March 21 - 30, 2026: Turtle; Park; Balkan Cuisine; Country Music; Rock; Visit; Ladies Lunch; Fort DeSoto; Packing; No Kings Rally; Social Sunday

My Blog Reflection

I borrowed this reflection from one of the "Embracing our Differences" works of art which will be discussed below.

Getting older may seem terrifying, but only the luckiest people get to experience it.

Minh Le

March 21, 2026:

Returning from a quick golf cart trip to Walmart for some eggs, I came across this turtle crossing the concrete path. She was about the size of a football and was wet from just having left the adjoining holding basin. She definitely was not a land turtle. Considering how thick she was I believe she was headed somewhere to lay her eggs. Look at the bulging area below here shell. So cool.

Kelly found a park in St. Petersburg which is displaying 50 billboard-sized works of art all with messages about "Embracing our Differences". It was a beautiful day so we drove downtown to have a look. The display is set up in a city park next to the University of Southern Florida and a marina.

The first display as you approach describes the process of selecting works for the exhibit. I was blown back by the number of entries from 125 countries, 48 states, and 574 schools. 14,904 entries were received and 51,674 students participated for this 2026 exhibit. What a great project!

Each billboard-sized picture had a message in the bottom left. I should have taken close-up pictures of each message to go with the picture. Here are a couple of my favorites. In the middle at the bottom you can read the name of the picture.

It was quite moving to see these works of art and the sentiment expressed on each. I found it sad that we have to keep reminding ourselves we are all part of the one human race.

The park adjoined a marina. After walking the exhibit we sat on a bench by the water perusing the various boats and yachts moored there. This is just one of the marinas in the area. There are a lot of people with a lot of money and/or a lot of companies with big tax right-offs.

March 22, 2026:

Continuing with Kelly's goal to sample different cuisines while here, we had lunch at Luna Euro Grill and Cafe. It was food from the Balkan area of the world.

The menu was quite different. To start off Kelly ordered a Turkish Coffee before her meal. The way it was served was quite unique. It is extremely strong coffee served with cubes of sugar which you dip in the coffee and then eat. 

Kelly and I ordered their sampler platter called "A Taste of the Balkans". It was a combination of Cevapi, Pljeskavice, Sudzukice, and grilled chicken served with sliced onions and European-style bread. All items were quite good. The bread is freshly baked in house. 

Celina ordered "Burek with Meat, Pita with Cheese", which is made fresh. We were warned that it would take twenty-five minutes to prepare. It is a dish made of sausage and cheese wrapped in pita dough and then wound around to fit on a plate. I tasted it and found it quite good as well. Celina had enough left for another meal.

After lunch we headed to Seminole Community Library for an hour-long presentation by Paula Bradley on women in early Country Music. The program is designed to honor the often-overlooked female artists who helped shape America's musical heritage from its rural beginnings. It was entertaining and informative. The Carter Family was the first family of country music having recorded over 300 songs.

Patsy Montana's "I Want to be a Cowboy's Sweetheart" was the first female written and female performed song that was a million dollar seller.

Cindy Walker wrote 500 songs and Willie Nelson made an album of her songs.

"Tennessee Waltz", which was recorded by Patty Paige, was written by a woman. It is one of the biggest selling country songs in music history. 

The program ended with Patsy Cline's 1960 song "I Fall to Pieces". It crossed over from country to pop. The rest is history.

March 23, 2026:

This morning we purchased a new folding chair from West Marine to replace the one that ripped. While the frame is aluminum it is much heavier than I would like for carrying around. I like that it has straps so that I can carry it like a backpack when folded up.

Last year brother-in-law Jim and I dug out the mulch that was in the front flower boxes and replaced it with white marble chips. The chips look great but settled a little. I decided a few more bags should be added. The more rock the less chance of weeds. On the way home we stopped at Home Depot and picked up six bags of marble chips to add to the front box. 

After all of that hard work of dumping six bags of rock (LOL), we headed to the pool. I visited the hot tub first then into the pool to float around on a pool noodle. It was relaxing. The weather has been fabulous.

March 24, 2026:

This morning Kelly attended her last ladies "Coffee Klatch" of this season since we are leaving next Tuesday. She enjoys meeting with some ladies once per week. 

Celina's friend, Marilyn, and her husband, Keith, have a place in Avon Park, Florida. We have been there a couple of times to visit them over the years. Marilyn, had a stroke earlier this winter while down here. She is in a nursing rehab unit. In addition to the effects of the stroke, Marilyn was already about 90% blind and 90% deaf. We decided to ride along with Celina to visit her and Keith. We all sat outside. When they took Marilyn for her lunch, we headed across the street to Culver's to grab a bite. When we got back to the nursing facility Keith said Marilyn was sleeping. We visited with Keith for a while and then headed home. Keith is waiting for Marilyn's condition to improve enough that he can take her back to Northern Missouri where they live. He has put their Florida place up for sale.

March 25, 2026:

Since we fly out next Tuesday we are purchasing as little groceries as possible. We always buy milk by the gallon but today I purchased a half gallon so that we don't waste any. We have two steaks left in the freezer and we got both of them out. Probably tomorrow I will grill both so they don't go to waste. Any leftovers will make great sandwiches.

Since folks are starting to leave, the coffee klatch ladies planned a late lunch of fish today at "Glory Days". Husbands were invited so I went along. I love the seafood down here but the fish I ordered today was a little greasy. Disappointing. 

March 26, 2026:

Kelly is Secretary of the Red Hats, a ladies social club, based at Roberts RV Park where we used to winter. Once a year the ladies have an outing at Fort DeSoto Park and invite the husbands along. This year for lunch the ladies provided fried chicken and everyone brought a side. The food was all great and there was plenty for all. 

This is one of the wheelchairs available in the park for pushing a handicapped person on the beach. Even with the balloon tires I believe it would be a chore to get someone down there and back in the deep loose sand.

It was a gorgeous day so after lunch most people headed to the beach. Kelly and I were the only ones who walked all the way to the water's edge to sit. Here are a couple of pictures from there.

Kelly dipped her feet in and reported that the water is warming up. There were a number of "youngsters" who enjoyed the cool ocean water. We watched them play.

After we sat for an hour we headed back toward the pavillion. Some of our group had gathered in the sand closer to the pavillion to visit and catch some rays. Here are a few pictures. Some of the people I knew, some I did not.

After about another half hour we all decided we had enough sun and headed back to the pavillion to clean up and head home. It was a delightful day at the beach with a number of delightful people. 

March 27, 2026:

Today is our daughter Erin's birthday. She is doing a huge presentation today for work so we wish her the best for that. 

Since we are leaving Tuesday we are starting to deal with what needs to be done to close the place up. First thing this morning I pulled off the sheets and mattress covers and washed them. We also took the opportunity to turn the mattress. I hate king-sized mattresses. They are so bulky and hard to deal with.

This will be the first time we fly home and leave the car here. I pulled down the two carry-ons we are going to use for the flight home. I started packing things I knew we wouldn't need for the next couple of days. Packing a small carry-on is sure different than packing up the car! Kelly's rock polisher takes up most of my suitcase. LOL. I will take a backpack with the computer and iPad in it, along with my medicine and some snacks.

In the afternoon we had a nice video chat with Erin and wished her a Happy Birthday. She said her program's "launch party" went quite well. For her birthday her boss sent her a dozen fancy donuts.

Four year old Free was home. Upon seeing the donuts he pointed to the four he wanted. When Erin said "Shouldn't I be able to pick the donuts I want for my birthday?" He said "Sure, just don't pick those four!" You gotta love how that little guy thinks. We then talked about working out details to bring him to Missouri for a couple of weeks this summer. He is only off school for one month for the summer break.

March 28, 2026:

This morning we attended one of several "NO KINGS RALLIES" in St. Petersburg. The one we attended was at the Tyrone Mall. Attendees lined Tyrone Boulevard, on both sides of the streets, for well over a half mile. Here are a couple of pictures. This one was to the right of where we were standing and stretched out of sight.

This picture was to the right and extended up to the intersection.

We were told that one thousand had signed up to be at this location but the estimate was that well over four thousand attended. As we waived our signs at cars going by I estimated 80% either honked in ratification, or gave us a "thumbs up". We found that to be quite encouraging. The organizers were giving out signs and this is the one I grabbed to waive.

Our neighbor across the street in the park is a big Trump supporter. Instead of a Trump flag this year he flew a "Don't Tread on Me" flag. Kelly bought a flag to fly to counter his flag  but decided not to fly it, not wanting to cause any trouble. It was a perfect flag for this rally. Here is a picture of us with both my poster and her flag.

Waling behind us was a man with a megaphone leading us in various chants.  

Here are a couple of pictures of posters people displayed as they chanted.

We stood in the sun for an hour and found that we needed to get off our feet so we headed back to the car. I must say I was pleasantly surprised with the turnout of people of all ages and the response of the drivers going by. 

It will be interesting to hear on the news the total estimated turnout in the various rallies in St. Petersburg. I also saw where there was a large turnout for a "No Kings Rally" in "The Villages", which is a large retirement community north of us and probably the most Republican area in all of Florida. Maybe there is hope.

March 29, 2026:

Today is "Social Sunday" here in the park. There is a "Social Sunday" once per month during the season from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. For $10.00 a light meal is provided including drinks and ice cream. After the meal there is music for those who wish to dance. Today was a sell-out because it was catered by Olive Garden for the first time. Everyone would get a $15.00 Olive Garden meal for $10.00 plus free wine, beer, soft drinks, and ice cream, all complements of the "Nuggets Club" here in the park. The Nuggets Club is the main club in the park. The Park is "Golden Gate" thus the name (gold) "Nuggets" for the club 

Kelly and I went up to the clubhouse at 1:00 p.m. to help set up. As it turned out a LOT of folks turned out and by 1:15 p.m. all was done! 

The fellows from Olive Garden brought the food and set it all up.

What a spread! The meal included: Salad, "Make Your Own Pasta", Chicken Parmesan, Lasagna, breadsticks, and ice cream. No one went away hungry.

Kelly and I helped serve the meal and clean up. It was our last activity before we leave Tuesday morning. We stayed after and enjoyed the music. 

March 30, 2026:

Today is pack up and close up the house day since we will be leaving tomorrow morning. This will be the last blog from Florida this season. We enjoyed ourselves even though it was only for half the length of time we usually stay.