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continuing this series of articles from Ruby on her holiday in Florida... Towards the end of the first week
As usual we had our morning swim and sunbathe before motoring south to a little neck of land that runs down to St Pete Beach where we had lunch perched on a platform overlooking the water which nearly surrounds the peninsular. Looking East you could see Tampa Bay across which the Sunshine Skyway Bridge was built to join up St Peterburg with Brackenton further south. This bridge 15.1 miles long and causeway sweeps across the Bay. The main ship span is 19 stories above the water and 1200 feet long, making it the longest precast concrete span in the western hemisphere. The causeway has excellent facilities for fishing, swimming and picnicing. There is so much more interesting information about this bridge on the internet and plenty of websites, should you wish to find it. The first time one drives along this bridge you feel you are actually driving along a road which takes you up into the sky on water. Wonderful! But you soon find out you don't reach heaven that way. It was a very hot afternoon, well in the 90°'s and it was wonderful to drive back to visit Gretchen's brother and his lovely wife and swim in their pool. The house was by the Intercoastal Waterway at Indian Rocks so again we had water on both sides. I found it strange that although Florida was having one of its longest droughts for some years, and were undergoing restrictions on the use of water, when wherever you looked water was all around you!! That evening we again sallied forth to meet up with some of Kent and Gretchen's friends and family at a Pizza Restaurant, this was beautiful and cool, just what was needed and it was great fun. Everyone ordered their own pizza and knowing something of American portions of food I ordered the smallest I could find as the size seemed to be measured by the size of the plate. As these were brought in they got bigger and bigger starting with mine which was as large as any plate I have. They nearly all had different fillings and a bowl of salad with each one. Pretty soon there was a lot of tasting what someone else had, this was lots of fun and you seemed to end up with more than you started with. However the Americans seem to be used to people who have difficulty with their huge portions so if you wish they quickly produce a box in which you place your left overs to take home! It seems such a good idea as pizzas travel well. It was a great evening, after which we all set out for Madeira Beach to watch the sun set over the Gulf of Mexico from John's Pass. It was a magical sight, a deep blue sky with the sun gradually sinking, throwing out a golden gleam which deepened to a red glow everywhere. As this ball of fire gradually reached the sea the red glow darkened and the sun slipped down under the water and was lost, leaving the world completely dark. It was a weird feeling. We all wandered back to Jack's Bar from where we watched the Dolphins at play in the water. It was another wonderful day. Another day another swim, another visit to another Mall. These are so pleasant and they make it a pleasure to shop, with no hassle you can browse for hours. Soon it was home for lunch. Guess what it was? Pizza, made extra nice by Gretchen's home made tomato sauce, this was quite something. We then visited Gretchen's mother and father, a delightful elderly couple who lived quite near. From here we drove around to their previous house where they were living at the time they visited us. It looked very English, lying back from the road amidst the trees and from there we came to the Heritage Village Historical Museum, a 21 acre, open air historical village and museum located in the heart of the Pinellas County. This seemed to be an interesting place to visit but it was closed. I hope to see it sometime next week. The road in which it was located was called Walsingham as was the house but I don't think it had any connection with Walsingham in Norfolk. We now had an evening out with Gretchen and Kent for Tony and Jane to say goodbye as they had to fly to New York the following day to link up with the choir from Portsmouth with whom Jane was to sing during their tour. It had been a wonderful week, so much to see, and to meet so many nice people. Sadly Friday had arrived and we had to take them to the Airport to catch their flight to New York but not before we had visited Kent and Gretchen's place of work. The building was a private block of offices, smart and well kept and wonderfully cool inside, divided into workshops and offices where CD's were made from start to finish. It was interesting to see a product going through all the stages of production until all packed up ready for dispersal. Both Kent and Gretchen worked there, also their son Matt whom we had met during the week, always good company. Time was passing and we were now on our way to the airport. This was a beautiful building, large and easy to find one's way about and plenty of facilities, but now it was goodbye, have a good journey. Ruby Bullock |
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page last updated 1 OCTOBER 2000 |
