For this sunny Sunday, I’m sharing a few photos from here and there in Florida.
I liked this beaten up rowboat artfully left on the edge of Sarasota Bay.
Hibiscus flowers abound in this tropical climate, and pink is a favorite.
Less common is the Tree of Gold (Tabebuia) which flowers forth as early as February.
For a skyward view of Florida’s greenery, experience the canopy walkway at Myakka State Park.
And who doesn’t like a rainbow, part of Mother Nature’s theatrics.
The richness of colors in Tiffany’s glass rival those in nature. This is just one example of his work at the Morse Museum in Winter Park, worth a visit!
My younger sister and her husband spent much of this past week with us. Visiting from North Carolina, they were happy to trade bone-chilling temperatures for sunshine, warmth, and even time at the swimming pool. We focused several of our outings on Bradenton and the surrounding area.
A and P hadn’t been at The Bishop for several years. The Mosaic Backyard Universe was a new addition. Although this area with its tree house, science hut, and rocket ship is geared toward young children, it’s a fun area for adults to explore as well. We sampled some of the short videos in the rocket, tried out several different types of blocks and building materials and climbed to the treehouse overlook.
Spending time viewing the manatees was an essential for this visit. Three manatees are currently in residence being rehabilitated before being released to the wild. These funny looking blimpy mammals are soothing to watch as they float gently around their pool, periodically surfacing for air and lettuce leaves.
We also wandered upstairs to browse in a fascinating exhibit about early days in Florida, the contributions of the Seminole Indians, and the role of the Bradenton River in Bradenton commerce and settlement. The museum currently has an outdoor exhibit of robotic dinosaurs, Dinoventure, which is bound to appeal to kids and even some adults. The dino exhibit is an extra charge and will remain until mid-March. If you haven’t visited this museum in a while or ever, it’s worth going—with or without children!
I confess that the Chief Penguin and I had never been on the Bradenton Riverwalk even though it’s been open for some years. Its boardwalk is accessible across the street from The Bishop and winds along the Manatee River for more than a mile. We walked from the museum almost to the end. Along the way there is a fishing pier, splash pad, skate park, spot for beach volleyball, and some whimsical concrete chaises on a small sandy beach. Before lunch there were few people out, but when we walked back afterwards, the walk was much busier. It was a different experience with lots to see.
EATING
For lunch, we made our first visit to Mattison’s Riverwalk Grille conveniently located set back from the river. The restaurant is covered outside seating with heaters for cold days. There’s a wide variety of soups, salads, burgers, and more substantial entrees on the menu. Two of us tucked into the half sandwich of the day (tuna melt) with either a cup of mushroom soup or a salad (Caesar for me). The others tried the fish tacos, artichokes Esther-Style, and fried green tomatoes. Our server was a friendly young man, and it was the perfect meal for the occasion. Wine and beer are available and there is live music on certain days. At the other end of the Riverwalk, also with outside seating, is the Pier 22 restaurant.
On a lovely sunny morning, we made our way to Perico Preserve. Those of us who live in Manatee County are fortunate to be able to choose from among 12 nature preserves, all with trails for walking and some biking. Perico Preserve was created from farmland and has been transformed to include wetlands and scrub along with blinds for better bird watching overlooking the bay. It’s not far from Robinson Preserve and one of the trails we didn’t take connects to it.
Unlike other local preserves, Perico does not allow any dogs, and bicycles are limited to just certain parts of the trail. It’s a very quiet spot, only a few other people were around, and we enjoyed being in nature here. For my sister and brother-in-law, active birders, it was a chance to see a variety of songbirds as well as ibises, egrets, and blue herons.
Some of my readers will recall the satirical political TV series hosted by David Frost, “That Was the Week that Was,” affectionately dubbed TW3. Certainly, this past week in the U.S. was a TW3! From the announcement of Amy Coney Barrett to the revelations about Trump’s tax returns to the embarrassing brawl of a presidential debate to the sight of the president leaving the White House for the hospital, it was a week of drama, outrage, and high emotion. With such a muddle of events, one wonders what will happen in the few remaining weeks until the election.
In these circumstances, turning to history (in this case, an historical novel) or exploring new places in one’s home state can provide relief and a welcome change from politics.
READING–OVERLOOKED BUT FAR FROM A LIGHTWEIGHT
The Wright Sister by Patty Dann
The Wright Sister is a delightful novel. I felt as if I were living with Katharine Wright and thoroughly enjoyed her company, her musings about her role in Wilbur and Orville’s phenomenal success, and her reflections on life as a married woman.
For her first 50+ years, Katharine was her brothers’ younger sister. After their mother died when she was only fifteen, she became “mother” to them, and ran the household. More than that she worked with them on their first airplane and traveled with them to Europe, acting as their front person or PR man. Of the three, she was the only college graduate (Oberlin), was smart and outgoing, but also constrained by her father’s traditional views. Wilbur died young and then their father. Katharine continued to live with Orville in Dayton until her marriage at age 52 to Henry Haskell, a widower and college friend. At this point, intellectually keen and socially active, Katharine blooms and comes into her own sexually.
Dann’s novel takes the form of Katharine’s marriage diary and her chatty letters to Orville from her new home in Kansas City, Missouri, where Henry is a newspaper editor. Orville was always quirky and strange and became even more so. Author Dann claims not to have done a lot of research, but the novel is true to the basic facts of Katharine Wright’s life. I am now intrigued enough to read another novel about Katharine by Henry Haskell’s grandson entitled Maiden Flight. (~JWFarrington)
EXPLORING THE SUNSHINE STATE
Florida Fling—Bradenton to Zolfo Springs
In the time of Covid, it doesn’t take much in the way of variety to qualify as a fling. This was a mini-fling, possibly just a micro-fling. In any case, the Chief Penguin and I decided we needed to explore a bit more of Florida. Hence, the initial proposal to drive over to Lake Okeechobee for lunch in that area.
After a bit more research on what might or might not be an attraction worth a two-hours plus drive, I proposed we only go as far as Zolfo Springs with a stop in Arcadia on the way. Fortunately, Arcadia came first. It’s a small town, the county seat of DeSoto County, with a distinguished historic district. Especially noteworthy are the county courthouse and the stunning pink arcade building dominating a main street intersection. The arcade houses several purported antique shops along with the Rattler Saloon. It was a quiet morning and I only glimpsed one other pedestrian.
Mary Margaret’s Tea and Biscuit occupies space on the short side of the arcade and boasted a welcoming signboard. It was really too early for lunch, and we didn’t want breakfast. We stuck our heads into the charming quaintly decorated tearoom and inquired of the young hostess about lunch hours. Although it was not quite 10:30, she kindly offered to serve us lunch. There was one lone diner finishing an omelet. Our round table in the corner was a safe distance away. We enjoyed a tuna melt with a green salad and a ham and cheese sandwich and fries and ordered homemade baklava and a scone to go. No one else came in while we were there. It was a most pleasant interlude.
Entry area, Mary Margaret’s
The hostess told us that in season they are very popular. And they serve afternoon tea every day and high tea with 24 hours’ notice. It’s the sort of place that would seem to attract “ladies who lunch.”
Mary Margaret’s dining room
From Arcadia we proceeded the approximately 20 miles to Zolfo Springs. It looked somewhat sad with one closed Mexican restaurant and not much else. In its heyday, Pioneer Park, with a lake and camping, a small museum, and a pioneer village, would have been an attractive Zolfo Springs destination. Now the park looked neglected and, due to Covid, was closed.
On the return drive along part of the Florida Cracker Trail (named for the cowboys cracking long whips who drove cattle west to the coast), we detoured slightly. Our hope was to perhaps get a view of the famed and whimsical Solomon’s Castle. I knew it was closed until October 1, but thought we’d at least get to see the exterior. It’s well hidden down a dead-end road, and all we could view were the gates. Another time, another trip.
