took Molly to see the Coliseum where they filmed “Cocoon” in 1985. In 1924, after 6 months’ of construction, the Coliseum opened to a crowd of
Duke Ellington
3000 people. Rudy Vale, Duke Ellington, Harry James, just to name a few, have played for dancing couples & appreciative audiences since. I was truly 
Harry James
intrigued by this marvelous structure. I suppose it was emotional in nature. Just think that such a grand ballroom, with its beautiful wooden floors and original architecture, still provides enjoyment to so many as it did for the past 80 years! Across the 
street was the St. Pete Lawn Bowling (Bocce) and Shuffle Board Clubs consisting of multiple, very old wooden buildings and a city block full of courts. Amazingly, still active today but in dire need of 
repair. In one of the early pictures of the Coliseum taken from this area, you can see men playing Bocce so I know it’s been in existence, at least, since 1924. We continued our trek down back streets & discovered the most marvelous gift shop. I’ve never seen anything so tastefully & exquisitely done. The owners, KC & Lisa, purchased an old house, tore down the obstructing trees, painted the outside & proceeded to fill every nook & cranny with wonderful things. Flower arrangements made in an upstairs room, soaps, one of a kind candles and holders, gourmet foods, hand crafted pillows, antique furniture & a fabulous wine room. And there was more, too much to mention but you could spend $5 to over $10,000! I was offered drink, coffee, mimosa, bloody Mary, wine?? I gratefully accepted a mimosa - it wasn’t even 11:00! I was juggling Molly in one hand, the drink in another & trying to see & touch everything in sight. This was a woman’s paradise for sure. More people arrived & I was surprised to see mostly locals shopping there. We had a grand time especially during my second drink, a yummy bloody Mary made with a special mix, also on sale. Lisa insisted I let Molly have the run of the place. She had a ball &, of course, everyone was gaga over her. (spoiled brat) I was extremely relaxed by the time I left & also spent about $80 on a silver and glass candle & silver weave serving basket with a 2 qt. glass bowel & lid & the basket doubles as a bread basket. Next stop, Designers Consignors. Bought casual slacks by Liz Clayborn & very sexy blouse. Wow! What a great day. Sunday, March 31st We forgot it was Easter. Very lazy day. We didn’t want to do anything to possibly strain our already tired out bodies. We did manage to perform a few functions; Wayne sanded & varnished picture frames I bought before we left, I worked on the latch hook rug, marinated some chicken, made curry chicken salad & worked in the computer. Had a light dinner, watched TV and asleep by 11pm. Ahhhhh....what a life. Monday, April 1st It drizzled in the middle of the night making us get up to close all hatches & windows. Morning was cloudy at first. Wayne took
Molly to shore for a run & poop. We went to shore, sans Molly, as we wanted to visit a nearby museum. Sign on the door “closed one week starting today for renovations”. Bummer! Had a quickie breakfast at a cute little outdoor restaurant - huge egg sandwiches and shared a coffee. Almost fainted when the bill came to $17.50. Lesson learned; if the price isn’t listed - ask! Met a nice guy named, Cal, who owns an airplane memorabilia store. Interesting place. Turns out he’s really interested in opening in Key West. We exchanged phone numbers. These are 
pictures of the outdoor post office circa 1924 & 2002. I took Wayne to see the Coliseum. the lawn bowling center and Dylons. (the gift shop) While I was on the cell phone with Tim about the incompetents 
repair. In one of the early pictures of the Coliseum taken from this area, you can see men playing Bocce so I know it’s been in existence, at least, since 1924. We continued our trek down back streets & discovered the most marvelous gift shop. I’ve never seen anything so tastefully & exquisitely done. The owners, KC & Lisa, purchased an old house, tore down the obstructing trees, painted the outside & proceeded to fill every nook & cranny with wonderful things. Flower arrangements made in an upstairs room, soaps, one of a kind candles and holders, gourmet foods, hand crafted pillows, antique furniture & a fabulous wine room. And there was more, too much to mention but you could spend $5 to over $10,000! I was offered drink, coffee, mimosa, bloody Mary, wine?? I gratefully accepted a mimosa - it wasn’t even 11:00! I was juggling Molly in one hand, the drink in another & trying to see & touch everything in sight. This was a woman’s paradise for sure. More people arrived & I was surprised to see mostly locals shopping there. We had a grand time especially during my second drink, a yummy bloody Mary made with a special mix, also on sale. Lisa insisted I let Molly have the run of the place. She had a ball &, of course, everyone was gaga over her. (spoiled brat) I was extremely relaxed by the time I left & also spent about $80 on a silver and glass candle & silver weave serving basket with a 2 qt. glass bowel & lid & the basket doubles as a bread basket. Next stop, Designers Consignors. Bought casual slacks by Liz Clayborn & very sexy blouse. Wow! What a great day. Sunday, March 31st We forgot it was Easter. Very lazy day. We didn’t want to do anything to possibly strain our already tired out bodies. We did manage to perform a few functions; Wayne sanded & varnished picture frames I bought before we left, I worked on the latch hook rug, marinated some chicken, made curry chicken salad & worked in the computer. Had a light dinner, watched TV and asleep by 11pm. Ahhhhh....what a life. Monday, April 1st It drizzled in the middle of the night making us get up to close all hatches & windows. Morning was cloudy at first. Wayne took
Molly to shore for a run & poop. We went to shore, sans Molly, as we wanted to visit a nearby museum. Sign on the door “closed one week starting today for renovations”. Bummer! Had a quickie breakfast at a cute little outdoor restaurant - huge egg sandwiches and shared a coffee. Almost fainted when the bill came to $17.50. Lesson learned; if the price isn’t listed - ask! Met a nice guy named, Cal, who owns an airplane memorabilia store. Interesting place. Turns out he’s really interested in opening in Key West. We exchanged phone numbers. These are 
pictures of the outdoor post office circa 1924 & 2002. I took Wayne to see the Coliseum. the lawn bowling center and Dylons. (the gift shop) While I was on the cell phone with Tim about the incompetents 
Post Office 2002
handing my re-financing issues, Wayne bought me a wrought iron bell for the cottage. (He can be so sweet.) “Home” by 3pm for cocktails, sunset, grilled chicken & rice dinner. Wayne played with the Captain Navigator, put another coat of varnish on the frames & I watched TV. Tuesday, April 2nd Overcast. Hung frames and pulled anchor at 9:30am. Tampa Bay was like glass. Pleasant cruise to Tampa. Had researched the charts and Waterway Guide, which, by the way, suck! Tampa doesn’t seem to be very boater friendly. We located two yacht clubs, a marina near town at the Wyndem Hotel but it was too shallow. Decided to call the Marjorie Park Marina located on Davis Islands. It was very short on amenities and showed only 2 transient slips according to the Waterway guide (but that hasn’t been accurate yet) but seemed close to downtown. Called the 
dock-master-Richard-and he seemed surprised that we would want to stay there - he thanked us for calling too. Guess he doesn’t often meet such frugal and basic people like us. But the price was very right - $.50/foot - includes water & electric! Two nights, with tax, was $46.00. Agreed to keep this a secret. Story goes that the city finally decided to fork up some $500,000 for an upgrade. It's very old &
& in disrepair. The marina is in sort of a circle within Marjorie Park in a residential area. Richard gave us 3 keys: rest rooms, the gate padlock on our particular dock & strict instructions to keep all three things locked up as he would be off the next two days. Each dock holds only 2 boats and each dock has a fence with a padlock- ours was also the gas dock. What a cute and funky place. After
& in disrepair. The marina is in sort of a circle within Marjorie Park in a residential area. Richard gave us 3 keys: rest rooms, the gate padlock on our particular dock & strict instructions to keep all three things locked up as he would be off the next two days. Each dock holds only 2 boats and each dock has a fence with a padlock- ours was also the gas dock. What a cute and funky place. After
Downtown Tampa Skyline
securing the lines & lugging the electric cords out, we walked into the little town on Davis Islands (Google it). I hoped to find someplace to fax Tim some papers. A very friendly and helpful, Katy O’Connor, a financial advisor, graciously faxed all 7 pages, free of charge. The “town” is only two blocks long consisting of multiple restaurants, bars, hardware store, several gas stations & a grocery store. The grocery was a good size but the shelves were almost bare & items, expensive. They opened a Publix just off the island that obviously hurt this quaint store a great deal. We decided they should turn it into a Murray’s (Murray's is located on Summerland & has the best of EVERYTHING). Split a Cuban sandwich at Pipo’s, nice looking restaurant with large outdoor patio where they have live Salsa music on the weekends & a bar with all the doors open to the patio. Buffet style setup & the food looked & smelled great. We’ll return on the weekend if we’re still here. Finally got together with Jack & Mo Diamond (Old friend, big-wig @ Walgreens). They arrived at 8pm & we returned to “town”. Had a lovely evening at Rick’s, an Italian restaurant. I had Linguini, shrimp, oil and garlic, Wayne wanted pizza. They talked him into a large, he had 2 pieces. He was so embarrassed to have 2 ‘to go’ boxes full of pizza. (I was happy that I wouldn’t have to make dinner the next night)
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