Gulfport Art/Music Walk - Tampa Bike Pub Crawl

Great weekend past.. about a dozen of us went to Gulfport, about 25 min drive from Tampa, to this very funky, artsy, town on Boca Ciega Bay, just east of the Gulf Beaches, and just west of downtown St. Pete. Each first Friday, they have an Art/Music walk along famous Beach Blvd. Many local artisans and musicians along the quaint small Blvd, lined with lots of cafes, shops, and such. Diner was a Backfin Blue, a cool little turn of the century house, we ate outside on the 'back deck', almost felt like you were invited to someones home..food is EXCELLENT here...wine comes chilled in a Sand Bucket with Shovel...different, laid back. Seafood is what makes this places famous, especially the crab cakes. Meals, which were all very good, included Trios of Crab Cake, Bacon Wrapped Shrimps and Salmon; Salmon Florentine with Huge Sea Scallops, Fresh Grouper Oscar with lump crab meat, and for the non seafood lovers there was a Gorgonzola stuffed Meatloaf..just like homemade...fixings included a delicious Artichoke and Tomato Salad, Fish Spread, mixed veges and pasta. After being pleasantly full...we strolled along the main blvd, looking at all the arts and listing to some cool tunes.
After we headed to the Grand Central area of St. Pete to a new Bar/Restaurant called Queenshead on Central Ave. Very modern, chic, yet comfortable. Outdoor seating here as well. The night ended close to home at the Green Iguana Westshore.

Sunday we go on our bikes, and did a tour of the city of Tampa..with pub stops. Wine Exchange started the day at Hyde Park Village, and from there it was on to Four Green Fields on PLatt, to the Riverwalk at USF Park, where we followed it to the new Sail Pavillion in front on the convention center along the water...we continued on the Riverwalk by bike to the Columbia Cafe also on the ater at the Tampa History Center..awesome Mojitos made at your table outside. Hopping back on the bikes up Franklin Street downtown to Hattricks where we caught some fo the Rays baseball game, then to The Hubb, Club Chelsea was enxt, where there was a free BBQ..chicken, ribs, hotdogs, and burgers...perfect! Back down Tampa Street through the University of Tampa, and to the Retreat. Next stop was Tiny Tap in Hyde Park, then City Side, Pete's Place on Henderson Ave, where we watched some Sunday night Football, played some pool, and lastly the I Dont Care Bar on Manhattan Ave.

GOOD TIMES!

This week is looking busy, all you can east Sushi night Tuesday at the Venue, Dave Matthews Concert at the Amphitheater Wednesday, and taking off for Geneva NY, for the annual Upstate NY Finger Lakes Wine Tours for the weekend!

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Biking Pinellas Trail, Strolling thru Gulfport

Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day after a somewhat cloudy Gasparilla, so I made sure I took advantage of the blue skies and temps in the 60's. Started the day having a little Einstein Bagel and Tea with Debi in the Nursery she was working at, Exotica Nursery on 22nd Avenue South and 44th Street. Its a really nice nursery with lots of tropical plants, a huge Koi pond, and every species of Bamboo and Palm you could find. A perfect place for breakfast, up in the tree deck deck overlooking the gardens below. Our friend Jason that owns the place does an amazing job of Landscaping(he has done several projects downtown St. Pete). After breakfast I wanted to check out the Pinellas Trail, it starts at 34th Street and 5th Avenue and winds up over 30 miles to north of Tarpon Springs. I biked just the first 8 miles(16 round trip), I found it to very relaxing and peaceful, it follows an old rail track, so you are in heavily wooded area, or behind stores, housing, and mild industrial areas, the paved path is very well marked and wide. Overpass bridges take you over main roadways like Pasadena and Central Avenue. I made it to Tyrone Square Mall today and back to the start area. Next time I will start at the mall and head north again. One thing that is nice, is you cant bike more than 10 minutes without having a store of some sort to stop if you need water, or even a cafe or coffee shop, and the people watching was pretty good today with all kinds on bikes, blades and jogging, but not crowded.
After the bike ride, I went over to Gulfport, a great little village on Boca Ceiga Bay, also off 22nd Avenue South. There are great cafes, art galleries and small shops, and along the waterfront are a few bars and cafe's with a long pier into the Bay. A great little town with a lot of character and charm.

St. Pete Pride!...Gulfport Dinner(yuck)...Alafia Biking!

Another great weekend in Tampa Bay comes to a close. Saturday, me and some buddies decided to venture to an unknown territory, our first Gay Pride Festival. Boasting itself as the largest in Gay Pride Festival in Florida, and largest St. Pete Festival, with close to 50,000, and over 300 vendors, bands, and a diverse crowd, I was curious to see what its all about, and glad we went. The parade(or "promenade") was over two hours long, and interesting to say the least. The amount of businesses and community that came out to support this day was amazing, I really had no idea there was such a large community like this in Tampa Bay area. The 15 blocks of the Grand Central area of St. Pete was hopping with more entertainment than the eyes and ears could handle, even more interesting was there was only about half dozen protesters. And there were an unusual amount of straight couples and families with kids that also attended the day long event. Im putting this one on my list for an annual participation, it was a a great time, talked to many interesting people. That evening, went to dinner in Gulfport to Aqua Bella's, and to see my favorite local band, Buffalo Strange. Aqua Bella's is a nice casual place along the beach front in Gulfport, a cute little artsy town on Boca Ciega Bay. Buffalo Strange was missing their lead singer, Rob, but they still sounded good. I have only had drinks here, and now know why...the food was awful!! We ordered Beer Battered Onion Rings to start - they were dripping with grease, and very little batter, kind of like oily onions. Then we had a cheese burger which was the blandest tasting burger, that came with limp fries. We also ordered a chop salad with meats and cheeses, what came out was a soggy lettuce mess, small slivers of turkey and ham, and warm...Uggg! We will be back for the cocktails and great views, but plan to eat elsewhere in Gulfport.
Sunday, my brother and I ventured out for some more Tampa Bay area off-road biking, this time it was Alafia River State Park. Its a good 45 minute trip from Tampa, but well worth the drive. I have NEVER seen this type of topography any where in Florida, the trails simply just blew me away. Large rollarcoaster type hills, all kinds of terrain, very woodsy to swampy..totally kicked Flatwoods and Wilderness Parks off-road biking, but be prepared, cause some of the trails are NOT for the novice. They make helmets a requirement, and I understand why...next time I plan to hike the Expert trails before riding(we rode the easy and intermediate trails..the intermediate was difficult enough), during the ride, my chain broke off, and I had to walk my bike out..you really get a better glimpse of the abundance wildlife(deers, wild boars, exotic plant species), lots of shade made it great to ride and not get overheated.
My brother made an announcement at the family fun day dinner tonight, that he and my sister in law and their new baby are moving to Colorado in 2 weeks!! He got a job to move back, but we are all hoping that little Sebastian will be back in Florida by the time school starts in 5 years. It was nice having them around, but i'll be happy visiting them outside of Denver, and my other brother and his family in Colorado Springs. I had to include his pic of him helping me to repair my bike on the trails today.

My Brother Greg trying to Fix my bike at Alafia River State Park (nice look Greg..LOL)

Tampa Pond Tour, Gulfport

Saturday was the bi-annual daytime Pond Tour through South Tampa. It is sponsored by Pondscapes, and donations benefited the Tampa Bay Humane Society. It was a great tour, with 10 homes in South Tampa showing off there landscaped backyards and built in ponds. It really gives you a great way to see the different neighborhoods throughout South Tampa, and great ideas for landscaping and if you wish to put a pond in the backyard. Also a great opportunity to meet interesting folks from the area. The night Pond Tour through South Tampa homes is still my favorite, as most of the home owners usually have small parties, its like going from one party to another, and viewing these beautiful landscaped yards of South Tampa.
After the Pond Tour, we headed over to "Arts Alive" in St. Pete to partake in the free museum day for Hillsborough and Pinellas residents. We went to Sunken Gardens, as I have been to most of the other St. Pete museums. Although there were more than usual amount of people at Sunken Gardens in St. Pete, it was a great casual stroll through the many different types of plant and tree species. Great picture taking and scenery.
After Sunken Gardens is was time for a few late afternoon cocktails so we decide to go to the small village of Gulfport, just south and west of downtown St. Pete. It's a great little artsy town located right on Boca Ceiga Bay. Gulfport has an interesting vibe, many art galleries, and small cafes and restaurants along the main street, and lively bars with live music along the waterfront. Most of the cafe's have outdoor patios. We settled on Aqua Bella's for some Run Runners, and great views of the Bay and Intracoastal from the top deck. From there we went to Pia's for Italian..they had a great menu at Pia's in Gulfport, mostly Pastas with different sauces, and over a dozen types of Panini's. Eating on the outdoor pation reminded me of what it would be like in Italy, with Italian music in the background, and lots of trees shading the back area. There was a Saturday Evening Stroll happening in Gulfport, live music and art filled the sidewalks of this quaint little town.
We ended the night at Debi's backyard in the St. Pete neighborhood of Riviera Bay. It was comfy out sitting along her waterfront backyard gazing at the stars, and some good conversation.