Gizella Kopsick Palm Arboretum

Well it is no surprise to anyone who has seen my back yard that I have an obsession with tropical decor.  Which includes Palm Trees. So when Ray and I discovered there is a Palm Arboretum located in St Petersburg.  I just knew I had to go.  So we picked a beautiful day and went to see all the Palm Trees.

Boy, I wish I could have these palm trees in my yard!!!

Ray and Cinnamin in front of some of the many kinds of trees.

I never realized how many different types of palm trees there are.

On the boat

Our neighbor Jack asked if we wanted to go for a boat ride.  So off we went.  We took a ride down the intra-coastal-water way, towards Clearwater.

Ahoy mate.

Ray enjoying the boat ride

So relaxing

Happy 21st Birthday Brad

Happy 21st Birthday Brad!!!

2-28-1991

Wanted to wish our son Brad a very Happy Birthday!!!  
We love you.
Hope you have a wonderful day!!!

                                   

Manatee viewing center

In Apollo Beach, (1/2hr south of Tampa), there is a Manatee viewing center that we stop by and visit when we are here. Manatee's-also known as sea cows are huge slow moving mammals.  I didn't get a good picture of them..but I posted them anyway. They can get up to 13 feet long and weigh as much as 1,300 lbs.  They are not one of the cutest creatures in the sea...but they are neat to watch.  They move slowly and  have to come up for air every 15 or 20 minutes.  This causes them to be injured or killed by boaters.   It seems people are more aware of them now...so hopefully there won't be as many injured. 

The Manatees gather at the viewing center when the water temperature gets below 68 degrees.  The manatees just come here to keep warm...the center doesn't feed them or take care of them...it just lets the people come and watch the manatees. When the water temperature warms up to 68 degrees  the manatees will venture away from the center.  

Ok....well it aint't Jaws,  but  during our visit to the manatee viewing area...we saw this shark swimming around.

Manatee Viewing Center

Me and the Manatee's.
Since I didn't get a good picture of them. We thought this would do(hahaha)

Gasparilla Night Parade 2012

One of our favorite annual events in Tampa is "The Gasparilla night Parade".  It is held in Ybor city, which is known for it's wild night life.  The parade consists of the different pirate krewe's,  who throw beads to all patrons  along the parade route.  It gets pretty crazy,  with everyone screaming and trying to get the attention of the pirates so they throw the beads.  This year Ray and I decided to "dress up" for the festivities. 

Ray and I - -The Gasparilla 2012 night parade.

One of the floats -Gasparilla-2012

baby sitting

Well there is nothing I like better then baby sitting those adorable grand babies of mine.  So when Tiffany and Rich went on a "date night" while in Florida...of course I volunteered to baby sit!!!
I took some silly pictures of me and the baby's.   We had fun at the hotel where they were staying.  And they were so good...as always.

Mimi and Jacob.  

What an adorable little man.

Makayla and Mimi...girls just wanna have fun!

Makayla has the cutest little chubby cheeks!!

A view from their hotel.

Another beautiful day!

Feeding the birds/playing at the park.

We decided to take the kids to one of our favorite places.  There is a pond which is home to a lot of birds, turtles and fish.  There is a path that takes you around the pond. We like to stop along the way to watch the wildlife.  Since the kids/Grand kids were here, we decided to bring some bread so we could feed the birds.  

There is also a nice kids park with slides, swings just perfect for little Jacob to play at.

It was a beautiful day and we all had so much fun!!!

Jacob enjoyed feeding the ducks with his daddy's help.

Jacob checking out the ducks swimming in the pond.

Grampster had to get in on feeding the birds too!!!

Jacob is big enough this year to really have fun playing at the park.  Here Jacob is going down the twirly slide with mommy.

Mimi is a big kid at heart... Jacob and Mimi had to check out this cool truck.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, Jacob going down the slide all by himself.  What a big boy!!!

Family visit

Grampster and I were very excited to have some visitors last week.  Tiffany, Rich, Jacob and Makayla  decided to spend a week  in Florida.  We picked them up at the airport and headed to the pool/beach.

Mimi, Makayla and Jacob at the pool.

Makayla's first time at the beach.  She had to put her little feet in the sand.  

The Dworianyn Family at the beach.

Jacob had fun playing in the sand.

Gulf Port

Today Ray and I took a ride to Gulfport FL, which is located southwest of St. Petersburg on Boca Ciega Bay. There is a cute waterfront District with a few shop's, restaurant's and a nice view of the bay.

Cinnamin and I in Gulfport.

Ray and I decided to stop at one of the local restaurants, "Tangelo's"  for some lunch.  We ordered a bowl of black beans and rice. Yummy!!!

and some conch chowder, hush puppies and a shrimp po boy.

Ray relaxing at"Tangelo's" restaurant.

After lunch Cinnamin decided to join us for a quick picture.  It was truly a wonderful day!

                           

Fort De Soto-Doggie Beach

There are a few dog beaches in the area.  Fort De Soto is one that we like.  It's nice to be able to walk Cinnamin on the beach.  Some Dog's enjoy running around in the water.

Cinnamin would much rather hang out on the beach...and leave that great big ocean to the other dog's.

Largo Botanical Gardens & Heritage Village

We decided to spend the day at the Florida Botanical Gardens which is located in Largo.  The Gardens were very pretty, although I'm sure they are even prettier during the summer months.   Doggie's are welcome at the Garden's...so of course Cinnamin had to come with.

One of the Gardens with a water feature.

In addition to the Gardens, there is also an historic village. We were so amazed at the  many things to see and do. Some of the buildings like this school house are from the 19th century.

Look at this old fashion store... it was neat walking around  and looking at all the old time products... and check out that cash register.

There was an old  garage full of car parts, tires and even this car.  I wonder if Ray would give up his vette for this one.(hahaha)

 

The races have gone to the dogs...

Well last week I posted about the horse races...this week it's dog races.  Here in Florida they have greyhound racing.  It is really cool to watch....but it is really hard to bet on. We pretty much guessed...and didn't do well at all.  So we ended up just relaxing and watched the races.  The greyhounds are truly  beautiful dogs and they are so fast.

Here they are at the start of the race.

As you can see..they are coming around the curve heading for the finish.

This is another view of them racing around the track.

Yes, they really are chasing a stuffed white rabbit which is on a metal bar that goes around the track.  Too weird!

Since we didn't do very well at picking the winning dog .. we just enjoyed the day.

We have been busy again this week.  It always seems there is something to do here in Florida.  It could be that Ray and I have more time to check out the sights. Or maybe it's because we are only here for a few months so we try to cram everything in during that time.  The weather here has been so nice.                       Warm & sunny...just perfect.

My husband pretending to be a fisherman!!

Now this is something you won't see in Chicago this time of year!!!  

This little guy surprised me when I was walking into the back yard of our rental!! Pretty cute .