Tampa - St Pete

We drove from Patrick AFB across the state to Tampa for a too-short visit with Bill & Peggy Bierce. Bill was also a shipmate on USS FDR in the early 60's.

We left Patrick AFB and drove down the coast to Sacred Heart Catholic Church in nearby Indian Beach 

A lovely parish with a "welcoming" walkway!

The tabernacle is "embedded" in this stained glass window that separates the Blessed Sacrament Chapel from the nave. The tabernacle is accessible from either side.

This modern church has large flat-screen TV's on the walls. The lyrics for the hymns were projected as was a short video to end Fr's homily.

Tampa bay is one of the largest in the country but is quite shallow in most places.

We drove to St Petersburg for dinner and passed what Bill jokingly referred to as "the spaceship crash" Peggy corrected him but I can't for the life of me remember the proper name! (Actually, it is the Sun Dome ;-)

We drove along the shore next to the Vinoy House Inn

Straub Park is next to the Vinoy

The Steel Pier - St Pete

The  pelicans can get pushy. These kids had dropped a cell phone and the pelicans "adopted" it. They were flummoxed in attempting to retrieve it until the young woman in the plaid came along and just pushed the birds aside.

The Vinoy House Inn (at left) and some hi rises along Vinoy Park

Even though he grew up in Tampa, Bill still used the GPS built into his new Sienna

The small bay between 2nd Ave & 5th Ave

I don't think this bird was fooled by the decoy!

We ate at a seafood restaurant on Treasure Island right on the  inlet to Boca Siega Bay

Upscale shops line both sides of the inlet

The camera brings out the "ham" in some folks!

The Friendly Fisherman Restaurant

The friendly wives!

The friendly husbands!

The sunset was fabulous!

This crane went from a stretched neck to curved neck - I was afraid he was going to take flight before I got the photo!

Lovers on the boardwalk

The gals in a shop along the boardwalk

Peggy & Bill Bierce

The four of us after dinner

The boardwalk is filled with "separation places" such as this pirate ship (Separation place - a place designed to separate you from your money! ;-)

Bill and Peggy took us to the Colonade in Tampa another night

The Colonade

Tampa across Hillsborough Bay from the Colonade Restaurant

Across the Bay, we watched this cruise ship put out to sea

 Our short stay with the Bierce's was over way too soon. But we had reservations in Kissimmee.

Jax and Cooca Beach

We drove to Jacksonville, Just across the Georgia-Florida border to the Naval Air Station.

NAS Jax is on the West shore of the St John River that winds through this sprawling city.

We walked confidently into the housing office and gave our last name. The desk clerk said "We do not have a reservation for you sir!" I confidently pulled out my Doid and read her my confirmation number. She explained that was not their number since it started with the wrong three numbers! I asked if they had a room, to which she said no. She checked the Navy Lodge down the street - "no joy"!

Just when we thought we were looking at sleeping in the car (seriously, getting a hotel room), she stroked the keys for a while and said "I could put you in one of our cottages if you don't mind moving on Wednesday!" Of course, we jumped at it not really knowing much about it. As you can see from the photos below, the cottages are roomy and very nice!

The cottages are two bedroom units with a screened in sitting area. Modern and roomy, it was a wonderful solution to a sticky problem!

And, they sit adjacent to the base golf course!

The other bedroom has two twin beds. The master bedroom has a queen bed.

By the way, I called the toll free reservation number. Our reservation was at NAS Pensacola! I was able to cancel with no penalty!

We were just down the street from the base Catholic Chapel and attended daily mass. The Chaplain is a retired Philippino who we met last year. He actually remembered the two of us!  

The highlight of the week was a lunch with Harold "Butch" and Ginger Jonas downtown. This fountain is in Museum Circle where the restaurant is located.

We met Butch and Ginger at the River City Brewing Co. 

What a location! What a view!

RCBC is an upscale micro-brewery with a very unique menu

Butch and Bob served on the USS FDR in the early 60's and became reacquainted just last year.

About the most elegant key-lime pie ever! The lattice is Carmel candy and was very edible! And the pie was delicious!

This is the view we had out the window as we ate!

The restaurant is decorated in a nautical motif, complete with this carved figurehead 

When we left Jax, we headed south to Patrick Air Force Base just south of Cocoa Beach.

We decided to drive Highway A1A along the coast.

Highway A1A runs right along the coast much of the way between Jax and Cocoa Beach

Much of the way is dotted with some pretty big houses (or small mansions?)

And many, many hotels, condos, and the like!

Near Daytona, more commercial establishments are seen.

At Patrick AFB, we walked along a nice path paralleling the Banana River.

Patrick AFB started it's life as Banana  River Naval Air Station. The seaplane ramps are still in place. The river provided a protected place to land the large seaplanes.

After a brief two days at Patrick (just enough time for a round of golf!), we headed on to Tampa!

Savannah & Good Friends

We reluctantly left Charleston and headed south for the short drive to Savannah.  (We spent a short week in Savannah last year, so we weren't so concerned with sightseeing this year.)
Our primary interest was seeing our good friends Matt & Jen Williamson. We were privileged to be their marriage prep couple when they still lived in Indy. 

We met Matt & Jen for mass at the Cathedral in Savannah. Even though they live in Statesboro, they drive in each week for mass here.

When you step into the Cathedral, you can easily see how you could fall in love with this church!

The Stations of the Cross are individual sculpted statues!

A number of beautiful murals adorn the walls - here the Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. 

The Sanctuary is classic in it's beauty and is likely the remnant of the pre-Vatican II days

The stained glass is also fabulous - here the Assumption.

We sat to one side essentially right in front the magnificent crucifix.

And of course, the Cathdera- the chair of the Bishop - from which the Cathedral gets its name.

 

After mass, Matt & Jen treated us to a fabulous brunch buffet at the nearby DeSoto hotel - one of the landmarks of the city! We paused in the hotel lobby for photos!

 

 When we said good-bye to the Williamson family, we headed south to Jacksonville.