Saturday Doings

I recently found out about a walking/running organization that organizes Saturday morning outings in different areas of St. Pete. This morning the group was meeting in the parking lot at the pool in the North Shore Park, just up the street on the Bay. Since I've been walking all around there, I figure it would be nice to meet others that shared a similar interest. It was a bit overcast when I left my apartment around 8:45 am, so I decided to drive, rather than walk, to the parking lot. I was wondering just how big this group was when I was approaching the park and saw police cars blocking the street, and the street filled with thousands of people walking! I saw that I couldn't get anywhere near the parking lot, so I took a right onto 9th Avenue NE and luckily a car was just pulling out of a spot! I managed to make my way across Beach Drive, weaving thru the throngs. I learned that the walkers were there for a Race for the Cure event. So, it was a great turnout for that, but fortunately, the group I sought was much smaller!

I headed across the park towards the Bay where I saw two guys waiting near one of the benches. They kind of looked like they were there for the same reason I was....sneakers on their feet....a dead giveaway! I approached them and asked if they were there for the Saturday morning walk with the Frontrunner Group, to which they said yes. They introduced themselves and I realized I had met them one Saturday night a couple weeks ago when I was out with some friends. Another one of those small world things. They moved to St Pete last spring from the Midwest. Eventually others showed up and there were about a dozen of us. We did brief introductions and then headed north along the Bay, rounded onto the walk along Coffee Pot Bayou up to the park, and then turned around and headed back. Took about an hour. Got to talk with some nice people that all had moved here from one place or another. I was talking with one guy who grew up in Vermont and he told me that during the summers when he was a kid, he would spend summers with his aunt in Colonie...the town where I grew up!

After the walks, the group usually goes out to breakfast. They originally had planned to go to the Dome, but because of all the people there for the Cure walk, they figured it would be impossible to get in, so planned to go to the St Pete Diner instead. I graciously bowed out, because I had wanted to go to the Saturday Morning Market which began today and runs every Saturday thru late May. So, I drove back to my apartment, picked up my camera and headed downtown.


It is a nice market with all types of food vendors, crafts, produce, plants, clothing and musical entertainment. I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! I walked around for a while, had a cup of coffee, was going to get a veggie/curry crepe, but then thought about the food in my refrigerator, so instead just had a guava pastry from the Cuban booth. YUM!!! I can see this being a regular activity!