The Red Vesters
Another Fun Activity
Jim has joined a fun group called “The Red Vesters”. The group is the men’s answer to “The Red Hatters.” They really enjoy going out on the town together and seeing the curiosity of people wondering why they are dressed alike. Everyone think they are a singing group and really only two of them sing. They are going to be special guests at a Red Hat function where they will be presenting the ladies with roses.
Home Again
After 7 wonderful weeks of travel, the Fun finders arrived back in St.Petersburg,Florida on August 8,2011. We drove over 10,000 miles, had tons of fun, met wonderful people, ate great food, saw great sites and we’re very thankful for the “trip of a lifetime.” We love what small town America has to offer and we recomend that in your travels you check out the 6 finalist towns for the Best Food in the Rand McNally/USA Today Road Rally.
Webster Springs,West Virginia www.visitwebsterwv.com
Burnsville,Minnesota www.burnsvillemn.com
Gulfport,Florida www.GulfportFlorida.us
Lafayette,Louisiana www.Lafayette.Travel
Visalia,California www.visitvisalia.org
Costa Mesa,California www.travelcostamesa.com
Abdallah Candies,Burnsville,Mn.
We will continue to give you suggestions in the towns and others that we visited. We hope the tips help you to enjoy your future USA trips.
The Custard Stand
We’re still traveling and havin’ fun
Here we are- the fun finders- still on our way home from the trip of a lifetime. We left Glendale,Ca. in a rental car and headed back to Visalia. We had great visits with Danika and her family and Mayor Link and his wife. What a beautiful and friendly town with fantastic food. We purchased a van in Las Vegas and are filling it with needed items for the homeless as we take our time travelin’ back across this wonderful country of ours. We had a great time checking out Route 66 and we recommend it for anyone who loves nostalgia.
Just had a wonderful return visit to Lafayette,La. where we experienced more delicious gumbo and other culinary delights at the Accidental Chef Cooking School. We enjoyed seeing all of the super people who worked so hard for our visit. Thank you,Kelly for all of the arrangements for our return visit. Dinner at Riverside Inn was delightful and Randol’s was fun. Homewood Suites was top notch. We loved the Swamp Tour , Tabasco and Jungle Gardens.
You know, we still find it unbelievable that we actually won this wonderful trip where we met so many fantastic people in every town we visited starting with Webster Springs,W.Va, then Burnsville,Minn. and Gulfport,Fl, Lafayette,La, Visalia,Ca. and finally Costa Mesa,Ca. Believe us, you are all truly winners and we loved you all and all of the hard work that you put into our visit. You couldn’t have done it better. We hope to be able to return to all of the towns as we feel that we left a part of ourselves with each of you.
We’ll be home in several days but the memories of the last 50 days will last the rest of our lives. Thank you to everyone who had a hand in creating those memories.
Were Still Going- It’s Vacation Time
As of 07/16/2011 – So Bonnie and Jim are still going. They have decided to start their vacation now. First thing they did is rent a car and head back to Visalia, CA and call Danika (their contact from the road rally). Here is the e-mail they sent me:
We called Danika on the way to Visalia and she was excited to think we were coming back. She arranged for a room at the Lamplighter Inn (a place that also wanted us to stay when we were here before.) This room is a huge cottage with a large bedroom, large living room with fireplace, kitchen and large bath. It has a back and front porch. Really, really nice. So, we’re still luckin’ out. She was here to greet us and will see us tomorrow at church.(same one we went to last week)- what a week!!!
Love and prayers
They just aren’t going to stop!
Costa Mesa is Coast Amazing
Fun Finders in Costa Mesa and we started the day with smiles as 2 clowns jumped out of a lime that arrived to pick us up. How clever!!!!
We headed for Eat Chow where we sampled several of their unique breakfast dishes including homemade tacos soaked with tomatoes and topped with cheese and eggs(chilaquiles). I just have to try this as part of a dinner for Pinellas Hope.
We enjoy our tour of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. This center is completely privatelyfunded and they had been filming an Oreo commercial with tennis star Williams in it. Seating was awesome and there couldn’t possibly be a bad seat in the house.
We journeyed on to the Golden Truffle and met Alan, the owner/chef with a truly “colorful” flare about him. He treated us to many more smaples than we expected. Our favorites were the golden cup salmon,sea bass with lemon tamale and the steak/lyonnaise potatoes and bernaise. Jim really liked his scooter out back, which he insisted that we see. A great little crab mixture was topped with a zucchini flower(ah ha, did you know that you can eat the zucchini flower before it ever makes it into becoming a zucchini??)
We then took a tour of the fair where they are making the world’s largest hamburgers they were setting up to open on Thursday. The theme is “Let’s Eat”. How appropriate and do they ever have the food venders. One was Juicy’s outlaw Grill where they are making a 770 lb. hamburger- worlds largest.
Centenial Farm was interesting that the farm is right on the premises and I couldn’t think of a vegetable that they weren’t growing.
We got to meet the mayor here too!
The fair lasts 23 days and employees 3000 people covering 150 acres. They have a $28 million dollar operating budget. Ray Cammack Shows are the top midway producers in the midway business. All employees are drug tested.
We were welcomed at the citiy council study session to be presented with a proclamation declaring Wednesday,July 13,2011 “Best of the Road Day.”
The day was brought to a dramatic ending at Anne’s Boutique Wines where gourmet selections from 6 establishments were sampled only to be paired with wine appropriate with the selection.(see the sheet that was sent to you It was beautifully set up and who should appear but- Yes- ELVIS –complete with white jump suit and the moves and voice to remind us of “The King.” A truly great evening of FUN,food,wine,music and dancing.
Thought for the day
Ecclesiastes 9:10
“Whatever your hands choose to do, do it with all of your heart. “
We’ve truly done that on this trip and we are very thankful to all of the wonderful people who have shared their hearts with us.
A way to start the day- At CAMP
We started out 2nd day in SoBeCa, a great little community in Costa Mesa. We checked out two special areas- The Camp- an area set up like a camp with outdoor accessories and the feeling that you are at camp- hammock in the trees, metal fire pit and identified trees,plants and flowers.There were 9 restaurants in the Camp- all very unique in their own way. The one we visited was The Vine Café. The menus are attached to a hand painted canvas. They were written up in Feb.2009 Bon Appetit , Mark and Brandon are the two brother/owners. Mark hosts a yearly culinary experience to Italy . They started by bringing out sample breakfast dishes and 1 ½ hr. later they were still bringing out samples. They also brought out lunch,dinner and dessert items.(over 24 specialty dishes.) It is difficult to say what we liked the best because we actually loved it all. Unique items would recommend would be Frutti di Mare, Caprese of Mozzarella Buratta (contained flash fried arugula- delightfully tasy with a crunch) Grandma’s cheese cake( 75 year old recipe from their grandmother) The biscuits and gravy was made with their own “in house” sausage and the fried green tomatoes were ½ thick and cooked to perfection.
check them out on www.oldvinecafe.com .Jim was so impressed with The Vine Cafe that he was talking people at Staples into trying it while I was picking up some supplies at Staples.
The other nearby area that we checked out was the Lab or the anti-mall. It is the answer for people who like to shop but not in large malls in “cookie cutter” stores. A neat concept
On the way back to the hotel,we saw the Victor Paul Salon where Real Housewives of Orange County get their hair done.
The final evening of an Incredible journey.
After a brief time to work on documentation,we headed to Marche Moderne for a wonderful Bouillabaisse (French Fisherman’s Stew) at Pacific Coast Mall. The mall is the largest gross producing shopping center in the US. We moved on to Charlie Palmer’s at Bloomingdales where Chef Kim created a thyme scented steamed halibut was my favorite. The heirloom tomato salad featured a gazpacho sorbet that was excellent. The Kobe style beef sliders contained special beef from specially raised cows in Japan.
A little break and off to Mastro’s for the steak “to die for” and delightful veggies served in 8 in. skillets. We sampled 5 different desserts but their special butter cake was sinfully delicious.
This fine dining experience was an awesome way to conclude a journey of a lifetime in search for what Small Town America has the Best Food.
A huge thank you to Rand McNally, USA Today, Saab, Carlson Properties, Shell Oil Company for making this opportunity available. We have done our very best to fulfill the duty of making this selection to the best of our ability. Thank you to all of our followers. We hope that we entertained you and have encouraged you to Take a Road Trip. The USA has so much to offer and you owe it to yourself to venture out of your own town and discover treasures all over America. We recommend it 100%
The Fun Finders in search of what makes Visalia special
Trying to get Jim out of the Sun!
After a late night of driving, we safely arrived at the Marriott in Visalia at 2 AM. Sleep was definitely on our minds and Security Guard John welcomed us and even helped us with our bags. The room was enormous and the hotel had placed gorgeous live flowers in both rooms. The bed was soooo nice.
We found ourselves full of energy in the morning and Danika met us to take us to breakfast at the Corner Café. We enjoyed tasting their Green Chile Omelet, French toast, biscuits & gravy and their sausage patty (size of an 8 in. plate). Their portions are generous, and owner Byron told us that everything is made from scratch and fresh (nothing frozen)
On to The Methodist Church and a spirited message from Pastor Steve about seeing beyond the “façade”. Did you know that 35% of the Sermon on the Mount is about Seeing?
At the next stop, Fugazzi’s rolled out the RED carpet ( really)for us. Many city officials and other guests were there to greet us. The band “Borrowed Time” played great dance music. What an appropriate name for us- we’re wondering if that is what kind of time we’re on right now??
Hey! We forgot to mention Country Inn of Albuquerque, NM
They put us up on the way here!
We have to share the original little message that mayor Bob Link shared as he welcomed us. “It’s traditional for visitors to be given the key to the city. Instead, we’re giving you a silver spoon and fork. First, we really want to make the connection between farm and fork…much of the food you eat here, probably even the food you ate elsewhere came from the valley. Second, they are sterling, The best, because we believe that we truly do have the best food in the country. They are antique, because we are one of the oldest cities in the state and they are eclectic. Non matched, because that’s what our restaurants are- a unique, eclectic mix of eaters that we believe are unmatched in any small town in America.
A great platter of appetizers were tastefully presented . The selections included fresh spinach dip,grilled tacos, coconut prawns and fugazzia pizza.
The afternoon included a visit to Naylor’s Organic Family Farm Stay. We toured the orchards and got to pick peaches, nectarines and plums. One hint we learned was that the peach should be perfectly round-if it isn’t, it wasn’t ready to pick. Farm Stay is a concept where a farmer allows people to come to their farm and stay and pick and learn about the fruit they pick. They presently have two cottages set up for rent.
We traveled on to the McKellar’s farm. Citrus fruit (Navel and Valencia oranges) is their product and the farm has been in existence since 1927. They participate in the agri-tourism program-B&B. They are active in the Family Farm Fresh program and showed us how they process the orders. A portion of the property is available for weddings and receptions. For 80 years old, Mr. McKellar is quite industrious and very unique individual.
The A & W Root Beer truck came to the farm and set up and served us delicious root beer floats. We weren’t really hungry but it was yummy. Craig Van Horn is the owner and his A &W in town is the #1 stand in the US.( Note: A&W stands for Allen & Wright)
After a brief break we went to Vintage Press for a tremendous meal. Jim had halibut and I had salmon. The presentation was awesome.. The meal concluded with a scrumptious piece of cheesecake with warmed peaches on the side(yes it was some of the fruit we picked).
Almost forgot, The good folks in Visalia, CA made us a video:
The next day was set aside and advertised as Dine Out Vissalia to boost the local economy by eating out of this day while The Fun Finders are in town. Some restaurants are normally closed on Mondays but opened for the occasion. The Fun Finders are having a ball in Visalia- getting more and more “Rolly poly”. Go to dineoutvisalia.com to check out the special dine out for the town on July 11 that was held today in honor of the Best of the Road visit.
We started out with two breakfasts Tazzaria and Valhallo. We had an excellent Greek skillet with fresh basil, tomato and feta and waffles with peaches at Tazzaria’s.. Also sampled the oatmeal muffins where the recipe can be found in Bon Appetit, Nov. 2010.We loved the Aebleskivers at Valhall0.
Several other samples were tasted that were delightful from this mother//daughter owned restaurant. I loved the wall of identified pie plates where they were turned around backwards if that pie wasn’t available. They even had a “train” room for families with children , complete with toys for entertaining the children.
We then toured the Bravo Farms Chees Company where we saw the lengthy process of cheese making explained and being done. What an interesting place with a very tall tree house in the patio area. Other interesting sight made us want to return at a future date. Worth a visit
On to the Visalia Rescue Mission where we were shown the entire operation from the meals to the thrift store processing. What a wonderful mission. Check it out at www.VRMHOPE.org.
Time to eat with Lunch at Gozen Japanese Cuisine. Our first time for Sushi and it was presented in a large wooden boat. Both cooked and raw sushi were offered. We will definitiely have it again as we were pleasantly surprised at the great combination of flavors. Following was Teppanyaki (meaning royal dining) It was indeed, prepared right before our eyes by Johnny. Johnny was full of talent, flare and personality. Truly a dining experience “Fit for a King.”Our favorite items were the steak and the scallops. The Wehona Packing house was the next stop, where they process peaches and plums. They also have a separate section for processing organic products. What an operation. We even saw how the little sticker manages to get on the fruit.
Traveling in the country we saw many more crops being produced, including alfalfa,almonds,kiwi,pomegranats, and eggplant.
The evening consisted of a Progressive Historical Walking Dinner in Downtown Visalia with a local .historian giving interesting information about each of the 5 restaurants ..The population of Visalia was 60,000
18 years ago and it has now doubled Restaurants were all top notch with special items chosen by each restraunteur to make for the complete meal. Restaurants included The Double L, Salazars, Tommy’s, Café 225, The Depot and Jack & Charlies. The wonderful evening was topped off with delicious homemade cotton candy being placed in the middle of the tables for us all to reminisce back to our past and going to the fair. We were presented with a personalized collection of the Dine Out Visalia July 11 celebration and 2 beautiful personalized red (our team color) aprons. What more suitable memento of this culinary experience here in Visalia?. .
Lafayette, LA Day 2 – Were Full
We had to wake very early this morning to be on one television show and two radio shows, but Jim got to see an amazing Elvis collection at KTDY. Then it was on to the French Press in downtown Lafayette, a restaurant located in a restored printing company building with high ceilings and exposed brick walls. Our menu consisted of homemade organic granola, yogurt and fruit, grits and grillades, a breakfast sandwich dedicated to Saints quarterback Drew Brees that consisted of a fried boudin ball, bacon and cane syrup on a biscuit and the French Press’ take on eggs Benedict, only this time it was a poached egg on top of boudin and French toast topped with gumbo!
University of Louisiana at Lafayette professor Hector Lasala gave us a quick history lesson on Lafayette, then a walking tour of the downtown area. We saw both old and new architecture and Jefferson Street (named for a Broadway actor who lived in the area, not Thomas Jefferson) lined with beautiful bald cypress trees. People who saw us on TV shouted to us on the street.
The tourism folks kept hinting that they had a surprise for us, and they did! They took us to St. Joseph’s Diner, where the homeless are fed daily, plus boxed lunches and other food products are brought to home-bound Lafayette residents. They even donated food and a cash gift to St. Joseph’s in our name.
We stopped briefly to see the revolving Evangeline Maid bread sign next to the bakery, then headed to the 450-year-old St. John’s Oak tree, a massive tree next to St. John’s Cathedral and cemetery.
Lunch was at Don’s Seafood, a restaurant that has been part of the Lafayette landscape for decades. Lafayette Mayor Joey Durel joined us for crawfish bisque, shrimp remoulade, fried alligator and catfish and bread pudding.
The afternoon consisted of a press conference at Vermilionville, a “Cajun Williamsburg” Chef Pat Mould explained to us. Here, a collection of old Cajun buildings are assembled to form a village with docents demonstrating crafts of the early Acadians. Mayor Durel presented us with gifts and made us honorary Cajuns and the Lt. Governor’s Office welcomed us to Louisiana. Chef Mould said of his time with us: “Any opportunity I get to share what we have in Lafayette is not only a pleasure, but a real honor.”
After touring through Vermilionville, we stopped for malts at the Hub City Diner where Elvis is everywhere. There’s even a pelican painted like Elvis called “Pelvis”! Of course we had to don T-shirts and tape a video in front of him.
Our last meal in Lafayette is at Pamplona Tapas Bar & Restaurant and then it’s time to hit the road. It’s a long way to California.
Coming here to Lafayette has been such a pleasure. We hate to leave.
Lafayette, LA – We Made it! Part 1
Were Here!
We arrived in Lafayette late Tuesday evening and hit the ground running on Wednesday morning, enjoying breakfast at Dwyer’s, a favorite meeting spot downtown. We even got some lessons in Cajun cuisine from Chef Pat Mould and the difference between Cajun music and zydeco by John “JB” Broussard, host of a zydeco show on Lafayette public radio station KRVS.
Next up was the Jean Lafitte National Historic Park in Lafayette, one of several that form a larger national park presence in South Louisiana. We go to watch a film that explained the history of the Cajun people, then toured the many exhibits throughout the building.
Carlee Alm-LaBar of the Lafayette mayor’s office, Gerald Breaux of the Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission and Pat Mould joined the us at the Blue Dog Café, a locally owned restaurant with walls lined with artwork of George Rodrigue, a Lafayette native and creator of the “Blue Dog” paintings. We ate the award-winning crawfish won tons, portabello mushroom pizza, seafood gumbo and a sampler featuring Cajun enchiladas, “Dirty Dog” rice and corn macque choux. We even donned Blue Dog T-shirts and serenaded our hosts at the Blue Dog statue on the back patio.
Charcuterie was on hand at Jolie’s Louisiana Bistro, a sister restaurant that also features artwork by Rodrigue. Owner Steven Santillo gave the us a tour, then Chef Manny Augello explained the elaborate charcuterie spread of local meats, cheeses, bread and specialty butter. Jolie’s uses many local, organic and artisan suppliers in its cuisine.
Johnson’s Boucaniere is a family owned meat market and restaurant that spans decades and today’s owners showed us how to make boudin, a Cajun blond sausage filled with pork and rice (scary). We also got a chance to sample boudin balls sandwich, smoked brisket (and saw the smokers out back) and brownie bread pudding with white chocolate and pecan sauce.
At both Jolie’s and Johnson’s there were people celebrating birthdays and we sang for them both!!
After a brief respite — after all that great food, it was time for a break — then we were treated to gumbo and appetizers at Don’s Hut and Charley G’s, both renowned Lafayette restaurants. Mayor Joey Durel and his wife were our special guests. To work off that fabulous food, we headed to Randol’s, a long-time Cajun restaurant that features live Cajun music nightly with zydeco on Sundays. There was a pile of fresh boiled seafood, including crab, shrimp and crawfish, plus alligator, crabcakes with remoulade sauce and cane-syrup laced fried shrimp, and although we were stuffed it was impossible to resist a dance or two.
Time for a rest and then day 2!
Tarpon Springs, FL – It’s all Greek to me!
Tuesday morning July 5th Leaving Gulfport and a quick trip to return the red SAAB convertible- thanks to the folks from Dimmitt for the parade loaner- we felt like King and Queen of the 4th riding in the parade!!Next stop Tarpon Springs- another amazing small town in Florida. Tarpon is an authentic Greek community with a population of about 25,000 known as the sponge capital of the world.
We were greeted by Sue Thomas, the President of the Chamber, who met us at Hella’s an award winning famous Greek restaurant that has been voted #1 “Where the Locals Eat”.
Our server, Takis, was a living commercial for Tarpon, he came straight from Greece and said he feels at home as he preserves the Greek culture through his grandmother’s cooking.He was proud to serve the combination platter of Gyro, Mousaka, Pastitsio, Dolmades, and tzatziki sauce.
It was all delicious and authentic-next came the traditional Greek salad which is the best we’ve ever had, and then the Broiled Octopus which we tasted for the first time but will definitely order again. The last thing Takis brought to the table was the Saganaki (Flaming cheese) Opaa! What fun!!
The mayor arrived and we talked for a minute about their town entering the best of the road next year and then went in to the bakery where we had a lot of trouble choosing from the amazing Greek pastries- we did choose the Napoleon and the Chocolate Kok for the road.
Side note- Sue Thomas, Chamber President, was from Costa Mesa, Calif. So she offered some helpful hints for our visit there and wanted to come along. Looking forward to Tarpon Springs being one of the Best of the Road in 2012.
Next time it’s all about Lafayette,
Lots of Laughs
Jim and Bonnie, The Fun Finders
Gulfport, FL – Day 2 4th of July 2011
We have to share this video with you. Rob Fowler of http://007computer.com/ did while we were here:
Clam Bayou Tour
We meet Kurt Zuelseorf, owner of kayak Nature, at the Boca Ciega Yacht Club to start our adventure. Kurt’s “Bring Back the Bayou” waterway clean up program has recieved national attention as the trash totals are nearing 200,000 lbs…all removed from waterways using kayaks! The result of Kurt’s actions is a wonderful and amazing “Clam Bayou” that you really need to see. We were going to tour the bayou by way of kayak, which would have been fun, but instead
had the pleasure of touring Clam Bayou by means of Kurt’s new electric boat before it was even open to the public. It was an amazing tour. The boat seems to be quietly sneaking around the bayou allowing us to see an American Egret glide effortlessly over the mangroves… an Osprey closer than ever before… a Night Heron watching intently as we glide silently by. It was fantastic and defintily recommended. Bye Kurt and Thanks!
Just to make sure we mention everyone here is a link to the Gulfport, Fl restaurants that have created a sampler platter especially for the Rand McNally Road Rally.
Click Here to see all of the sampler platters.
Stella’s
A healthy hearty breakfast with small town friendliness. We chose to try their Sampler Plate which included fried green tomatoes made with Chipotle Aioli Dipping Sauce, Hand Chopped Corned Beef Hash with One Quail Egg Southern style, Mini Biscuit & Gravy and Mini Lox. The Gulfport chef’s lack nothing on creativity, variety and style in serving beautiful and tasty meals. This was also a scheduled get together with the locals. Many people showed up to have breakfast with us.
It was really nice. There is even a coffee mug rack on the wall that holds mugs belonging to the regulars. They just come in, grab their mug, and sit down. Stella’s replaces them after washing for the owners next visit. Now that’s community!
After breakfast we went to the beach to participate in the children’s sand castle building and fishing tournament. It was a great time and there were kids everywhere having a blast.
Car Show – Complete with 2 SAABs
We were the stars of the car show with not one but two SAABs. There were so many cars there to look at. The line went on and on. Here is a video of some of the cars. It’s a little long but it had to be:
Lunch Omaddys with Press
Lunch at Omaddys with the press was a hit. We met representatives from area papers and had a fantastic lunch. Omaddys is on the beach and the view was beautiful. They, like 14 other restaurants in town, had a sampler platter in honor of “The Rand McNally USA Today Road Rally” and it was great.
We had a great time talking with the press and others from the community. We even got to meet the Chef, Wade Parrish, and Joe Guenther the manager and husband of Maddy, the owner.
Friends of The Fun Finders Lunch
Monday Lunch for Guests at Peninsula
No points earned, hospitality still at it’s best.
The staff at Isabelle’s Restaurant went above and beyond the call of duty. In fact it was not a duty at all but pure pleasure. It seems that creating an atmosphere where all guest feel welcome, relaxed and special is their motto. Several friends and supporters of ours, AKA the Fun Finders were staying at The Peninsula Inn and ready for lunch. When lunch timed rolled around the owner,
Alexandra Kingxett came to accommodate them. During this month “Sampler Platters” are available but not this day. The chefs, Bernie and Edgar made an exception and prepared just for our friends that very thing. It was beautiful and made our friends feel as though they were treated as royalty.
Here are the sampler entrees: Lump crab cakes with remoulade sauce, zucchini fritters with balsamic glaze, sour cream and red onion marmalade, fried green tomatoes with pimento cheese sauce. These chefs take everything into account, flavor, texture, color and presentation.
FYI: The restaurant name is after the resident ghost, Isabelle Jarel. She is a multigenerational member of Gulfport from the early 1950’s. Isabelle passed away unexpectantly in her early 50s. She has been spotted in her favorite color of powder blues on the 3rd floor of the Inn. She loves cats, parties and all the activities at the inn. She is very playful and her presence is felt often by guests.
Thank you to the staff for all they did to make the stay one to remember.
We are confident that all guests are treated exactly the same as our friends were treated. Try them out and experience for yourselves.
We stopped to cool off and make three stops in one spot. Gulfport’s diversity isamazing.
Tangelos, Neptune Grill, Village Pub
Parade - SAABs Lineup and go
We were invited to be in the 4th of July parade while we were in Gulfport. It was an honor. We joined the parade with both our traveling SAAB as well as the red convertible loaned to us by Dimmit SAAB in Clearwater, FL. There was quite a crowd out to see the parade and they were all cheering for us as well as the others in the parade. This celebrity thing could get comfortable. Here is a video of us passing the stage:
Council Key from Mayor
After the parade Mayor, Mike Yates invited us up on stage to receive the key to the city. When we get home were going to come down and see how many doors it fits!
Dinner at Pia’s
More food at Pia’s Trattoria. This was a very relaxing atmosphere. Definitely Italian too. Here is an excerpt from their website which says it better than I can:
Pia’s Trattoria is the kind of sweetly earnest restaurant that you’d like to think unfurls fully realized from the ground. Just a kernel of vision, nurtured by sweat and love, fortified by some good basic ingredients and a healthy inoculation of Italian culinary know-how.
Fireworks
Finish the day with a fantastic fireworks show. Here is a video of the finale. You know, the part where they finally just throw a match in the rest of the box.
After a good nights sleep we woke up to the Tuesday Fresh Market. It seems like there is always something going here in Gulfport. There are produce stands and crafts up and down Beach Blvd. It just wonderful, I don’t know what else to say.
We had to stop by and say goodbye to Lori and thank her for all her help.
Time to get packed and off to Lafayette by Way of Tarpon Springs