St. Pete and Dunedin, Florida: Toasting Clark Mills – Father of the Optimist Pram Sailboat

Little did we know that a couple of planned stops in the St. Pete metro area would evolve into a celebration of a man whom I never knew… A man whose contributions to the sailing world cannot be understated. Two days after our arrival on the Pinellas Peninsula, we will come to believe that kismet that led us this particular place, on this particular weekend. Continue reading St. Pete and Dunedin, Florida: Toasting Clark Mills – Father of the Optimist Pram Sailboat

Southward We Wander: Tiny North Florida Towns (Part 2)

“It is necessary to leave the impersonal highway, to step inside the rusty gate and close it behind. One is now inside the orange grove, out of one world and mysteriously in the heart of another. And after long years of spiritual homelessness, of nostalgia, here is that mystic loveliness of childhood again.” — Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (Cross Creek, 1942) Continue reading Southward We Wander: Tiny North Florida Towns (Part 2)

Southward We Wander: Tiny North Florida Towns (Part 1)

Taking a little break from blogging our great western road trip, the next few posts will focus on our January road trip to Florida.  Over the course of two weeks, we saw fresh and salt water in colors from black as oil to aqua blue to crystal clear, experienced ecosystems and wild creatures unlike any we’ve seen before, ate a variety of delicious regional foods, had a serendipitous meeting in St. Pete, visited the homes and final resting places of some of our favorite authors, and spent a surprising amount of time shivering from the cool weather. Continue reading Southward We Wander: Tiny North Florida Towns (Part 1)