January 14, 2024 - January 19, 2024 - Visit by my sister, Renee, and her husband, Jim

My sister, Renee, and her husband, Jim, arrived on Sunday from St. Louis for a visit. We showed them around several places while they were here. This blog contains places we went and what we did but it is not necessarily in the right chronological order. (I didn't keep very good records I'm afraid.) 

It was cold when they arrived. In fact it was pretty cold the entire week they were here. We went to the Kite Festival on the beach in Treasure Island. We found a place to park and walked the beach checking out the various kites. There were far fewer kites than last time we were there because it was cold and, while windy, we heard that the winds were not that great for kite flying. Here are some pictures.

We just had to get our picture taken with the huge tropical fish balloon and the with the spaceman balloon overhead.

From there we drove a short distance to have lunch at the original "Caddy's on the Beach". We couldn't sit outside because it was too cold but we were seated with a view of the water. The food was delicious.

Another day we went to the "Seaside Bird Sanctuary". Renee and Kelly took a great interest in the Bald Eagle with part of his right wing missing. They are majestic birds.

I like the Pelicans and took this video of the brown ones. I found it interesting watching them swallow the fish whole as they ate.

The bird sanctuary is on the beach so the ladies scouted out a few shells and dipped their toes in the water before we left.

From the sanctuary we headed to "Mahuffers" in Indian Shores. It is bar like no other. This is their signature Bloody Mary. Added on top is celery, olives, lemon, pickle, cheese, bacon, meat stick, hot pepper, mushroom, and probably a couple of other items I missed. It is like lunch in your drink.

Here are a couple of pictures of us there.

As the sign indicates they take great pride in being a grubby place to eat and drink. Everyone writes their name on a dollar bill and staples it up somewhere. Here is the one Renee and Jim did.

One day the ladies headed up to the heated pool and the hot tub. While they did that Jim and I worked on a small project I had in mind. Most of our downspouts have had the elbows knocked off by the fellows who mow and weed eat. I wanted to reconfigure them by shortening the six downspouts and adding a new elbow and a short extension on each. I wanted to mount each elbow and extension a little off the ground so they could weed eat under them. A trip to Home Depot got us the elbows and screws we needed. I had a piece of downspout on hand to cut for extensions. The extensions are to help get he water away from the house.  Here are a couple of pictures of our completed work. Time will tell how long they will last with the landscapers. (I should have cleaned the downspout pieces or painted them before putting them up.)

Renee and Jim's last full day here we went to Ybor City for dinner at the original "Columbia Restaurant". It was Renee and Jim's treat. We arrived in Ybor City early to have time to tour the local history museum. We are so glad we did. The museum had great displays explaining the growth of the cigar industry in the area, which was the whole reason Ybor City was established. The cigar making business moved up from Key West, Florida. Throughout the years there were immigrants from Cuba, Italy, Spain, Germany, African-Americans, and Jews. Many worked in the cigar factories and many worked in businesses supplying the needs of the workers and companies.  

Because the immigrants did not speak English, each nationality established a "club", which was the place the workers' entire social life revolved around. The clubs provided all social activities, provided health care, helped with getting jobs, and had classes to learn English. With the help of the employers this area developed a health care system for all that was much like our HMOs now. It was so successful that the government sent representatives down to study it when they were developing Medicare in the 1960s. 

Each club built a large building for activities, sports, meeting rooms, teaching rooms, and a large hall for dances. At least two such clubs are still standing, the Italian Club and the Spanish Club. 

Our docent at the museum took us on a tour of one of the thousands of Casitas built for the workers back in the day. They were basically all the same, ordered from Sears-Roebuck, and shipped by train for assembly. Workers could rent them or buy them. If they bought one the company held the mortgage and if they moved to a different job the mortgage was taken over by the new company. Payments were taken out of the paycheck. Here are some pictures of the inside of a Casita. The only inside walls that were painted were the parents' bedroom. They were built off the ground for air circulation and had ten to twelve foot ceilings so the heat could rise. Here is a bedroom and the kitchen. Most cooking was done outside due to the heat.

The back yard of the Casitas provided a view of one of the cigar factories which had been falling down and was rescued and turned into apartments. The outside is completely original.

Here is a picture in front of three of the Casitas sitting on the history museum property. You can see that they were "shotgun" houses on narrow lots.

The docent told us that just two blocks away was the original "Italian Club" building and that it was usually open for people to see. We went there and were able to walk through it even though an event was taking place on the third floor in the ballroom. (We kinda crashed the event to get pictures.)  Here are pictures.

Here is an outside picture of "The Italian Club" as it is today, about 130 years after it was built. It is a magnificent, three-story building.

This picture is the first floor lobby.

A few stairs down was the lower level with a huge bar and lots of area for hanging out with friends. The bar is the original.

A great staircase takes you up to the second and third floors.

This is the second floor lobby.

Th entire third floor is a ballroom. You can see the event we crashed to get a few pictures. The ballroom was beautiful, large, and ornate. We were told all the nationalities were proud of their clubs and paid dues to belong but if one became unemployed the dues were suspended.

After touring "The Italian Club" we checked out a cigar shop where Renee and Jim bought some hand-rolled cigars for their son and son-in-law. After they made a purchase we headed to the "Columbia Restaurant" for dinner. It is the oldest restaurant in Florida. It opened as a sandwich shop for the workers in the cigar business in 1905 and quickly grew as the city flourished. It now covers an entire city block with seven dinning rooms which can serve up to 16,000 people at a time. 

After a great dinner we walked down the old commercial street district past many bars and cigar shops now. One of the buildings in the area is the original building of "The Spanish Club". Here is a picture of it as it sits today. Quite impressive.

Here is a video of a gentleman rolling cigars in the window as we passed by.

We had a great time visiting and showing Renee and Jim around the area. Friday morning their flight was delayed so they got to stay about an hour longer than expected. We used the time to teach them how to play Mexican Train dominoes. 

Before they left they stripped the bed, washed the sheets, and made the bed. They will get a discount on their next visit. LOL

January 9, 2024 - January 12, 2024 - Bird Visitors; Passe Grill; Museum; Pier; Stove Light Upgrade

These little guys are really common around here. They are called "White American Ibis". Here are few pecking around on our lot for insects and grubs. While they were oblivious to me being around, the neighbors dog, Emmet, sent them flying.

Wednesday:

Kelly’s sister, Alexa, and her husband, Milo, arrived for a few days. In the evening we decided to take them to Passé Grill to watch sundown over the water. It is one of our favorite places but it was quite cool this evening. Here is a picture of the four of us enjoying a drink and an appetizer as we waited for sundown. 

This is a cool picture of Kelly watching the sun begin to set over the water.

Here is a picture of sundown, which was not the greatest because it was obscured by a cloud. It was still worth the trip.

I was looking for a trash can in the area when I saw friends, George and Sherry, sitting at another table. They live in Venice, Florida and were in Passé Grill to have supper with his daughter at her condo there. We know George and Sherry from our years at Robert’s RV park in Pinellas Park. Here is a picture of the four of us. It was so great seeing them again after two years.

Thursday:

The four of us headed to the recently opened "Museum of the American Arts and Crafts Movement" in downtown St. Petersburg. It is a new museum and was outstanding. I love the arts and craft era, particularly the light fixtures. Here are pictures of two chandeliers they had hanging. So much creativity.

I found it interesting that there were arts and craft pianos. They had three on display which were all quite different and interesting.

The multi-story lobby of the building was fascinating as well. Here is a picture of the ceiling skylight. A very geometric design, like the Arts and Crafts period.

Here are two pictures of the staircase from the second floor to the fifth floor. It is made of molded fiberglass with wood interior walls and wooden steps. It was quite unique.

After a coffee and scone in the lobby restaurant we headed to the St. Petersburg Pier. 

The Pier is quite a tourist destination and was recently rebuilt with lots of walking space and art work added. This was the first time since we have been coming to this area we were able to go out on it due to years of reconstruction. It is quite a long pier. We actually road the free tram from the beginning to the end and back. At the end of the pier there are a couple of restaurants, a gift shop, and a fishing tackle shop for those who want to try their luck fishing off the pier. Here is a picture looking out over the end of the pier out into Tampa Bay. 

It was windy and cold so we didn’t get off the tram to walk around. We rode it back to the beginning where we got off and headed to the "Museum of History" located there. It was an interesting museum with a large war time exhibit and a nice exhibit about how women, black and white, helped build and shape St. Petersburg over the years. 

From there we headed to "The Fourth Street Grill" for a seafood dinner. We all ordered something different and all dishes were excellent. Arriving back at the house we played a couple games before turning in. 

Friday:

Alexa and Milo departed heading to St. Augustine for a couple of days of touring. We hope the weather is good for their visit there.

I had ordered brighter, LED lights for over the stove. They arrived so I installed them. We are quite pleased with the brighter working area.

Sunday my sister, Renee, and her husband, Jim, arrive for a week of what was to be for them - "Fun and Sun". Unfortunately, it looks like there will be little sun so we will have to work on the "FUN" part. 

December 31, 2023 - January 7, 2024 - New Year Eve Party, Shocks; Golf Cart Seat Rebuild; Golf Cart Electrical Upgrade; Awnings

The park had a very nice New Years Eve Party with live music and party favors. You brought your own food and drinks. Here is a picture of the hall with the band stand and one of two bags of balloon drops.

 

They had an area set up for picture taking. We took advantage of it.

We sat at a table with a park resident named Jackie. Jackie is 93 years old and blind. Neither issue stopped her. She danced almost continuously with a variety of people. What an inspiration.

We picked out party hats to wear as the New Year arrived. Kelly has on a black tiara, but it is hard to see in the picture. Everyone danced as the New Year approached and the balloons dropped. I hugged many people I had never seen before as everyone walked around the hall wishing others a Happy New Year. Nice.

The band played on until 12:30 a.m. and most stayed until the end. The party was very well done and well attended. We enjoyed ourselves.

Monday - New Years Day:

The morning weather was nice so, while Kelly slept in, I installed the front shock absorbers on the golf cart. I had to pull the front tires off to reach the top bolts. The old front shocks were easier to get off than the back. The installation of the new ones was easy. You can see by the picture the difference in difficulty in removing the front and the rear shocks. The ride is definitely better.

One of the front tires was losing air so I switched it out with one of the wheels I replaced on the back. I think I need to invest in new front tires as well here soon.

I then got cleaned up because Celina invited us over for spaghetti dinner for lunch. Kelly made a great salad to go with it. After lunch we played Dominoes. I won!

Tuesday:

We took down all the Christmas decorations and packed them away for another year. We have the tree and decorations which we didn't have before so I had to find a suitable place to store everything. 

Wednesday:

A week ago the parts arrived to upgrade the electrical distribution center on the golf cart. Today was the day to make the install. As the cart sits now the 12-volt accessories are just wired to two of the six batteries. Over time this pulls those two batteries down lower than the others. To remedy this a DC to DC converter is installed. It converts the 36-volt to 12-volt. I also purchased a small fuse block to make all the connections. 

I also noticed that the voltage meter on the dash was on all the time and learned online that the DC to DC converter would be on all the time as well. Both pull minimal voltage but why do that when you are always trying to conserve battery power for riding around. There was a red light on the dash which was inoperable and had no wires attached to it. It looked like it had gone bad years ago. I pulled it out and ordered a 36-volt switch to put in the hole. With this switch I can kill the 36-volt voltage meter and DC to DC converter. 

While working on the electrical system I noticed a lot of small pieces of rotten wood on the batteries on one end. Here is a picture. I didn't want any of this debris falling into the batteries when I checked the water level, I didn't like the mess, and I needed find out where it was coming from.

There was only one place this debris could be coming from and that was the seat over the top of the batteries. Upon taking the seat off I found that the seat board was severely rotted away on both ends. 

I had brought my electric staple gun down for another project and decided I needed to take the seat apart and make a new board for the seat. Here is a picture of the board once I got it off. There were no corners left and it was about an inch and half shorter than it was originally.

I went to Home Depot and purchased a sheet of 5/8 inch plywood to make a new seat. The roughest grade of plywood was $39.50 a sheet. Geez! I used the old seat board as a template for size and mounting holes. I painted the new seat board  front and back to slow down any future water penetration. Since the old board lasted 40 years that was probably overkill but it made me feel better.

Taking the seat cover off was a pain. There were hundreds of rusty staples. As I took the vinyl cover off I could see there was a cloth cover under it. I soon discovered that there were two more vinyl covers under the cloth cover for a total of FOUR layers of covers. Apparently, prior owners had been too lazy to take of the old covers. Here are picture showing the different covers.

Here is a picture of the four covers laid out along with the wooden seat board. They were a nasty, moldy mess. Good riddance!

Here is a picture of the staples taken out. I kept them in a magnetic bowl because I didn't want any of them falling on the floor where they could be stepped on.

I scrubbed the frame and hand rail to get dirt and gunk off it before reattaching it to the wooden seat bottom.

I scrubbed the inside of the "good" vinyl cover with mold remover I bought which did a good job of cleaning it up. The foam was still in decent shape so I glued it to the new seat board to keep it in place as I stapled on the cover and reattached the frame. 

The metal arm rail frame is attached to the seat board using "t-nuts". The "t-nuts" in the old seat board were a rusted mess so a trip to Home Depot was in order to get new ones. These are what "t-nuts look like. I didn't know what they are called so I couldn't find them without the help of a stockman at Home Depot. I had to hunt the hardware guy down for help, which took forever. I find the help at this Homer Depot very pleasant and helpful but they are few and far between. 

Once the material was all installed and the metal frame bolted on I noticed that the bolts on each corner were missing. Another trip to Home Depot to purchase four short lag bolts.  Here is a picture of the seat after the cover is stapled on, the frame reattached, and the hinges reinstalled. This seat will definitely outlast me.

Friday:

For lunch we met some Michigan friends at the American Legion Hall in Madeira Beach. We love it there because you sit right on the water with a great view of the bay while you enjoy an adult beverage and a great lunch.

While some Michigan friends were there, we sorely missed our good Michigan friends - Chris and Marj, David and Jean, and George and Janet. They were the ones that told us about this place initially. It isn't the same without them.

Saturday:

It was a beautiful day so, after the seat project was finished, I dove into finishing the electrical upgrade project. I installed the DC to DC converter and fuse block on the back wall of the battery compartment. I then took a non-functioning light out of the dash and replaced it with a 36-volt toggle switch. With this switch I can turn off the voltage meter and the DC to DC converter so that they do not continuously draw current off the batteries. Here is a picture of the new switch in the dash. 

You can see that the dash needs some attention. After the fender is fixed and painted I will paint the dash to spruce it up as well. I will also get rid of the hideous indoor-outdoor carpeting on the floor.

Here is a picture of the DC to DC converter and fuse block installed. The DC to DC converter is the silver block on the left. The fuse block for 12-volt accessories has the wires coming out of it. I wired the lights into the fuse block, which are the only accessory at this time. I plan on installing a USB outlet for charging our phones, etc.

Now that this project is completed the next golf cart project will be tackling a repair of the damaged front fender and headlight assembly. I will not start this project until all of our January guests have departed so that the cart will be available to use while they are here.

Sunday:

It poured rain for several hours early this morning. When it cleared off I got out the ladder and unbolted the three hurricane awnings from the side of the house, raised them, and bolted them into place. They could use a paint job but that is a project for next year. They are a pain to open and close so I may just leave them up when we leave. Many people do. Here is a picture.

The weather is beautiful today so, for the first time since we got here, Kelly opened up the house. I started off with long pants on this morning but changed into shorts once the sun came out. Kelly is helping with an ice cream social this afternoon. I'll skip it and watch football. Go Chiefs!!!!!!