starting up the Gulf Coast of Florida
After we made it to the tip of Florida we headed up the west side, the Gulf Coast. This provided plenty of opportunities to spend more time in the swampy, multi-storied tight growth where everything is that extra big that is associated with tropical forests as well as on the actual Gulf Coast beaches where the water is much gentler than on the Atlantic side. The gentle water makes for better shelling (they aren't being pulverized by the waves), but they say the best shells, the largest, whole shells are several feet out, your supposed to feel them with your feet, then scoop them up. Sounds simple enough, but it was in the 50s - 60s with a stiff breeze so the thoughts of getting in the water was just not that appealing. Given our options, we were happy with what we could find washed ashore. However, our search for shells introduced us to another curiosity of the Gulf Coast beaches. They typically have only one tide a day and the difference between low and high tide can be less than a foot. Initially we were very confused trying to figure out when high and low tide would be. Call me naive or uninformed, but I assumed there were two tides everywhere and there was a pretty significant difference between the two. So, of course I had to do some research to figure this out. Well, It turns out that there are some places in the world that are considered “non-tidal”, the tides are so insignificant they aren't even noted! Several seas qualify as non-tidal: the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Baltic, Black and the Caspian. And of course there are other places where the tides can be nearly 30’ between low and high tide. Who knew? I learn something new everyday!
We took advantage of being near some larger population centers and went to some museums, the Dali in St Petersburg and the Ringling in Sarasota. But not to worry, we also spent time in the Big Cypress Reserve, the Audubon center, the Koreshan SP (more on that later …) and Sanibel and Captiva Islands as they continue in their recovery from hurricane Ian in 2022.
On to pics:
Our first stop was the Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. It had miles of boardwalks throughout the swamp. A red-bellied woodpecker greeted us.
Red-shouldered hawk looking for lunch
and doing a little preening
great crested flycatcher
a swamp lily
cypress “knees”
red berries ❤️
a cute little brown lizard
a blue-gray gnatcatcher
pileated woodpecker (these guys always look prehistoric to me)
the gorgeous anhinga. I think they look like an art deco design...
Except for the tufts of feathers on their heads. These make me think of a crazy, absent- minded professor haha 😂
little blue heron
And this guy looked like he'd been there forever, he even had moss on his back. Haha
As if all that hadn't been enough … we saw a painted bunting!!!
So stunning!
We had a chance to visit a good friend from Williston, Joseph Dubios, and not only shared dinner but got to see his winter digs, a lovely condo overlooking a pond. I thought the best part was that it was next to a wildlife sanctuary, but I believe Joseph thought the best part was the pool where he swims daily (and the fact that he is out of the cold Vermont winters. Haha.) Of course, it's also a great place for Rebecca and the girls to escape to whenever they can. A win win for all of them!
We went to Sanibel and Captiva Islands in search of shells and a more natural setting … what we found were the islands in recovery from hurricane Ian which did a tremendous amount of damage to the Gulf coastal areas. We also found birds and some shells willet
ruddy turnstone
willet playing in the surf
another ruddy turnstone
and a beautiful sunset.
Koreshan State Park.
We camped at this park which has a rather interesting history. Yes, it is about a community separated from the rest of society. But no, the leader's name was not David and it didn't end in a terrible fiery shootout with authorities. That was in Texas. This community had some really “unusual” (read that as bizarre) tenents balanced against practices that one would typically think of in a positive way. It was an industrious society with neat well crafted and tended buildings and grounds and they placed an emphasis on cultural activities, science and gardening (especially flowers). A few of the more atypical beliefs: families were welcome, but were not allowed to live together. The men lived in one building, the women in another and the children separately from the men and women. Most of the men ended up leaving their families, but many women stayed. Everyone worked until mid-afternoon, then had the late afternoon and evening to attend to the cultural aspects of their lives. They had orchestras, ensembles, choral groups, theater, art and dance performances. The women and girls were always dressed in white. The community buildings were neatly laid out, with a mill, a printing press and they even provided their own electricity. They were interested in science, but sorely missed the mark on a few important points. They believed their leader, (who did get to live in a house with his children) was immortal. Their faith was tested when he actually died, but they kept his body laid out in a room and they watched and waited for his resurrection. The state of Florida finally had to come in and physically remove his body after a week or so because it was starting to decompose and being Florida, was emitting a rather unpleasant odor. I am not making this up! The last member of the community died in the 1960s and the land was deeded to the state (as long as they maintain it).
But the most bizarre thing they believed, was that the surface of the earth was on the inside of the globe and that “space”, the moon and stars, were inside the earth. Below is the globe they used to demonstrate this. I had a lot of trouble believing that there was a relatively large community in the early 1900s, which although was forward thinking and well educated, could believe that. Oi vey 🙄
some pics from the Koreshan community and grounds
the entrance gate - note the attention to design, detail and craft
Dali Museum in St Petersburg One should go just to experience the building and grounds, the architecture and design, even if you're not a big fan of Salvador Dali. His creativity, playfulness, fun, skill, technique, vision and brilliance are all on display. The outside of the museum has large glass shapes protruding from a plain concrete panels. You already know you're in for a unique experience and you haven't even gone inside yet.
Out in the garden are several sculptures that could be taken from some of his paintings.
This is the outside of the building where films of his life, growth and inspirations as an artist are shown
And inside the museum, the unsupported spiral staircase he designed.
Thr painting below is of his sister. The first painting was lovely. But then the passionate Latin temperament (he was Spanish) flashed when they had a “falling out” (over his girlfriend/wife, ). He was "quite" angry with his sister and felt betrayed. He tried to scratch away the painting, but then decided to re-paint it, leaving just her face from before and painting her the way he currently felt about her, mean and rigid and dark and ugly… I thought it was fascinating. Note to self: if anyone ever paints my portrait, make sure they like me and aren't mad at me first! Haha!
The painting below is an example of his mind at its most genius. Look at it closely and it is a nude of a woman looking out the window at a blue sea as the sun is setting or rising with a few random squares of colors used and a tiny pic of Abraham Lincoln. Look even more closely at the 'sun' and it's actually a view of Jesus on the cross, looking down from above. Then … if you look at the painting from a distance … it's actually a portrait of Abraham Lincoln. There were several paintings of this style, paintings hidden in other paintings and they weren't all with blocks/squares/pixels. I thought it was really genius to be able to do that.
This was one of my favorites. Archeological Reminiscence of Millet’s Angelus
Another view of the unsupported spiral staircase.
There was also a section of Impressionists work. I've included a sampling of my favorites
The Lane to Port Lligat with View of Cap Creus by Dali
Algerian Girl by Renoir
Antilbes (Afternoon Effect) by Monet
Bridge in the Mountains by Jean Babtiste Armand Guillaumin
Mother nature was not to be outdone by the artistry inside and added to the opulence of color by putting on a show outside
Hibiscus
Our last stop was the Ringling Museum in Sarasota. It is on the estate of John Ringling, his (ahem) "winter home", right next to his brother’s. Martin was very excited about this museum … I was a bit more reserved. A circus museum? Why would I want to go to a circus museum??? He was (as almost always) correct . It was an amazing place! There was the circus stuff, info about how they would travel by train from town to town and all the logistics that were involved, a carved miniature traveling circus, interactive exhibits like putting on clown makeup and learning to walk on a high wire (I was a big failure at that, haha), the actual train car they traveled on. Then there was the mansion, right on the bay, think roaring 20s, Great Gatsby, flapper dresses and cocktails. And then there were the gardens, big, big gardens, but Jan isn't the best time for gardens so we'll skip over them. But, then there was the art! Art you say? At a circus museum?? Yes. It also is the official state art museum of Florida, the Ringling Museum of Art and is run by Florida State University. Really, Martin hit it out of the park with this one!
the entrance
I've been really fascinated with glass as art lately. The next three pics are of completely different styles. Although this was difficult to capture in a photograph, it was a stunning piece.
I loved all the little pieces and parts, so much texture!
and an old fashioned diner.
The next couple of pics are from the miniature circus, which was made as a reproduction of the Ringling Bros circus, (mealtime). The cookhouse was always the first tent to set up. They served 1300 meals three times a day! That's a lot of prepping and baking and cooking and washing. They would place their food order in each town ahead of their arrival. A typical order to feed all 1300 x 3 would be: 2 barrels of sugar, 30 gals of milk, 50 bushels of potatoes, 110 dozen oranges, 226 dozen eggs, 200 lbs of tea and coffee, 285 lbs of butter, 350 lbs of salad, 1300 lbs of fresh veggies, 2220 loaves of bread, 2470 lbs of fresh meat and 3,600 ears of corn!!! Now that's really a lot of food to handle on a daily basis. It makes our church’s Chicken Pie Supper seem like a piece of cake. Haha. Just kidding, everyone!
an elephant blanket - the work was gorgeous, but it weighed over 200lbs!
Here I am trying out for the “high wire” act …
BIG FAIL! Guess it's too late for me to join the circus 😂😂😂
Tri-colored heron just hanging out
with a great egret
Not much was blooming, but I found a few things 😃
Loved the contrast of the purple and green leaves.
The tour of the mansion
I loved the stained glass…
all the stained glass
and the reflections
The drive was lined with these trees and marble cupids
except … if you look closely, you'll see that this tree has “consumed”, I mean is “hugging” a cupid. Yikes!
More circus stuff. Wagon wheels
The train
Next stops: continuing up the Gulf Coast of Florida with stops at Manatee Lake SP, Manatee Springs SP, St. George Island SP and St Andrew SP with a day trip to Shell Island. That pretty much brought us to the end of the panhandle.
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