Any Florida turning recommendations?

[Ricc Havens]

The wife and I may be traveling to Florida the last week of February. Even though we are vaccinated/boosted we are still cautious about deciding to even make the trip. But, the wife has a very stressful job and needs some time away. It may even come down to the last minuite before we decide to go or stay home.

Will probably be in the Clearwater, Tampa, St. Pete, and maybe Sarasota areas (dependng on the relatives/friends we may visit)

Looking for other potential suggestions:
- hands on instruction (I took a hands on class with Rudy Lopez at his shop back in 2019. o looking at other options if available)
- shop visits
- suppliers
- woodturning related galleries, exhibits
- visiting a tuning club meeting/demo

Any suggestions?
Thanks
Ricc
rv.havens@gmail.com

 

[Earl McLain]

Hey Ricc--good to "see" you at yesterday's meeting!!
We're itching to get back to St Pete Beach--and in fact i was looking at airfares for the last week of February this morning (the 2-bags free airline is having a sale). I'm with you on the hesitation to go though. I was planning to chat with my wife tonight about that or still considering Puerto Rico--i'm ready to get out of the office!!
Not turning related--but the Mac & Cheese at Rick's Reef in St. Pete Beach is awesome. Share it as an appetizer (with the lobster!!) and you may not need an entre. Also, there's a utility plant in that area that attracts manatees, worth the drive.
Good luck on your decision, i'll let you know if we decide to go.
earl

 

[Charlie Knighton]

Just take a walk.....& a place to eat
Rick's on the river (tampa)

 

[Bob Vaughan]

Looks like the Florida West Coast Woodturners are still having Zoom meetings rather than in person meetings.

For a killer breakfast or lunch, try the Frog Pond at 16909 Gulf Blvd, North Redington Beach, south of Clearwater.

 

[Ricc Havens]

Earl, thanks for the suggestion. If you are in St. Pete one of our favorite places is Dockside Dave's just on the north edge of St. Pete in Madeira Beach. North of the bridge at John's Pass. My uncle used to have a parasailing concession on Madeira Beach. It's a small but nice beach! Not sure which bag free airline you are talking about. But, if it's the "south" one then it's really not much cheaper than Allegiant out of S.Bend. by the time we pay for gas, toll, a week of parking, etc. driving to Midway in Chicago or even down to Indy it would be cheaper for us to fly out of S.bend. But, I will check it out.

Charlie. thanks for the recommendation. We hope to get to that area as my cousin has a business in Ybor city not too far away. She has told us about Rick's in the past but we have never made it there. Maybe this trip we will.

Bob, thanks for the recommendation. Have an Aunt that lives in Clearwater and my neighbor is a snowbird in Clearwater. So maybe we can take either of them there for a meal.

Keep the suggestions coming!

 

[Charlie Knighton]

Week of parking at airport
Find moderate priced motel within 10 miles of airport.....reserve for 1 night....sign up to leave car at motel for up to 2 weeks....free parking.....take free shuttle to airport and shuttle to motel when you come back.....night at motel usually less than parking at airport

 

[Ricc Havens]

Charlie. Thanks! I am familiar with the park & fly options. But, Allegiant leaves from the regional airport 25miles from my house. They are routinely running ticket deals that are compareable to Southwest out of Chicago/Midway without the expense of getting to the airport. Chicago MIdway is 2hrs with tolls, gas, one night motel (to get the "free" parking), food, etc. We can get a ride to the airport locally pretty by friends or family and don't have to pay for parking. Yes, Southwest may offer a free bag option. But, for us adding the cost of a carry-on bag on Allegiant is well offset by the other costs getting to Chicago. My wife and I have found that we can usually pack enough for about a week in the largest carry-on the airlines allow.

The only issue we have to deal with by flying Allegiant over Southwest is frequency of flights. Southwest has morre options each day. Allegiant flies once a day. And sometimes you have to adjust your schedule i.e. Alegient doesn't fly on Sundays out of our area so you have to fly adjust to Saturday or Monday. Our schedule is flexible enough to accommodate that.

 

[Bob Vaughan]

Indian Rocks Beach has a seafood place called "Crabby Bill's". They serve the best stone crab claws that can be had. They're also a seafood dealer so they take the best claws for their own restaurant. Their other seafood fare is predictable and good, but the stone crab claws are worth the trip. Tastes like Maine lobster. Call first to see that they do have them.

 

[Earl McLain]

When we go to St Pete Beach--it's pretty much airport to hotel and back to airport. There is so much good food and sandy beach we're on foot most of the time. Only reason we rented a car after the first year was because it was cheaper than a ride service--may not be true with the current shortage of rental cars!!

I hear you on the parking at Midway Ricc--$15/day in economy. But, it's only about 15-20 minutes farther than South Bend for us. My son flies out of Grand Rapids a lot, but he almost always uses Delta (and his employer buys the tickets for work, usually to NYC, Brazil or South Africa--not like you or i do it). I've got a SW voucher from a Grand Cayman trip that cancelled in 2020, scheduled to expire in September so i'd like to use it up!!
earl

 

[John Dillon]

This conversation is so off-topic. Maybe you can private message each other about your vacation plans? Just sayin'

 

[Charlie Knighton]

Ricc.....be sure to look for the driftwood on beach...can be art piece and memento

 

[Ricc Havens]

John Dillon is right. Let's get this back on track.

I want to increase my turning skills and knowledge not my waist line.

Any turning related things to do in the Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater/Sarasota areas?