Florida History and Wisconsin Connections

The Spanish explorer, Juan Ponce de León, landed on Florida’s west coast on Easter Sunday in 1513. And so he named his discovery Florida after the Easter Feast (Pascua Florida). During 2013 Floridians are involved in a statewide initiative – Viva Florida 500 – to commemorate Ponce de León’s arrival. While we were visiting Florida last month, we participated in one of the more than 200 events that are occurring during the coming year throughout the state - a living history program featuring a recreated Calusa village.

Volunteers who taught us more about the Calusa, the native people that
Ponce de Leon encountered. The Calusa culture was based on estuarine fisheries
rather than agriculture. No Calusa are alive today. However, the name remains
on banks, marinas, and golf clubs.

This volunteer demonstrated how the Calusa caught fish.

The Calusa even had a visitor – a Tocobaga warrior – from the Tampa area on the day of the event. He showed us some of the arrows he had fashioned out of rock from the area.

The Charlotte County Historical Center was a block away from our cottage. It offered a number of informative exhibits about the communities surrounding Charlotte Harbor. We learned that Isaac Trabue, one of the founders of Punta Gorda (just over the Peace River bridge from where we were staying), wanted to name the town after himself. He didn’t succeed but did name many of the city’s streets after his family and friends. The city’s name means “fat point,” the name given to the area by Spanish explorers.

A view of Punta Gorda (the point of land across the water) from the Bayshore Live Oak Park. This view was just a few
hundred feet from our cottage.

We discovered a great restaurant in Port Charlotte that was owned by a former UW Badger. John Hall, a Port Charlotte native son, was a kicker for the Badgers in the 1990s and later for the Jets and Redskins in the NFL. One of the burgers on the menu was named after teammate, Cory Raymer, a Fond du Lac native. However, no deep-fried cheese curds.

John Hall's UW jersey.

The Punta Gorda Art Walk - an evening of music, art, live demonstrations, shopping, and food in downtown Punta Gorda - was a great way to spend our last evening in the area.

This shop's owner gets her cheese from Wisconsin. She sold cheese curds!

As long as I’m mentioning the Badgers, I’d better bring up the Packers. We found the Tervis Tumbler outlet store on one of our wanderings with plenty of permanently sealed, double-walled tumblers with the Packer logo. The factory is located one county over from where we stayed and was the only evidence of industry we saw on our trip.

We couldn't believe how crowded the outlet store was when we stopped in.
Even though we didn't buy these tumblers, we did get a couple with the
signature bird of vintage trailer enthusiasts - the pink flamingo.

One more post to come about our time in Florida – stay tuned!

Even More Sunshine

Not that I am rubbing it in....but we think we're in Paradise.

This sign post was in Placida where we were on Saturday for an art fair. The morning started out on the cool side but we managed! The breeze off the water was heavenly.

The Taste of Punta Gorda was later on Saturday. I think there were more crafters at the event than food stands. We didn't complain. The sun was shining--again.

One of the neatest trips we've taken was an air boat ride at Myakka State Park. We saw dozens of alligators. If you look closely you can see a couple of them sunning themselves on the bank.

Scotch plaid camping gear attracted our attention at an antique fair on Sunday. Rick had to show the sellers pictures of his collection. That broke the ice. We learned that this couple lived in a vintage mobile home park so we checked it out.

Lee is showing some of the collection. Isn't that a great dress that she's wearing?

Here is "Main" street of the mobile home park where Lee and Randall live. Theirs is the bright yellow trailer toward the end of the row.

Some of our neighbors have stopped by. Everyone has been very friendly. Maybe because so many of them are originally from the Midwest and we know what nice people we are!

Our cottage is quite comfortable and we are pleased with our find.

I'll close this post with an image of a mailbox we saw on our way to the antique fair. What do you think--Carmen Miranatee?.

Lots of Sunshine

We arrived in Florida after finally leaving the snow in Tennessee. The temperatures have been in the high 70s to low 80s. And best of all--sunshine every day!
Unfortunately there seem to be issues with my blogging application. I'm using an iPad and have not figured out how to transfer pictures taken on various devices. Posts may be few and far between these next several weeks.
But just so you'll stay with me, here's something to whet your appetite for more from the Sunshine State...

Miscellaneous Musings While Winter Lingers

We're getting antsy to get on the road again. Especially when winter will not loose its chilly grip on us here in Wisconsin. Rain at the beginning of the week. The next day - snow. The day after - below zero wind chills. Weather-related warnings for our vacation destination - high surf and rip tide. We just won't go swimming.

For this last post before vacation, I was perusing pictures I’d taken over the years that represented some of the unusual.

The Airstream Ranch consists of eight full-sized vintage Airstream camper trailers buried in line off I-4 near Tampa, Florida. The owner, Frank Bates, maintained that his creation, which represents the history of the Airstream line of campers, was art. The county disagreed and took Bates to court. Eventually appellate judges heard the case. While they did not state that the campers were art, the judges did say that Bates' creation wasn’t junk, wasn’t a sign, nor illegal storage of RVs.

Art or something else?

“White Collar Woods” was an installation near Woodruff in the north woods of Wisconsin a few years ago. It was part of “Forest Art Wisconsin,” a project that tapped into a cutting-edge trend in the art community. The forest was the source of artistic inspiration and the trail area functioned as the gallery, a display area for works of art that normally would not be found there. The artist was commenting on the gentrification of the north woods. The French cuffs symbolized an invasive species which also brings jobs and livelihood through tourism. But the artist was asserting that at some point, making a trip to the woods similar to a trip to the opera could be as absurd as the cuffs of the installation.

We were on our way to the Amana Colonies in Iowa two years ago when this "horse" caught my eye. Perhaps it was an advertisement for a museum, maybe it was folk art out there for the public's enjoyment. I can't remember. Nonetheless, something unusual and fun.

We’re looking forward to finding more of the interesting and unusual as we wander south. Stay tuned.

Beer and Cheese Fest

Last Saturday Rick came to Madison and we attended the Isthmus Beer & Cheese Fest. We were first timers at this event. 

We arrived shortly after the festival opened to the general public and stood in a long line to get into the exhibit hall. Those with VIP tickets were able to enter an hour earlier but paid for the privilege to do so. There was confusion as to just what the entry process was. We eventually learned that the wrist band we received was merely to show that we were over 21 years of age. Then we had to present our tickets to someone else at another gate.

We visited most of the craft brewers and artisanal cheese makers. It's great to see microbreweries making a comeback in Wisconsin. Not quite as many as there were in the 1800s, but a respectable number nonetheless.

Our complimentary tasting glass. It may look like it's a
standard pint but it is about half the capacity.

I was delighted to see Potosi Brewing Company in attendance and had to have a sample of my favorite - Snake Hollow Pale Ale.

We've not been to this brewery in Eau Claire. It's on our
list for the next time we travel north.

A glance at a beer aficionado's garb will give a clue as to his or her favorite brew.

And then there are the generic t-shirts that cause a smile.

My friend and former colleague, Jim Draeger, author of Bottoms Up! A Toast to Wisconsin's Historic Bars & Breweries, was at the Fest. In addition to the book, the Wisconsin Historical Society Press partnered with Wisconsin Public Television to produce a documentary that features many of the bars and breweries in the book. A few weeks ago I also viewed the current Bottoms Up! exhibit at the Wisconsin Historical Museum. This exploration of Wisconsin's tavern culture is on display until March 23. Check it out.

All in all, the Beer and Cheese Fest was a good event for a beer snob who appreciates the flavor of a good microbrew! 

Getting Out of the Cold

Soon we are going to practice being snowbirds – for the third winter. To prepare, I thought I would look back at our first trip to Florida two years ago. Then we spent a week in the Orlando area and, of course, had to visit Disney World. It was my first time at this particular theme park. I had been to Disneyland in California in the mid-1980s. I was in Anaheim for a conference and our conference social was held at the park.

This Disney visit was three days – one in Celebration, FL (a Disney planned and branded city), one at EPCOT, and one at the Magic Kingdom. My favorite part of the day at EPCOT was a "behind the seeds" tour at the Living with the Land pavilion. We learned about the hydroponic techniques that were being used to grow gigantic fruits and vegetables. All of the produce is used in Disney World restaurants. Our tour guide was a recent graduate with a degree in entomology. 

"Look, Ma - no dirt!"

I was surprised that EPCOT wasn't more science-oriented with more appeal for adults. Many of our stops were quite "kidified." We probably should have spent more time in the World Showcase area visiting a few more international pavilions. 

Inside the China showcase.

The IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth show (lights and fireworks) around the World Showcase Lagoon at the end of the day was spectacular. 

EPCOT at night.

Because we visited Disney World in January, the crowds were lighter and we didn't have to wait in long lines. There's also a way visitors can schedule a time to go on a ride or tour an attraction to avoid spending more time waiting than having fun. We took advantage of that aspect of the park.

Ever-changing colored lights flood the iconic Cinderella's castle at night. 

I'll admit that the Buzz Lightyear ride was fun. We even went twice!

Great marketing - having a picture of visitors available at the end of the ride.

One day we ventured to the east coast of Florida and visited Daytona Beach. More than 100 years ago the rich were racing on the sands of Daytona and continued to do so until the mid-1930s. One can still drive on the beach today, but only at a fraction of the speed that cars go around race tracks now.

This is the ocean side of Florida. We'll be on the gulf side in a few weeks.

We're keeping our fingers crossed that we won't run into any bad weather on our way to Florida. We're also hoping that the "Sunshine" state will, indeed, deliver!

Happy New Year 2013!

For the last weekend of 2012 we wandered out of state – to the flatland south of us to visit our friends Anna and Bill in Freeport. We met up at the Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum in Rockford. 

Look closely and you'll see Rick at the side of the cottage - playing with his phone, of course!

The backside of the cottage. Its basement is still above ground. Robert Tinker
had his office down there. 

As we learned more of the history of the cottage and its builder during our docent-led tour, I thought about a couple of Wisconsin similarities – the Schlitz Brewing Company and Villa Louis. 

Robert Tinker was a bookkeeper for the Manny Reaper Works (a big competitor to Cyrus McCormick at the time). McCormick sued John Manny over patent infringement – all the way to the Supreme Court – but Manny won. However, the trial took its toll and Manny died only two weeks after the verdict. Tinker eventually married Mary Manny, John’s widow. He connected his cottage to Mary’s home with a draw bridge over the creek that separated them. 

Now for the Schlitz similarity – Joseph Schlitz was the bookkeeper for August Krug’s tavern brewery. After Krug died, Schlitz married Krug’s widow and took over the brewing company naming it after himself. One difference was that Mary Manny Tinker ran the company making her a rarity among women of her day.

As for the similarity to Villa Louis, the Tinker Cottage has many of its original furnishings, artwork, and household items still on exhibit just as the Dousman family artifacts are at Villa Louis. Both homes were turned over to the cities in which they were located after family members lived there for many years. Both are now operated as museums.

The fireplace in the parlor - all decked out for the holidays.

This spiral staircase was fashioned from one continuous piece
of wood that was bent over a period of many months.

One of the serving pieces in the butler's pantry.

All of the china was painted with a variety of flowers.

After the Tinker Cottage, we stopped in at the Burpee Museum of Natural History, also in Rockford. The centerpiece of its paleontology collection is Jane, a juvenile tyrannosaurus rex.

Jane has more of her original bones than any other dinosaur on exhibit in any other U.S. museum.
She was uncovered in Montana.

This depiction is of a Neanderthal, a human's
closest extinct relative.

On New Year’s Day, we met our friends, Laurie and Greg who live in Illinois, for brunch at the Honeypie Café in the Bay View neighborhood of Milwaukee. Greg grew up in Bay View so it was a homecoming for him. The food was delicious and the conversation scintillating. It was a great way to begin the new year. 

Since we’re still in the first week of the new year, it’s probably okay to end this first post of 2013 by wishing all of my readers a Happy New Year! May your 2013 be filled with friends and adventures!