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| Scott at the Annual Art Festival admiring some beautiful wooden bowls. We were not tempted to buy anything as we didn't see any item priced less than $500. |
Our next stop was 3 nights at my cousin Joanie & husband Kent's home in the historic section of St. Pete. We arrived in time to help set up the Preservation Society's event that night at their home. Sixty people had bought tickets to tour their home, enjoy refreshments and learn the history of their house. It's also famous around town for being the site of the 2021 movie "Fear of Rain" with Harry Connick, Jr. and Katherine Heigl. Joanie & Kent were living in the house while it was being filmed and really enjoyed an upfront look at the process. They also praised the two stars who were very down to earth and friendly.
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| My cousin Joanie - our mothers were sisters. |
We spent a lot of time the next day seeing the Annual Art Festival Beth-El. The entire temple and grounds were packed with artists in every medium. It's a curated judged show so the quality was very high. What fun. And then we had drinks and appetizers up on the roof of a hotel right on St. Pete beach. The day was gorgeous as you can see from the photos.
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| The Dali Museum St. Petersburg |
Our second day we spent at the Dali Museum down town. Designed by Yann Weymouth, the chief of design for I.M. Pei for the Grand Louvre Pyramid, it cost $30 million and is a surrealism-inspired structure made of glass and poured concrete. The entryway is 75 feet tall and encompasses a spiral staircase. It is spectacular and so is the collection. Reynolds and Muriel Morse started collecting Dali in 1943 and they were friends and patrons of Dali for over 40 years. Scott and I had only seen a few of Dali's works in other museums so were very impressed with the quality of his craftsmanship and the range of his subjects and styles. We also loved learning about his life and spending time with him (you can ask him questions on the famous lobster phone and he'll give relative answers - it must be an AI thing!).
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| Enjoying drinks and appetizers overlooking St. Petersburg beach. |
Our time went by so quickly and all too soon we were off again. This time back for only one night with Harpal and Jeannie before heading west. That was a fun night out for dinner at BJ's Restaurant, a chain we hadn't experienced before, but that Scott particularly loved and in fact joined their club the next day! Next stop one night in Tallahassee before we check in to the Santa Rosa RV Resort for a three week stay.
