ST. PETER AND JAMES

This may be the best rental we've ever had in Florida, and not just because it's just $350 a week. We've got the fully-equipped upstairs flat of a 1910 house on the Historic Registry of St. Petersburg. It's a block or two from parks, trails, and the waters of Tampa Bay. The live-in manager, Dina, is cheerful helpful and thorough. Bonus --- we have a parking spot! And as in Toronto and Kemble, our favourite spot is the balcony. A great find, and home cookin'.

We do my powerwalk each morning along the bayfront among Spanish moss, marinas, joggers, and pelicans waiting for a handout ---- wrong guy! But today we also drove over to the Gulf side where we stayed just last February. The winter hordes haven't arrived yet so there are more seagulls than shoppers/shellers on the boardwalks and beaches. Most alluring? Pretty Pass-a-Grill at Mile Zero. Then over to the earlybird screening of the world's favourite double agent. SPOILER ALERT: I don't mind 007 shooting up the bad guys but I cringed when the DB5 got it. :(