Mike and Katie Visit St. Pete

My nephew Mike and his wife Katie are vacationing in Florida during Katie's spring break from teaching high school.  Visiting relatives in the Tampa Bay area, I got to spend some time with them (and Linda) here in St. Pete!

They have been staying with Linda and Louie in Bradenton, and drove up to St. Pete this morning.

As per my modus operandi, we went for a long walk so I could show some of the local sights.  We walked up to Coffee Pot Bayou, over to the Bay and to downtown.

We stopped at the north end of North Shore Park, where the Bayou meets the Bay, to check out the time on the sun dial.

Lunch at Moon Under Water.  Relaxing from the walk in the sun!

My blackened chicken tabouleh salad.

About to enjoy lunch!

After a short walk down to the Demen's Landing area, we stopped for dessert at Paciugo.  A must when visiting St. Pete!

Oh yeah!

Sunny With a Chance of Smoke

Brush fires burning in the northern part of Florida resulted in a smokey morning here in Tampa Bay.  News reports stated that over 25,000 acres have burned west of Jacksonville.

This is the view from the front of my apartment, looking east towards Tampa Bay.

This shot is looking north towards Coffee Pot Bayou.

Caught some new blossoms on the way.

The bridge to Snell Isle over Coffee Pot Bayou.

Looking across to Snell Isle.

Saw this Mama and her babies in the Bayou.

 A nice way to begin the day.

On our morning walks we usually see this workout class of moms.

Last weekend was the Funk Fest.  Here preparations are being made for this weekend's Blues Festival.  Next weekend is the Main Sail Arts Festival.  Busy time of year in Vinoy Park!

I'm glad I don't have to do this to clean the windshield on my VW Rabbit!

Grayl's Hotel is undergoing major   renovations.

This tree is next to the Museum of Fine Arts.  The red flowers are all gone.

View from my seat outside of Starbucks.

Grayl's Hotel again.

Jedi masters.

I cannot control myself.  I had close to 18,000 photos on my computer and I'm in the process of whittling that number down.  Got around 15,000 now.  And here I go, adding more!

Honda Grand Prix Parade 2012

Last night was the illuminated night parade, as part of the festivities of the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg 2012.  We walked down to meet Pete at the Keller Williams 'Hot Spot' for a buffet before the parade.  Spotted these flowers on the walk down.

I chose a vantage point on Beach Drive on the northwest corner of Beach and 2nd Ave North.

Looking across the street, there is Kevin, Joe, Pete and Chase.  I'm not sure where Dave is.

Caught this color guard in passing.

It was a very slow moving parade and I did become a bit bored after a while.  We left the parade a little earlier and headed back to the KW office to sit and chat.

We didn't hang around for the fireworks, but after I was back in my apartment, I could hear them going off, albeit about a half hour late.  They finale was just after 10:00 PM.

I attempted to get more pictures of the race car drivers, but it was getting too dark and I could only catch a clearer photo if they were at a stop, so I missed most of them.  :-(

Tomorrow morning I'll be able to hear the roar of the engines when I wake up.  Practice starts at 8:05 AM!