As I unpacked the final item from our Florida trip last week – the CD holder from our car – I realized it might be high time to write this puppy up. We’d been home 5 weeks or so and I’d started the writing long ago. Time to get it done before I start forgetting the details! So here goes:
Well, that was a trip! As we pulled into our driveway Friday, we’d logged 2,926 road miles (not including local driving) – or almost 39 hours in Michigan units – touching down in 10 cities and towns, and sleeping 8 nights in beds not our own, 7 of those one-nighters. A straight shot down I-75 to Madeira Beach would have been 1193 miles (17 hours 11 minutes), only 2,386 miles round trip, but where’s the fun in that? The notion of escaping to Florida for a portion of the winter came to us a decade or so ago when we realized that my having a brother in Clearwater was a good excuse to visit there. Wishing to be close to the water, we booked our first places in pricey, crowded Clearwater Beach. Anything right on the Gulf was out of our range, but we found a place on Clearwater Bay on the other side of the peninsula that proved very adequate. The expansive Gulf Beach was a short walk west, with its great open bars and restaurants. A short drive up the spit got us to Honeymoon Island, and a fun ride on the water taxi took us to Dunedin, winter home of the Blue Jays, hometown of Gov. DeSantis, with a great beer trail (1). We took Gulf Boulevard south to explore the rest of the Pinellas Spit. After 25 minutes of driving past luxury waterfront homes and high rises, we came upon funky Madeira Beach. Any place with a bar named “Saltwater Hippie” is our kind of place (2). Mad Beach would be our winter touchdown spot thereafter. The best places we could find on AirBnB were “steps to the beach”, but it was tantalizing to be so close to that Gulf but not on it. One afternoon, Kathy went knocking on doors and discovered the blue frame house we now rent through VRBO.
Featuring a well-appointed kitchen, electric outdoor grill, comfy beds, and a long front porch with plenty of padded chaises longue and rockers, it’s a place we’d leave less and less each time down. We’re already booked for next January. But it and the house next door are the only low frame houses on the beach for miles in either direction. You can count on the fact that some day soon those houses will be bought and bulldozed to make way for another soulless high rise. We’ll enjoy it till then.
I’ll tell you more about Madeira Beach later. Back to the trip that just happened. Getting to MB is easy. The flights from DTW to TPA are plentiful and relatively cheap. We can always get a Jeep through Turo (3), and the only pain is fighting the traffic for 25 miles on the Bean Parkway over 3 bridges to the Beach. After last year’s stay, we thought maybe we’d drive down next time. Come November, that still seemed like a good idea. Friends from Michigan, New Mexico, and Colorado had moved to places in Dixie where we could touch down along the way. Kathy’s 89-year-old Uncle Chuck was the Ohio River away from Dixie in Cincinnati – still right off 75 – and our 18-year-old niece Ayslin was a junior at Vanderbilt (home schooled). Just like last year (4), Jimmy Harbaugh complicated our January vacation plans by putting the team in the championships, but we could watch that game from somewhere in MB. As we worked our way down, complications ensued. Chuck’s Kathy was medically indisposed and wouldn’t be good company, so we passed Cincinnati by. We were expecting to land with June, in Loudon outside of Knoxville. She didn’t return a couple of my warning e-mails, but we proceeded, nonetheless. We caught up with her about an hour out. She was driving north from her daughter-in-law’s in Florida. No meet up this time! We camped in a nice Marriott in Knoxville (on points!) and moved on to South Carolina to find Donna.
She’s a red-headed spitfire who’d been my Division chief’s secretary. She was smarter than most of the docs she served, and of course no-one suspected it because of her accent. We bonded on our politics and other shared views on life, even going out on a few “dates” before she bolted for the South. She’d found a lovely place in SC (tho’ she’s from NC), which she’d spent 2 years fixing up. You know how those Southern girls can talk, and Kathy kept right up. I kicked back, sipped whatever they served me, and tossed in a pithy comment or 2. Donna took us out for a soul food dinner, at a place run by a Punjabi (5). Fine to crunch into chicken and slime back them collards. With no booze served at the place, we had to retire to Donna’s to remedy that. Leaving the next morning with a good Southern breakfast under our belts from Donna’s kitchen, it was off to the redneck panhandle, where we hoped to find Ana.
Ana had been friend, attorney, and brief romantic partner to Kathy’s brother Bob in Santa Fe. We’d befriended her at a mutual dinner and really hit it off. She’d been focused legally on medical liability (“ambulance chaser”) but with COVID turned her focus to those wronged by such things as COVID mandates. She’d established a foundation – “New Mexico Stands Up!” – to coordinate these efforts. Her efforts drew attention, including an episode last year convincing her that her life was in danger. She decamped to Florida, where her crusade continues. She serves on the Operations Advisory Board of Freedom Healthcare, a Tennessee-based organization with nationwide ambitions that operates as as a Private Ministerial Association (6), specifically addressing the needs of those who were fortunate enough to avoid the. COVID vaxx. We enjoyed her filtered water, fresh from the back yard eggs, and gen-you-wine New Mexico enchiladas. The next morning, after consuming some of her eggs pulled fresh from the coop, we were off, straight on 89 over and down the panhandle, 4 1/2 hours to MB.
The MB arrival held no surprises. Our main pressure was finding a place where we could watch the National Championship game. We wanted to marry a TV view with Gulf breezes, so Caddy’s just down the beach was our target (7). We’d eschewed any gatherings mentioned on the UM Alumni board, and resigned ourselves that Tom Brady wasn’t going to invite us to his place in Tampa for a watch party, even though we knew the way, and anyway his old house is being torn down (8)! I think you know how the game came out. We jumped and screamed in the privacy of our home. We’ve worn our Michigan gear everywhere ever since, garnering many kudos.
Little could have gotten our butts out of our porch seats had I not several months previous scanned the Capitol Theater web site and bought tickets to three concerts I thought we’d like. Kathy said I was crazy at the time, but she’s come around. First, there was Paul Thorn, a 59 year old ex-welterweight prize fighter from Mississippi, son of a preacher and nephew of a pimp, who caught my attention with some pretty crude songs (9,10). His output is witty and joyful, which you can catch on this setlist from last October (11).
Next night was Karla Bonoff, who was slated to play at the Murry Theater at Ruth Eckhard Hall, 18 minutes due east from the Capitol Theater. We managed to find a fabulous dinner at Marker 49 Floribbean Cuisine (12). We sat outside and conversed with a Canadian contingent of snowbirds about culture and politics. Are Ontario and Michigan really that far from each other?
Karla was fabulous, too. Just her, a piano and guitar, and a gray-haired lady accompanist. Those not familiar with her may not know that she composed many of Linda Ronstadt’s hit songs. She sang many of these, with a soulful way that recounted Linda. For an array of what she did, you can review her setlist, as on this from a few months previous (13). She closed with her two favorite songs. The first may be the sexiest song ever recorded, especially with the video (14), and the second a traditional song through which I can never hear without coming to tears (15).
The next evening would be lighter, with Jay Leno at the main theater. We preceded the outing with dinner with brother John, wife Karen, and son Ian at Clear Sky, right across from the Capitol Theater, where we originally thought the concert would be. 21 minutes across the peninsula, it was Jay doing the stand-up he used to do before the Tonight gig. He hasn’t lost his chops. Asked if he was worried about being “cancelled” for his sometimes controversial humor, he responded “do you see how old my fans are? How long do you think it would take to storm the stage?”. Nobody did.
Sundays are for church, and we found a lovely one in MB (16). Church-by-the-Sea was just down from Sweet Brewnette, our coffee shop (17). So, it meant for us to get Sunday morning to walk down there. The church’s steeple looks like a friendly bird, and that spirit pervades their congregation.
We walked in with our Michigan gear and got many kudos. After the service, someone pulled Kathy aside and said maybe we should tone it down, but she replied this rarely happens to us, so we want to show off. I think he understood.
The afternoon found Jim from Sarasota coming up. Usually deluged by family, he had a glimpse of free time. We’d been friends since high school and were copacetic on so many issues.
Jim said the pic was snapped at his girlfriend’s house in Columbus OH, during a party right after the Michigan game. Jim’s a Kalamazoo Hornet, but his heart’s in the right place on the Big Blue. The plan was to feed him an early dinner, then turn him loose. He was eager to watch the Lions game that evening. He came early enough to have a bite of our late breakfast omelet but left before dinner went on the grill. .
Too bad, as it was set to be spectacular, some red snapper, fresh out of the Gulf (we couldn’t get grouper) plus some sides.
We missed seeing the sun set in the Gulf most of the trip. It was cool and cloudy early in the week, and our concertizing got us out of the house before sunset for 3 evenings. But on Sunday, the good Lord blessed us with a dandy.
And our Lions won, in a game only I stayed up to watch. Time to say Go Blue (Honolulu, too)!!.
Monday was set to stop over at Shutesies in Ocala. Unfortunately, the wife of his guest brother-in-law landed in the hospital with pneumonia. Their stay extended and our guest room taken away, our overnight tuned into a drive by. Even that lunch date was screwed up, as we selected the wrong site for the meet up. Eventually, we found a mutually acceptable spot from our wanderings in Belleview, 20 minutes south of Ocala (18), had a great Italian lunch, and moved on.
Up from that we were off to Georgia, where my crazy but dear Romanian colleague Elena had bolted to Athens from the U (“the Athens of the North”) when she found their ways too oppressive. She and husband Matt had a wonderful southern expanse with a wraparound porch. All that was missing was a slaves’ quarters. Kids and animals kept things lively. After a dinner and solving the world’s problems, we were off the next morning.
Then it was up to June in Tennessee. June is widow to my dear friend and double classmate (VHS, UofM) Sam. It’s such a blessing that Kathy and I have become such good friends with her. I’m sure Sam is looking down, smiling. A snow and ice storm had made the going a little treacherous, particularly the route into June’s place. She lived in a lake development with big time hills leading in. We were happy for our 4 wheeled-drive – first time we’ve used it all year – as we coursed our way down. June recognized the plight of the current weather and recommended an eat-in spaghetti dinner, which we happily accepted. That gave us even more time to discuss the problems of the world. June’s new dog Bailey ran around and gave enthusiastic support to our points of view. June laid an egg breakfast on us the next morning and we were off.
Our next-to-last evening, in Nashville, had us taking Ash (Ayslin) out for dinner. The Vandy campus was an even more compact a maze than UofMs. Given Ash’s choice, we ended up at a decidedly non-fancy place that was perfectly adequate. The girl had come off a ski trip to Utah for which delays ended up that morning. A nap left her ready for us, and we had a wonderful time. A bulky sweater masked her comely appurtenances, quieting my dirty-old-uncle urges, at least somewhat.
On our next to last morning, facing a short hop from Nashville to Cincy (a mere 4 hours 18’), we dipped south to the Overton Lea neighborhood of Oak Hill, a one-time horse farm where now Nashvillians move to when they seek some peace and quiet (19). There, on 1108 Overton Lea Road, is the house where John Prine lived his last two years. Since neither he nor wife Fiona live there anymore, I wouldn’t be stalking. Here are the pics I managed with my phone.
There’s a much nicer spread in the article that came out after the place sold for $4.26 million last March (20). Pretty good, not bad for a singing mailman (21).
We dissembled and went over to meet Uncle Chuck for a nice dinner. His Kathy was still under the weather, but we learned the medical details. Chuck’s True Blue roots stem from his MBA at what is now known as the Ross Business School. Watching games real time make him too nervous so he’ll only watch a taped game after he knows the outcome. Thus, he enjoyed the tales Kathy and I had about what it was like to go through this Championship season.
Home from Cincy is a straight shot up 23, but it wouldn’t be home-sweet-home without some effort.
One big advantage of driving is all the stuff you can take along. The hold of our Jeep was well stocked with everything from suitcases, my CPAP machine, a cooler with cold blocks, frozen meat, cold cuts, milk, tea, and cream, a SodaStream machine (22), jackets, a full CD carrier, tall coffee mugs and insulated water mugs, road atlases, jackets, and miscellaneous empty bags and totes. Some entropy was to be expected over the course of the trip.
Yet, we faced our last morning without an important implement. We awoke to see that Mother Nature had blessed Cincy with a few inches of the white stuff. We reached in the back for a snow brush/scraper and came up empty. The wimpy winter in Michigan up to time of our departure had not called for one, and who packs a snow brush for Florida? Not an omission we’ll make next year.
Coda: When we pulled up to the driveway at about 2:45 PM Friday, 2 weeks after we’d left, all looked intact, our beloved house looking inviting with its snowy highlights. No packages on the porch, indicating our neighbors had indeed been vigilant, although an Amazon driver would walk up and hand us another one while we were unloading. Our neighbor Tom, responsible for all the vigilance, had texted Kathy that he could no longer work the keyless entry pad on our front door. We’d been having trouble with it for a couple weeks. We figured, o.k., we’d get in through the garage. Imagine our surprise when the keypad on the door to the kitchen from the garage wouldn’t work either. Apparently, its battery went dead. Undaunted, Kathy had me carry our extension letter to the back, where we propped it up to the deck railing by the hot tub, and she scurried up to the deck finding the sliding door to the sunroom, as closer doors to our bedroom and the living room were locked. After a quick tour of the interior to assure all was well, we threw open both doors to the outside and unloaded. Another Christmas awaited us with all the packages and held mail.
I started a fire and graciously offered Kathy my last beer, as I’d found some bourbon that was “Ready-to-Drink”.
We usually put on Sinatra’s “It’s So Nice to Go Travelin’” when we return home from a trip (23). After this one, I just put on the whole damned album (24). It made a nice soundtrack as we sat in our Stressless Maxes sipping our respective libations and opening stuff. Life is good.
References
1. Ike B. Drink down Dunedin. WordPress 3/3/21. https://theviewfromharbal.com/2021/03/03/drink-down-dunedin/
2. Somewhere in the Sand. Saltwater Hippie. https://www.saltwaterhippie.com
3. Ike B. Turo! Turo! Turo! WordPress 1/22/23. https://theviewfromharbal.com/2023/01/22/turo-turo-turo/
4. Ike B. Scottish rites. WordPress 3/2/23. https://theviewfromharbal.com/2023/03/02/scottish-rites/
5. Trotters Buffet. https://clintonbuffet.com
6. FREEDOM HEALTHCARE. https://freedom-healthcare.us
7. CADDY’S MADEIRA BEACH WATERFRONT DINING. https://caddys.com/caddys-madeira-beach/
8. Liebson R. Former Tampa home of Derek Jeter, Tom Brady to be torn down and rebuilt. Tampa Bay Times 10/20/23. https://www.tampabay.com/news/real-estate/2023/10/20/former-tampa-home-derek-jeter-tom-brady-be-torn-down-rebuilt-even-bigger/
9. It’s a Great Day – Paul Thorn. The BOB & TOM Show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7yZ_V0KYDw
10. Paul Thorn “Viagra”. rockwoodgroup. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4YepLZ7I9M
11. Paul Thorn. Setlist FM 10/25.23. https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/paul-thorn/2023/the-guild-theatre-menlo-park-ca-63a0c27b.html
12. Marker 39 Floribbean Cuisine. https://www.marker39.com
13. Karla Bonoff Setlist at Arlington Music Hall, Arlington TX. SetlistFM. https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/karla-bonoff/2024/arlington-music-hall-arlington-tx-73acd689.html
14. Karla Bonoff – Personally. YouTube. https://youtu.be/7CAXCJlIoY0?si=iL0Gez9OGecZZ0IJ i
15. Karla Bonoff – The Water Is Wide (Audio). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCR0MllrO-4
16. Church by the Sea. https://www.churchbythesea.com
17. Sweet Brewnette Café. https://sweetbrewnettecafe.com
18. Welcome to Riccardos Restaurant. https://riccardosrestaurant.net
19. Oak Hill Tennessee. https://oakhilltn.us
20. Whitaker S. John Prine’s Luxurious Nashville Mansion Sells for $4.26 Million — See Inside! [Pictures]. Taste of Country 3/23/23. https://tasteofcountry.com/john-prine-nashville-house-home-mansion-estate-sells-pictures/
21. Mrp’s archives. John Prine / Pretty Good (Live 1973). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz3VQK60ZhM
22. sodastream. PUSH FOR BETTER. https://sodastream.com
23. Frank Sinatra. It’s Nice To Go Trav’ling (Remastered 1998)https://youtu.be/98gtBW575lw?si=LsmswuNz-Ag9-Ym1
24. Frank Sinatra – Come Fly With Me. https://www.discogs.com/master/144028-Frank-Sinatra-Come-Fly-With-Me
appendix: our itinerary
Bob Ike's blog 