Early March - Florida 2018

We go to the Crooked Thumb Brewery before dinner on a Thursday after Joanne leaves. We can ride our bikes, it’s less than a mile away. It’s been here three years but we just discovered it this year. It’s on 10th Street, north of the railroad tracks. It’s a nice place, a big open space with brewery cats. I get a s’mores beer; its chocolaty, with none of that bitter hops taste. It has a pretty high alcohol content, so I’m biking home drunk. Lee gets something very hoppy but that’s what he does. We’ll do it again, there’s more chocolate beers to try!

The next evening we try a wine bar downtown called Sip The Wine before dinner. Lee is indulging me; he has completely lost interest in wine and only drinks beer with an occasional martini nowadays. This place has something called machine wines. It’s not new, but new to me. Wine bottles are placed in a machine driven by a chip card. You put the card into a slot and select either a sip, gulp or pour from about 40 different wines ranging from Chardonnay all the way to ports. They also have snacks and regular bottles of wine, and some beer as well.

We get a cheese plate and I get a card and go to work. I do all sips, being a lightweight that would like a lot of different tastes. I start with an Alberino, a Spanish white. It’s fine, nothing special. Then a Russian River Pinot Noir, excellent. And a Twomy Red Zinfandel from Napa, also fabulous. From there I try a rioja that’s on sale. Tastes like it too, bleah. Then a good red blend that was aged in bourbon barrels. Then a Cabernet. I thought I might go back and get a larger glass of either the Twomy or the Russian River but I’m done. 

This was fun, we’ll go back. Next time we might try the popcorn snack!

On Saturday we have an adventure. We ride our bikes all the way over the causeway to Rocky Point Road, basically Tampa, 11 miles there so 22 miles total. We eat lunch at Pearly’s. It’s the same as the one in Clearwater. It’s tucked away in a little resort/condo thing, at their pool. I think you could walk right in, eat at Pearly’s and hang out at the pool, but hard to say. By the time we get home I’m tired, but not too bad. I’m a little worried about my 18 mile run tomorrow, however!  My quads are tired. But I figure this is a good simulation for Boston, where running downhill for the first half is hard on your legs.

On Sunday it’s nice and cool so I don’t have to get up really early. I start at 6:30 AM. I do the first 8 miles at an easy pace, the next 8 at marathon pace. I’m doing really well except for an upset tummy that forces me to stop and use several portapotties along the way. The last two miles are back to an easy pace but my legs are really tired. It’s a good thing it’s 18 miles and not 26.2!

After we go to Marker 39 for brunch. A mimosa and eggs Benedict with sweet potato hash for me, Lee gets pulled pork tacos and a Bloody Mary. Then I lay around all afternoon. I’m TIRED! But it’s good that the dogs need an afternoon walk, my legs need a little movement.

On Monday Diane and Dennis come over. The dogs are overjoyed, they love seeing Diane. We go to see the sunken gardens in St. Pete. This is a garden built into a sink hole, kind of a cool idea. There are lots of plants, most with name tags so we can know what they are, not that I remember! There are birds too, parrots and pink flamingos mostly.

The flamingos have a lot of personality, the parrots are sleepy and grumpy looking. In one pond is a giant turtle with moss growing all over him. There are also very large carp in another pond.

Then it’s back to Safety Harbor and to Whistle Stop for lunch. We have burgers all around. All told just a very fun day. I wish we had managed to get together again, but there’s always next year!

On Wednesday the weather turns dramatically cooler. It rained during the night, for the first time since the first week in February . We ride our bikes to the Phillie's ball field to watch them play the Red Sox. We carefully got seats that would be in the shade and then ended up freezing. We only lasted about 4 innings in those seats and then went and stood in the sun. Fun game, however the Sox committed 3 errors and lost; I think they have a little work to do! 

This is followed by several cool and lazy days. I run 14 miles, 10 @ marathon pace, and I nail it. Is it too ambitious? If the weather is perfect, no. That’s a big if isn’t it?!?

Sunday again, we go to the Beer Brunch at Crooked Thumb. I have a beermosa and it’s good. Lee gets a regular beer, and then a chocolate coffee porter. It smells like coffee, but just tastes like beer to me. We place our brunch orders and sit in the sun, people watching. A lab rescue organization has set up shop. They have several large friendly labs to pet. I’m so glad our dogs are a smaller more portable size! The brunch people are doing all the food in a tent. They have one cook and each order is carefully made by hand. It’s take a looonnng time, but just when I start to get really hungry out it comes. It’s excellent. I gobble up my French toast and eat part of Lee’s eggs and cheesy hash browns too.