by Linda Laughter, Guest Blogger
Last week Linda wrote about the Forgotten Coast. This week she ventures into more populated territory.
In our escape as snowbirds, we thought we would try going south along the Gulf Coast of Florida. We ended up in Indian Rocks Beach, just a brief drive from St. Petersburg. Our experience here was much different than in the Panhandle. This area has definitely been found! High rises are encouraged to get more bodies per square inch.
We found an “Old Florida” salmon colored beach house that was divided into 4 units sandwiched between condos. It was our sanctuary from the crowds. We enjoyed walking right out to the beach. The weather was great here though and lots of local restaurants and nightlife.
Heading to St. Pete’s we discovered The Sunken Gardens. Traveling with Don we never pass a garden! This is a 4 acre botanical garden located in the heart of town. At over 100 years old, it is recognized as St. Petersburg oldest living museum and is home to over 50,000 tropical plants. We especially liked the quietness of the Japanese garden. They also have Yoga lessons among the palms. It was gorgeous.
Also on our must see list was the Dali Museum in St. Pete. The structure designed by HOK and is a study in extremes of glass geodesic domes and raw concrete walls. The helical staircase was amazing. The collection includes work from Salvador Dali’s entire career (1904-1989) with works from each period of his artistic activity.
It was founded with the works donated by Reynolds and Eleanor Morse and opened in 2011. I enjoyed seeing the complete evolution of Dali’s work, from Impressionisms to his final works of surrealism. I am always impressed to see the actual works of an artist I have studied. We had a delicious tapas lunch on the patio and enjoyed seeing the boats in the harbor. All in all, a great treat.
Linda Laughter is a practicing interior designer and part-time painter in Ada, MI. She and her architect husband love to travel and enjoy all the architectural details and God’s beauty the world has to offer.
