At the end of April 2018, I traveled east yet again, though this time there was no diving involved. Instead I spent a week visiting with my parents on Longboat Key, an island off the west coast of Florida just south of Tampa and north of Sarasota. I flew out of San Jose instead of SFO for this trip, and one of the fun perks was that I was on the left side of the plane in a window seat for the departing flight, so I got to look down on Purgatory and even capture a few pics from several thousand feet up.
In Florida I took many photos of birds and flowers. These and many others are up on one of my photo websites, networkgirl.org (also sub-galleries full of Florida Flowers and Florida Birds). The visit was pretty low-key–we ate out several times; spent time by the pool and gulf; visited Selby Gardens (sadly the Buddha next to me died in a storm sometime during the last year) and the Sarasota Jungle Gardens, where we were stalked by a flamingo.
A bit of shopping was also completed. There are some fun stores on Saint Armands Circle, one island to the south. In fact, some years ago I bought a signed, framed photo of Red Skelton at a store on the Circle that, sadly, is no longer in business. The photo hangs on the side of my sound booth, with some other things I’ve picked up over the years.
On this particular trip I found some fun things, like a metal bird sculpture and wooden curlew, both from a place called Just/Because. I also found a gorgeous metal tree wall sculpture at The Giving Tree. Of course none of these items would fit in my luggage, so my parents, who had driven down from Ohio (where they live most of the time), took the smaller things back up north and shipped them to me. I had the tree shipped from the store out to Purgatory.
Last shot below is the tree in the downstairs of the great room, before we started the huge project.
My family started vacationing on Longboat when I was young, and we’d always stay at the same place for a week or two. Getting to Florida involved a seemingly-endless car ride. My parents still make the drive down, but now they stay for a full month and make the drive over several days so that they can visit customers (their business, alamarra.com, makes crêpe, pancake, waffle, and waffle-cone mixes which they sell mainly to restaurants and cafes across the country).
When I was little my parents invested a bit in real estate and purchased an undeveloped lot in a new development on the island. Many years later, it is now the sole empty lot in said development. They may sell it eventually and use the money to buy their own place on the key. I’m biased after living in a true Mid-Century Modern house and would love for them to purchase a condo at the Bayport Beach and Tennis Club, as the place is a lovely example of the Sarasota School.
After a week of sandy feet and lovely sunsets, it was time to head back to Purgatory and the big, big projects that awaited.