On Saturday we wandered around the outdoor market, which included a bike repair booth...
Also on Saturday was the March For Our Lives which we participated in. It was very well attended and very powerful - the kids making speeches were nothing short of amazing. I took a couple of videos (which as always won't embed properly here), but I neglected to take plain old photos with the exception of this truck with lots of stickers on it.
And now we're in St Pete, our last destination on the west coast of Florida before we turn south again to head for home. Everyone told us this would be a great place to visit and they were right! We've packed a lot of fun things in our first 5 or 6 days here. We're on a mooring ball in the Vinoy Basin which is right in the heart of downtown and within walking (or trolley) distance of just about everything. So for $17/day, we have a safe place to leave the boat while we go explore, nice clean, hot showers, a laundry room, a lounge (where I'm sitting now, electronic devices charging and connected to free wifi), a trolley stop steps from the dinghy dock (which requires key access), and the entire city at our fingertips.
It's striking how much new construction there is in the downtown area. St Pete has a lot of interesting architecture and there's a strong focus on further developing an already very attractive waterfront with expansive green space with various venues for public enjoyment. The parks are used to host live entertainment like music festivals and art shows. Next weekend there will be a jazz/blues festival on the waterfront near the Vinoy and we expect to be able to hear everything from the boat, sitting in the cockpit with wine and appetizers!
Here are some photos of buildings in the downtown area, clicked on the fly with my trusty iPhone.
A nearby brick and wrought iron "Comfort Station" that is as attractive and pristine on the inside as it is on the outside...
Quirky decors, multi-ethnic eateries, craft beer tap rooms, etc, etc...
Architectural styles from Mediterranean Renaissance to super contemporary...
And some nice touches like these marine creatures gracing light poles on an urban walkway...
On the north side of the Vinoy Basin mooring field is the famous pink Vinoy Park Hotel. For 18 years prior to about 1973, the hotel was abandoned - picked over by scavengers, occupied by the homeless, and infested with insects and rodents. Finally a group of investors succeeded in restoring the hotel to its former glory.
St Pete is home to many types of tourist attractions, including internationally-known museums. We spent an entire day at the Dali Museum, whose collection surpasses even those we've seen in Salvatore Dali's Spanish homeland. The museum building and outdoor gardens are stunning, and the docent who led us through the Dali collection was excellent (Jean Pierre - very engaging - complete with a French accent, curled mustache, red bowtie and fabulous sense of humor). Although I'm not a big Dali fan, I truly enjoyed the entire day - well worth it if you're ever here!
The museum garden overlooks the marina
This is the exterior of the museum from distance
Yesterday we went to Imagine, a museum dedicated to glass art and the history of glass-making in America from about the 1960s to present. Again, I can't capture in a photo the beauty of many of the pieces than need to be seen from various angles and perspectives in moving light. Some videos are on my Instagram account. Here are some photos -
And this morning we went to the St Pete Market, so this is the end of photos for this post!!
