbub to easily disappear into a recreational trail, nature reserve or park. While St. Pete's Sunken Gardens is the pretty girl highlighted in every tourist publication, the real beauty queen of our Pinella's County is the seldomed mentioned and blandly named Florida Botanical Gardens.

The FBG opened 11 years ago but I guessed decades more on a ramble through 30 acres of manicured gardens and 60 acres of trees, ponds and wetlands that are more natural. The variety is overwhelming; but don't despair; every plant and tree is labeled in easy-to-read grey (there's that bland again) markers.

The gardens were created as a joint project of Pinellas Culture, Education and Leisure Department and the U. of Florida. In recent years the local Master Gardeners joined with the University and the Pinellas Parks and Rec Department to maintain the gardens and the educational programs. Yeah Master Gardeners!!!

The avid gardening detectives out there can spot Purple Queen Wreath, Praying Hands Bananas and the Roxburgh Fig in the pixs. Rick and the rest of you can ID a big blue butterfly!

Ongoing funding for the park comes from the usual sources but what is NOT usual is a voluntary sales tax called "Penny for Pinellas". Admission is free--- a tax that actually gives back!

P.S. What can you grow this year from the lists of Beverage and/or Edible Plants??

P.P.S. Yes, those are flowering trees. It's spring in Zone 9.

Destruction / Construction

One of the drawbacks of 24-hour news channels like CNN is the relentless coverage of sad events affecting innocents or bad behaviour by the guilty. Our hearts go out to the people of Christchurch New Zealand, one of our favourite places in the world. We walked the pretty streets that are now in rubble, and we picnicked in the shade of the majestic cathedral now in ruin. The Asian college students who have perished were like those who challenged and delighted us in our teaching days. At the other extreme, my spirit and support is once again in the streets of a country under seige as Libyans die to free their land from a megalomaniac.

Hard to reconcile those realities to the privileged life here. Our streets are peaceful, sometimes the only hazard being a group of cyclists whizzing by. The PetSmart is the size of a football field, with more food for cats on the shelves than Libyans eke out in a month. A nearby McDonalds has it's own marina so you can boat-through as well as drive-through.

But across the street from our place (see red car in background) the renewal and expansion of Don's Dock speeds on. Destruction in NZ and Libya, construction here. Conclusion?

Sawgrass Lake Park

Pat wanted me to highlight a nature/botanical sidetrip less than an hour away. Sawgrass Lake Park is about 400 acres with boardwalks and trails to walk through the largest maple swamp in Florida. It was very surprising to see maple trees, leaves and seed "keys" growing thickly in this tropical dampland. Our maples back home won't look like this until May.

Sawgrass is specifically mentioned as one of the premier birding sights in Florida by the National Audubon Society! Without trying too hard on a hot sunny day we saw herons, ibis, wood storks, egrets, eagles and wrens but also turtles, alligators and fish leaping out of the freshwater areas. (The park drains to the ocean but a system of dams prevents the saltwater from backing in.)

But what's remarkable is that this no-admission park is within the most densely populated county in Florida. On one side is 12 lanes of high-speed Interstate 275. On another side is a gun range where pistols and skeet shotguns boom out, scaring park visitors but not the thousands of migratory birds passing through. Also nearby are huge shopping plazas and dense housing. Talk about a needle in a haystack, or should that be a diamond in the rough?