February 24 - March 11, 2026 - Golf Cart Work; Farmers Market; Mayors Park; Cookies; Carlene & John Arrive; Sarasota Visit; Dunedin Festival; Cardinals Spring Training; Mahuffers

My Blog Reflection

Time is like a river. You cannot touch the same water twice because the flow that has passed will never pass again. Enjoy every moment of your life.

Harsh Goenka

February 24, 2026:

I purchased tickets today for the spring show here at the park. I participated last year as the sound man but not this year because we didn't know if or when we would make it down. Carlene and John will be here and I think they will enjoy the show.

February 26, 2026:

In an effort to further eliminate the bouncing in the golf cart, I obtained two new tires on five bolt lug wheels for $50.00. Neighbor Dave broke the tires off the five bolt wheels and mounted them on my four bolt wheels. We took it for a ride. It was a little better but there is still some bounce. We will live with it. Dave also mounted the tires I bought two years ago onto my old rims for spares. It was a lot of work for him. He wouldn't take anything so I got him a case of his favorite beer.

February 27, 2026:

I noticed that when it rained, or there was a heavy dew, water ran off the edge of the golf cart roof and on to the driver. A lot of water. I took the metal support loose from the fiberglass top and found a six inch crack in the fiberglass behind the support. I'm sure the top is original. It is quite brittle. Over the years I have patched it in several places because I don't want to hunt around for a replacement, which will probably be just as brittle and/or quite expensive for something close to new. I sanded the cracked area and coated it with one of my old favorites - JB Weld. It held nicely so I bolted everything back together.  

February 28, 2026:

We visited the Farmers/Flea Market for the first time at its new location. The market closed down for a while and has reopened on the parking lot of the old dog track, not far from us. Judging from the number of cars when we arrived I'm sure it is going well. There were two rows of farm produce and about six rows of flea market stuff. The outside of the lot was rimmed with food trucks and food tents. The farmers market is interesting because there are a lot of ethnic vegetables and fruits, many of which I couldn't identify.

The food court was all ethnic food except for one tent selling hot dogs. We bought a Laotian item called "Lao Dog". It was a pork based sausage on a stick. It was really good with different spices than we are used to. Next time I come I'm not going to eat breakfast so I can try several different ethnic items.

Kelly bought cucumbers, leaf lettuce, a sweet onion, and a couple of cartons of strawberries. These onions are large and so sweet some people eat them like an apple.

Saturday afternoon there was a Cornhole Tournament here in the park. I didn't sign up to play. I have only played once this year and I was terrible. I didn't want to pull some other player down in the tournament. LOL.  I will play again on Tuesday. 

In the late afternoon Kelly wanted a Margarita with crushed ice. When Chris and Marj sold there camper two years ago they gave us their blender. Marj said it made great crushed ice. We put it to the test for the first time and it almost made snow cone ice. Pretty cool.

The weather has turned much warmer so for supper I grilled a ribeye steak. Kelly made a nice Greek type salad using the cucumbers and onion we bought earlier. Both dishes turned out great. In my old age I just can't eat like I used to. We shared one steak and didn't even eat all of it. Back in the day I would have eaten an entire steak and maybe looked for more.

After supper I did the laundry so I could rest up on Sunday. LOL. If I rested anymore I'd be asleep.

March 1, 2026:

I can't believe it is March already. Our time here is going by quickly. It is a beautiful day so we took a ride over to Mayors Park at Freedom Lake where we walked around the two lakes.

It is about a mile and a quarter around the big lake. We walked around the big lake and the little lake.

The concrete paths around the lakes are all newly poured concrete about six feet wide. Great for walking side-by-side, like us.

In addition to the two lakes there is a huge playground, several large pavilions and two dog parks side-by-side. One is for large dogs and one is for small dogs. I never saw that before.

After our walk we sat on a bench and watched a guy sale his radio controlled sailboat around the lake. Pretty cool. John told me he can never see any videos I post so I made a change to the format. Let me know if you can view this video.

It is a wonderful park only about two miles from our place so we will be back.

Back home we enjoyed a late lunch and the good weather.

March 2, 2026:

A quick trip to the doctor for Kelly and a stop at Salvation Army on the way home where I bought two shirts and two pairs of shorts. Also on the way home we stopped at Publix grocery store to pick up a few items. Only in Florida would you find a display of canes and cane accessories right as you walked into a grocery store. I found that amusing.

March 3, 2026:

This morning I made a double batch of shortbread cookies, Kelly's favorite. They weren't my best effort but they will get eaten. LOL 

I then went to get a haircut while Kelly went to get her nails done. A man's haircut down here is $30.00 plus tip. It seems a little steep to me but she did a nice job. Man I look old with my thinning hair and receding hairline.

March 4, 2026:

In the afternoon we picked up John and Carlene from the airport. After they unpacked at the house we sat in the Florida Room and enjoyed an adult beverage and some hors d’oeuvres Kelly prepared. We then headed to the Fourth Street Shrimp Store in St. Petersburg for a seafood dinner. Here is a picture of John and Carlene as we ordered our dinner. 

This place has never disappointed us and this time was no exception.  It was Carlene’s birthday so after supper we drove to downtown St. Petersburg to get some of “the best gelato in America” at Paciugo Cafe. 

 We sat outside and greatly enjoyed the treat and the evening weather.

March 5, 2026:

After a light breakfast the four of us drove to Sarasota to have lunch with Vicky Lundy, a friend from Perryville who relocated to Florida several years ago. After visiting with her in her lovely home we headed to “Connor’s”, her favorite lunch spot. Here is a picture of the ladies deciding what to order for lunch. 

The food was outstanding and quite reasonably priced. The fourth had been Carlene’s birthday so they provided a cake with ice cream for all of us to share. 

After lunch we headed back to Pinellas Park. Due to the large lunch we skipped supper. We did enjoy a piece of peach pie while watching “Good Night and Good Luck", which I strongly recommend.

March 6, 2026:

Today there is a potluck dinner at the park with the meat being corned beef and cabbage. Kelly and Carlene helped in getting the meat cooked and with setting up all the sides people bring for supper. John and I helped slice the meat and as the people arrived we sold the 50/50 tickets. The money from the 50/50 is used to purchase the meat for each event. After helping clean up the kitchen and hall we relaxed the rest of the evening.

March 7, 2026:

After a light breakfast we headed to the Dunedin, Florida, to check out their annual Seafood Festival. We walked around the market downtown thinking we were at the festival. Kelly bought a couple of loaves of fresh-baked bread. We were all disappointed with the event. Before leaving we stopped for a beer and some hors d’oeuvres. We inquired about the festival and learned that we had been walking around the weekly market, not the festival. We had to walk about a half mile down to the waterfront to find the festival. We walked down to the park.

It was a beautiful day and there was a nice crowd.

 

I was really disappointed in the seafood options. All I saw was crab legs, snow crabs, and lobster rolls. All were expensive. 

After sitting at a picnic table for a while we headed back. Dunedin is an artist town with many nice homes. We drove around the town on the way out. We won’t go back to this festival next year.

March 8, 2026:

After a big breakfast we took advantage of the beautiful day by loading up the chairs and driving  to “Mayors Park”. It is a very nice nearby park with a large lake and walking path all around. We sat by the water and enjoyed the weather.

For supper we cooked ribs and they were outstanding along with a Greek Salad and Peach Pie for dessert.

March 9, 2026:

John had on his “bucket list” to watch a Cardinals “Spring Training” game. They play in Jupiter, Florida. John had purchased tickets for today. We  got up early and made the four-hour drive across the state to the Cardinals training camp and Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Here are the ladies in their Cardinal red headed to the stadium.

Here are a few pictures of our seats, the field, and some players. The Cardinals beat the Orioles 7 - 2.

You can tell we got there plenty early. LOL

We got home late and after a quick snack we hit the sack.

March 10, 2026:

Just a lazy day. Everyone slept in, including me. I slept until 6:30 a.m., which is unheard of.

John and I took apart the Florida Room fan, which only runs on one speed. John read online that 90% of the time this problem is caused by the capacitor going bad. I ordered an exact duplicate of the capacitor from Amazon. It will arrive the end of the week.

John then held the ladder so I could pull the foam filter pieces out of the gutters so they would drain better.

We then headed to Mahuffers Bar down on Gulf Boulevard. Carlene and John had never been there and it is something to see. Dollar bills and underwear hang everywhere. The place is even nastier since the hurricane. Carlene wrote a message on a dollar bill and put it in a pair of underwear.

John couldn't believe what he was seeing. 

From Mahuffers we drove to “The Crab Shack” for supper. We had great appetizers and entrees, bringing a big box home for another day. The traffic was so bad getting out we drove all the way across the bay bridge to turn around. It was nice to see the calm water.

March 11, 2026:

In the early afternoon we dropped Carlene and John off at the airport to end a thoroughly enjoyable visit.

I then did the laundry, picked up a few things at Walmart, and cleaned the sunroof cover which had gotten wet when I went through the car wash with the sunroof not totally closed. I hardly ever open the sunroof and apparently earlier in the day had not closed it properly. Lesson learned.

February 16 - 22, 2026 - Fat Tuesday/Shareholder's Mtg/Beach/Driveway Glue/Der Dutchman/House #s/Garage Sales/Biscotti/Social Sunday

My Blog Reflection

The effect you have on others is the most valuable currency there is.

Jim Carrey

February 16, 2026:

The day started off with the electric going off and on quickly several times then off for about an hour. With no electric I had Cheerios for breakfast. There is nothing going on today. Tomorrow is a different story.

February 17, 2026:

Kelly had her weekly ladies coffee klatch this morning. Men aren't excluded so I joined her once last year. It was clear I wasn't fitting in so I never went back. I don't know if any other guys have ever gone.  

Today being "Fat Tuesday" Kelly purchased "Paczki" (pronounced poonch-key) donuts for the coffee klatch ladies to enjoy. They are a traditional Polish pastry associated with pre-Lenten celebrations. They are richer, denser, and more indulgent than standard American donuts. They are fried dough balls typically filled with jams or custard and coated in sugar or glaze. Here is a picture of a two Kelly saved back for us. 

At 10:00 a.m. the park's "Annual Shareholders Meeting" was held in the clubroom. This meeting needs to be well-attended to have a quorum in order to conduct business. To help generate attendance they provide free coffee and donuts. Nothing like "free" to attract old people. I took the granddaughters with me to the meeting last year and it was a "sleeper". While the girls were really well-behaved, we all had had enough after an hour and left. Most of the meeting consisted of old people bitching or talking to hear their heads rattle.

Today's meeting was no improvement. The big issue was the Post Office requiring that all new residents put mailboxes out at the curb rather than on the house. We had to comply with this directive three years ago when we bought. In conjunction with this requirement the Post Office noted that if there is not a clear path for the mail carrier to drive up to the street-side mail box, the mail will not be delivered. This really put all the residents in a tizzy and they have a valid point. The houses are close together and there is often not enough room to park on the street and leave room for the mail carrier to pull up to each mailbox. As more new residents move in there will be more of these street-side mailboxes and thus even less room to park and more of a problem.  

In my mind the answer to mail delivery is to eliminate all house mail delivery and install a mail "cluster box" for the entire community near the clubhouse. The complaint about that idea was that this is a 55 plus community and many residents cannot get out to go to a cluster box. Interestingly these same people can get out to get groceries, to play cards, to go to the doctor, to go to activities, etc. Obviously, now, if they really can't get out, they have someone go for them. It could be same for picking up their mail. When the Post Office first recommended a cluster box to the park the Post Office would have paid the bulk of the expense, which is in the tens of thousands of dollars for 341 boxes. The community turned the idea down. I believe in the future a cluster box will be mandated and then the park will have to pay the entire cost. Not too smart but old people don't like change, or to be inconvenienced in anyway.

The other big issue at the meeting was about a Canadian couple flying a Canadian flag on their home. Someone "complained" about it. The Board President took it upon himself to tell the couple that they couldn't do that. He told them they had to fly an American flag on top with the Canadian flag below. Of course, this upset these people greatly, as well as many other Canadians in the park. 

A community member obtained the U.S. flag regulations and they state that anyone can fly any country flag they like. However, if they fly an American flag AND another country's flag, the American flag must be on top. The Board President was told by the attendees, and by the rest of the board, who apologized to the couple involved, that he was wrong. This whole issue reminded me of Trump unnecessarily pissing off the Canadians with his antics. Just stupid. About a third of the park is owned by Canadians. We all get along wonderfully. Canadian flags have been flying here for years. We fly a "Friendship Flag", which is half U.S. and Canadian.

The weather is beautiful today. I was going to play Cornhole this afternoon but Kelly's ultrasound appointment got moved up so I missed it this week.

February 18, 2026:

It is another beautiful day and there is nothing on the agenda so we decided to pack some drinks and head to Fort DeSoto Beach. It is not the closest beach but we like it because it is huge, not crowded, and always has lots of parking. 

I don't know what it costs to get in now. As we entered the park there was no attendant. A picture was taken of our license plate and it stated they will send a bill. In years past you paid an entry fee per car and that included your parking. Now, in addition to the entry fee, parking is $6.00 for the day. You pay it a kiosk. This is all new. 

It was a little windy on the beach but quite pleasant to sit out and enjoy watching the water.  

Kelly put her feet in the water for a very short period of time. The water was cold.

The tide was coming in all afternoon and kept us entertained.

When I got home I realized I may have gotten a little too much sun on this first time out. I never learn.

After supper we ended the day by watching some more of the Olympics.

February 19, 2026:

The pea gravel in the golf cart driveway tends to roll out on to the carport and sidewalk, particularly after a heavy rain. They make a mulch and rock glue to help with this problem. I thought this product was pricey so I looked for an alternative. I read that you can dilute Elmer's glue two to one and it will serve the same purpose. I bought a gallon and a cheap pump sprayer and yesterday sprayed the outside edge two times. I mixed the first batch of glue and water in the pump sprayer. It didn't mix properly. The glue came out in an eighth inch stream and laid on the gravel like icing on a Hostess Cup Cake. I waited an hour to spray a second coat. This time I mixed the hot water and glue in a gallon jug and shook it a long time before pouring it into the sprayer. It worked better but not the wide spray I would like. It might just be the nature of the beast. I will spray one more time before we leave. I am hoping this glue will also help slow down weed growth in the gravel.

At 4:00 p.m. I went up to the Bocci Ball Court to try playing for the first time. There were two ladies and me were the only ones there. A lady from across the street came up and said there were no games today because there was a party instead. Maybe next week.

    

February 20, 2026:

When I bought our old golf cart one rear shock was broken and one was hanging loose. I purchased four new shocks and installed them, along with new wheels and tires for the back because the ones that came with the cart had slow leaks.

Ever since I installed the wheels and shocks there has been a problem with the cart bouncing as if the shocks were totally worn out. It has been aggravating. I double-checked and I had bought the correct shocks for this cart. I could not understand what could be the problem. 

This morning I was riding around in the cart and spotted Dave, who is an excellent mechanic and jack-of-all trades guy, out working on his cart. I asked if he had a minute for me to pick his brain about my bouncing problem. I explained it to him. He got in the cart and we went for a ride. His thought was that the rear axle may be bent or the tires out of round. Back at his place he jacked the cart up and couldn't see anything mechanically that may be a problem. I told him I had the old wheels and tires in the shed. He sent me get them. 

When I came back he put one of the old wheels and tires on and we took another ride. The bouncing was cut in about half! We came back and he jacked up the cart slightly and he had me give it a little throttle while he looked at the other wheel. He said it appeared to him that the other tire was out-of-round as well. We installed the other old wheel and tire and went for another ride. MUCH LESS BOUNCING! We doubted that the new wheels were out of round but certainly the new tires were. If the old tires don't hold air I will buy two different ones off of Facebook Marketplace. We can then install them on the new wheels. A fix I never would have thought of. It's good to have smart friends.

      

Around noon we drove to Sarasota to have lunch with the members of our Illinois-Missouri RV Club who winter in Florida. We meet in Sarasota because it is about half way for those of us further North and those members further South. We have lunch at "Der Dutchman Restaurant and Bakery", which we have found to work out well. It is a huge facility and there is no problem with us sitting around and visiting after eating. There is a menu but the big draw for all of us is the smorgasbord with many choices of excellent Amish food and desserts. No one goes away hungry. Here are a couple of pictures of folks visiting outside after chowing down. It was good to visit with everyone. Hopefully we will get a couple of campouts scheduled this summer with everyone.

Sarasota is a major winter destination for the Amish. They stay all around the area where the restaurant is located. They ride their bikes everywhere. Most bikes are three-wheelers which they bring down with them on buses. 

A quite different part of Sarasota, is St. Armands Circle, which consists of many upscale shops and restaurants. It is always crowded with locals and tourists. We have been there several times. It is something to see the first time but I have no desire to go back. 

House Number:

Our park rules require that each house have the lot number displayed on the house for emergency purposes. When we bought the house there was a sign on it with numbers and the prior owner's name. She took that with her, which was fine with us. We have our address number on the curbside mailbox but that does not comply with the park rule that the numbers be on the house. To remedy that we purchased a new metal number sign. It arrived this afternoon so I attached it to the house. We love it. It is a little more upscale than Walmart plastic numbers.

February 21, 2026:

A Saturday passtime for us when down here is going to garage and rummage sales. We found a couple and headed out about 8:00 a.m. I have made some great buys in the past - a Keurig coffee maker, a Mexican fish sculpture, an Instapot, tools, etc. 

Today we struck out. The garage sales we went to did not have items that interested us. Kelly did buy a mixing bowl for $1.00. We then stopped for breakfast at Perkins. The big breakfast filled us up until supper. For supper I grilled a rib steak that we brought from home and Kelly made a nice salad to go with it. Both turned out well. We then settled in to watch more of the Olympics.  

February 22, 2026:

We started the day off early watching the U.S. Hockey Team win gold at the Olympics in overtime. What a great game and a great outcome!!!!!

Later in the day I decided to bake some biscotti. We didn't have any raisins nor craisins so I cut up some dried mango we had on hand. Here is a picture of the backed loaf.

Once the loaf cools it is sliced, put back in the oven for another five minutes on each side, and then it is done. Here is a picture of this treat ready for consumption. We like a piece with our coffee in the morning.

I got into making biscotti a couple of years back after buying some from Costco and really liking it. Each time I bake it I vary the recipe a little. Sometimes that works out, sometimes not. This looks to be a good batch.

Social Sunday:

We went to the "Social Sunday" here at the park. It takes place on a Sunday once per month from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. For the price of admission your get a sub sandwich, chips, an ice cream, your choice of beer, wine, or soda, and music. It lasts from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. It is always fun. Here are a couple of pictures of the dancers.

The evening ends by everyone getting in a circle and holding hands while the Canadian and U. S. National Anthems are sung. A nice ending. The weather has turned colder so we wasted no time in getting home.

 

  

 

 

 

  

February 7 - February 14, 2026 - Dehumidifier - Art Festival - Valentine Dance - Happy Hour - Black Music - Greek Festival - Candlelight Concert

My Blog Reflection

No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of others.

Charles Dickens

February 7, 2026:

The new dehumidifier arrived late yesterday afternoon and we got busy unpacking it today. In reading the directions it was obvious that we could not place it in the hallway as we did the old one. It needs to have fifteen inches of air flow on the back side. It would take up too much room where the old one sat. This machine is much more sophisticated than the old one. We placed it in the guest bedroom near the door. We will turn it off when we have guests because it is a little noisy.

Today is the 11th Annual St. Petersburg Fine Art Festival. It is a sunny and a much warmer day so we headed down to the waterfront park to check it out. By the time we got there the crowd was huge. We had to drive around for quite awhile to find a parking space. I finally found a parking meter - $2.50 per hour to park at a meter. Times have changed. I remember putting a quarter in for an hour.

We walked all through the art booths, admiring many pieces which were quite appealing. From there we headed to the waterfront to find a place to sit and enjoy the water. To our surprise there were very few benches provided but we lucked out and found one after walking away from the park. We sat for an hour people watching, enjoying the weather, and watching the sea birds in the water as well as a dolphin or two swimming around. 

We then headed to the "Fourth Street Fish Store" for a late seafood lunch. We have been to this place a number of times over the years and have never been disappointed with the food. Kelly's clam chowder and shrimp were excellent as was my shrimp basket with new potatoes. We will be back.

Once back home we settled in to enjoy the Olympics.

February 8, 2026:

This afternoon we attended a performance of "The Roots of Black Music in America" at the Seminole Library. It was a performance of 100 years of black music in America from 1850 through 1950 performed by Karlus Trapp. Here is Mr. Trapp on the guitar. Additionally he played the piano for certain songs. Chuck Berry, from St. Louis, was one of the last music influences he performed.

I estimated about sixty people were in attendance made up of about fifty women and ten men. I thought that dichotomy was interesting. There were no young people in the crowd. The Seminole Library has these free musical performances once a month. Next month there will be a performance of "Women in Country" music. We plan on attending.

Once home we watched the Superbowl. We were rooting for the Seahawks and weren't disappointed. 

February 9, 2026:

I headed back to the podiatrist while Kelly attended the ladies "Red Hats" meeting at Roberts RV Park. The "Red Hats" are a group of ladies who do service projects, visit with one another, and have lunch once per month. 

February 11, 2026:

We took a drive with Celine and Joann to check on Celina's property near Naples, Florida. She inherited a residential lot many years go from her uncle and hangs on to it as prices escalate. It is a total jungle. I'm sure the neighbors would like to see her sell it to get it cleaned up.

In the evening we attended the "Valentine's Day Dance" here at the park. The music was decent. It consisted of a guy who sang along on many songs with his sound system. There was a nice-sized crowd with a lot of dancers. The room was much darker but I enhanced the picture so you could see people better. Lots of people wore red.

We sat at a table with people we had never met before. They were all quite friendly. I hope I remember their names for future encounters.

I coerced Kelly into getting our picture taken in front of the Valentine decoration backdrop. I think it is a good picture.

We enjoyed the evening. This is something we never do at home - go to dances. The charge is $10.00 per person to pay for the music and decorations. You bring your own bottle and snacks. 

February 12, 2026:

This afternoon we hosted a "Happy Hour" by inviting two couples over who live nearby. One thing we've learned to accept is that in a mobile home park like this there are no "impromptu" gatherings like we had almost every day as RVers. Rvers are out and about, park dwellers are not. We miss that. We had a lovely visit for almost three hours. Mike and Susan are retired teachers. Their home is one a lake in Maine. Dave was a master welder and Renee was an RN. They live on a small lake in Southern Illinois on the Indiana side of the state. We had lots to talk about because they are all anti-MAGA, a respite from the majority of the folks in the park. 

February 13, 2026:

While cleaning the bathroom yesterday one of the plastic brackets holding on the shower door handrail broke. It is plastic. It had broken before and I superglued it. It held for about a year. I was surprised to realize that I had no superglue on hand. A quick trip to Walmart next door took care of that problem. 

The bracket attaches to the door on one end and the handrail on the other. It broke on the edge. The arrows point to the point to where it broke. 

I took the broken pieces off and superglued them to hold them in position so I could melt some additional plastic over the edge to reinforce it. The edge is now a little rougher but much stronger.

Instead of reinstalling it on the same handrail I moved it to the other handrail, which is used much less. It should last forever, but then again it is plastic.

Kelly went clothes shopping with Celina and Joann. She should buy nothing but shopping is a compulsive activity for women. She didn't buy much but had a nice "girls day out". Kelly bought me a bag of Gummy Bears for Valentine's Day. I will share them with her since I didn't buy her anything. I only got her a card.

Today our oldest daughter, Alexa, turned 50 years old and our youngest daughter, Annie, turned 45 years old. They were both born on Friday the 13th, five years apart. A 50th birthday is a big deal and we didn't want Alexa observing it by herself since we are in Florida and her sisters are in California. A few weeks back Annie, Erin, and Kelly and I, pooled our money and sent Alexa on a trip to Sweden where her friend, Aaron, is residing for a while. She will be there a week. We talked with her in the evening and she is having a great visit both in Sweden and Denmark. She noted it is quite cold there. She said a saying there is that "There is no bad weather, only bad clothes". Luckily she took the warm clothes she needed.

Annie's 45th birthday was supposed to be spent in France with her husband, Adam, who was going over on business. Due to tearing her ACL skiing in Tahoe in January, and getting it operated on, that plan went out the window. We talked with her and she was having a relaxing day hanging out with her two girls. They celebrated with an ice cream cake. We sent her a nice "techy" carry-on suitcase for her birthday. It is high tech for today's business travelers. There is a place for your laptop, it has a charging station built in, and a cup holder that folds out. It is much nicer than the carry-on that I purchased for us at the Salvation Army last year.

For several days I have been trying to get in touch with a Canadian friend, Ralph Ross, an RV neighbor we met at Avon Park when we were there a few years ago. We have been visiting with each other ever since. I called and left a message and I emailed him to see if he was in Florida so we could visit. I received no response to either. This was unusual and it gave me a bad feeling. I got online and found that he passed away at age seventy-seven in November of 2025. I have no idea what happened to him and have no one to contact about it. He was a widower with a step-son in Florida for whom I have no contact information. It was a sad ending of the day. I am losing too many friends. 

February 14, 2026:

St. Stefanos Greek Orthodox Church in St. Petersburg held their annual "Super Greek Festival" this weekend. It was a beautiful day so we headed there to get some great Greek food and watch some entertainment.

The festival is all about Greek food and Greek culture. There were a few food and trinket vendors under a huge tent.

The entertainment, and full Greek meals, were inside the auditorium. We wondered around outside for awhile and then went inside where we purchased a couple of Greek beers. The pull tab beer bottles were the first I had ever seen. The beer was quite good.

We found a table and sat to enjoy our beers as we waited for the dancers to begin. 

The first to dance were the children, who did about three different dances. Here are a couple of videos. It is tradition to throw money at the dancers to express appreciation.

For the last dance they encouraged parents, grandparents, and siblings to come up and join in the dancing.

After the children finished their program the adults performed several different dances. Here are some videos. The dancing was quite entertaining and worth the wait. 

After the dancing finished we bought some Greek food from the "Greek Taverna". Here is the menu. It was quite impressive for an event like this. I can't imagine the amount of work that goes into this.

I ordered a "Pastitsio Platter" (Greek style Lasagna) with Greek Salad and Lemon Potatoes sides. All were delicious. Here is a picture before I dug in.

Kelly had "Avgolemono Soup" (chicken, lemon, egg, orzo) and a "Spanakopita" (spinach and cheese phyllo pie). Her items were delicious as well.

Although the many fabulous desserts were tempting, we had left no room. Upon finishing our meal we headed back to the house to sit and digest the great food. LOL

For Valentine's Day Kelly purchased tickets to an evening Candlelight Concert. All lighting was by candlelight, including the steps to the balcony where we sat.

The venue was the "First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg". The church is huge, has all theater seating, a large balcony, and interestingly an industrial feel to it. It must hold a thousand people. Here is a picture of the stage as the musicians played.

The playlist consisted of music from the last thirty years played by a string quartet of three women and one man. 

The church was about half full. I was surprised at how young the audience was but Kelly attributed that to "date night" on Valentine's Day. It was interesting that the dress code ranged from "dressed to the nines" to blue jeans and shorts.

It was an enjoyable evening but not exceptional.