I’ve been in Florida for most of February now. My friends and family have been great tourist guides, and some of the sights I’ve seen are worth noting.
First was Destin, where I had the chance to savor looking at and walk on the beach. There’s nothing like the sight of the ocean—Gulf of Mexico in this case—to ease the winter mind. And I need not comment on warm sand on your feet—heaven!
After Destin, I ventured down to Alva, an eastern suburb of Fort Myers. Driving to Sanibel Island, I saw a bit of the destruction of Hurricane Ian. This bit is on the mainland.
The islands are coming back, but slowly. My mental picture of Sanibel was very far from reality. It was and is much more heavily vegetated than I had imagined, which likely made it lovelier before and harder to clean up after.
On our sojourns in the area, which were often centered on food, I was struck by differences in the culture from what I’m used to. I learned about food trucks when I lived in DC, and Chicago has a few, but they are mobile and in fact move from place to place. In Fort Myers they are fixed in place and often elaborately decorated, with an awning out front, maybe a picnic table, often strings of lights. I didn’t get many pictures because we were always moving. The other notable phenomenon is the jacked-up pickup trucks. I think there must be some kind of competition for who can have the biggest tires and the highest truck. The one shown below is not the highest I saw but it captures the spirit.
After a week being wined and dined in Alva (the only bad thing being the Chiefs' loss in the Super Bowl, but we’ll be back), I headed north to Palm Harbor, which is in the Tampa Bay metro area north of Clearwater. This is my home-away-from-home until I head north and back to my real home next week.
A few days ago we ventured down to St. Pete to go to museums. First was the Museum of the American Arts and Crafts Movement. Based on the founder’s personal collection, it has furniture, tile and pottery, lighting, and other objects created during the first part of the 20th century. The last item below is a painting by Louis Tiffany entitled “Gossipy Women at Nuremberg.” I didn’t know he painted. Much of the collection reflects Art Deco design. And the building itself is worth seeing.
After a quick lunch, we went to the Imagine Museum. This one houses an amazing collection of glass art, with some things made of fabric as well. There is a surprising number of items representing Japanese culture. This first one is a magnificent crystal kimono.
On the left above is a detail of a silk kimono. On the right is a group of 1000 glass heads of Buddhas, which reminded me of one shrine we saw in Kyoto. There the 1000 Buddhas were life-size and complete figures.
There were several pieces by Chihuly and other glass artists. All in all, a very fun place.
Most of my time has been spent seeing friends and family. I’ll write about that in a separate post.
Who needs to travel when one can follow your adventures! Your suitcase must always be packed.
You write beautifully.
Susan Diamonds
Thanks Francie—appreciate the great photos, especially of the museum art! Enjoy the good weather! Deb