Anna Maria Island

Two years ago I traded landscaping work for time at a condo on Anna Maria Island in Florida and last week I went there with my sister and girlfriends for a three days. The place we stayed in, Trade Winds was nice perhaps a bit small with four of us since it was only a one bedroom with a fold out couch but it was comfortable, clean and the staff was friendly.

There were a couple of unique landscaping ideas that caught my eye. One was the use of plates as edging. The colorful plates were appropriate in scale and added charm to the patterned metal gate, overall it worked well. But the one place that blew me away was the new house where the landscape designer replicated a beach scene. Everything about the job seemed to flow. It was well executed and made me want to get out and trespass all over the place . A great job.

The weather was a bit contrite with temperatures barely 60, steady wind off the ocean and one day a fog so thick you could not see the Atlantic while walking on the beach. That was actually a rather neat walk reminded me of being more on the northeast coast than Florida. The sea was whipped up pretty good as well three and four foot swells were breaking steady and the surf pounded the sand making me wish it was hot enough to play in the water. Anna Maria is loaded with stellar beaches, plenty of fine white sand, decent shelling, lifeguard towers and miles of easy walking.

We concentrated on chatting, dining, strolling and shopping all with great success. Rotten Ralph's at the Bradenton City Pier was a fun spot with tasty chow and a great location. I missed an opportunity to video a large brown pelican chasing a eight year old boy along the end of the pier. The lad was afraid of the bird and the bird appeared to relish its ability to make the boy squeal and hide, it was really funny but I was out of battery power, bummer.

Chasing live music for our evening entertainment proved our most difficult task. We hit every spot that advertised live music and asked several locals for advice. We listened to a woman sing with a karaoke machine and she sounded like a nursery school teacher a rock band in a small local bar was tolerable but the smoke in the bar was impossible. Finally we decided to leave the island and head to Bradenton and a place called Aces that a friend had emailed us about before we left, bingo. Aces was great, reminded me of my hometown bar with two levels so that you could look down upon the band, get out of the smoke and watch the crowd on the dance floor. The band was terrific, a southern rock, blues band with a large repertoire of music and styles. They started out with four guitars and a drummer and were joined by a horn section for part of one set, they were tight, the lead singer had a good voice and they played lots of tunes we all enjoyed, definitely worth the drive.

There was an arts and crafts fair we ran through Saturday morning on Holmes Beach which despite the foul weather turned out to be a spot where we all bought some treasures. Bridge St. on Sunday mornings has a small year round local arts and craft fair which is fun but lacks the diversity and size many people look for at craft fairs.

The best food and atmosphere we found was at the Sandbar. We had a wonderful waitress named Mare, nice wine at a good price, crunchy conch fritters, clam chowder, Caesar salad and grouper blackened. Location, location, location is the key at the Sandbar, after a table at the window opened up we moved to the premier spot and enjoyed our fabulous view of mother ocean.

Everglades City

I had not been to The Rod and Gun Club in Everglades City for at least ten years, good enough reason to meet some friends there for lunch this past week. If traffic is moving you can make the drive from Bonita Springs down US 41 S or as it is also known, Tamiami Trail to Everglades City easily in an hour, it took us about 15 minutes longer since 41 was crawling in Naples and we hit every traffic signal. I went there with my sister Cass and girlfriend Carol where we met our pals George and Heather.

The appeal for the area is its rich history as an outpost in the early development of the everglades, a hunting and fishing lodge and its most recent storied past as drug runners paradise in the late 70's and early 80's. There was a bust down there in the mid 80's when just about the entire town was hauled off to jail mom, dad, grandpa, grandma and the grandchildren. When the feds came down on the city every manner of transportation from pick ups to swamp buggies and air boats were heard to fire up and take off across the gator infested grass and water trying to avoid arrest. The area was known for both cocaine and marijuana.

The Rod and Gun Club was built in 1864 as a private club and hunting preserve. The cypress building with the large wrap around veranda was host to past presidents, writers, adventure seekers, the occasional ex patriot and gangster. Some of the original furniture and fixtures remain, the oak secretary, copper topped fireplace, taxidermy fish, animal heads, gator skins, stuffed otter and bobcat adorn the walls and floors. Not a good place for those who are squemish about dead animals being used as decorations.

Lunch was good the wings nice and crisp, Heather ordered gator tail it was as rubbery as I remember, not a creature I enjoy eating. Strolling the building and grounds was fun but the drive back was the best. We cruised back on 41 at a leisurely pace stopping to photograph gators and birds that were out in force on the sunny grassy banks on the everglades canals. Bald eagles, great white egrets, blue herons and about 50 gators were some of the fauna we enjoyed. The glades were exceptionally green especially for this time of year everything seemed so healthy and alive making the day even better.

Flora of St. Lucia

Leaving St. Lucia was hard to do but going back to Indiana and winter was even more difficult so after spending a few days petting the dogs and cats, visiting friends and adjusting my traveling attire I drove down to Boniata Springs, FL to stay with my sister and brother-in-law. There are still a few blog posts from St. Lucia to put up.

Of course for me tropical flowers are a favorite subject to photograph. The extremely erotic anthirium, the light bulb shaped torch lily, double hibiscus a fairy pink color or the waxy bromeliad; they glisten and sparkle against the lustrous greens and mossy browns of leaves and bark.

Fresh floral arrangements are a Ladera tradition. Many of the gingers, heliconias and bird of paradise are purchased from a neighborhood grower and are used in each guest's room, the restaurant and reception area. Foliage or greens are often picked from the resort and many of the most exquisite blooms closest to the rooms end up inside as well. Cutting for fresh flowers must be planned carefully as some flowers are slow to reproduce, for example it takes two years for a mature ginger bloom to reach the maturity desired for arrangements.

Taking time to stop and smell the flowers, photograph them and marvel at their structure, beautyand form should be on every one's Caribbean itinerary. Or for that matter where ever you may be always take time to stop and enjoy nature, you will seldom be disappointed.

Mo Money

There is lots of great artwork at Ladera most of which has been produced by local artists or depicts island history, locations and maps. As I have featured there are wood carvers, tile masters, ceramic artists and furniture builders but there is traditional art as well paintings on canvas, wood and walls. Many of the paintings at Ladera are the work(s) of one woman, a self taught artist with a degree in psychology (like myself) and a former rehabilitation worker (like myself) who has lived on island for about a dozen years. Her name is Maureen, her maiden name is Money, and she goes by Mo, although she signs her work MoJean. I really liked calling her Mo Money and I had the pleasure of spending several days together as she worked on art and I on landscaping.

Mo was a great person to spend the evenings with as we shared a bottle of wine and learned about each other. We had several things in common which made for a quick bond. We are similar in age, education and wanderlust. She visited St. Lucia about 12 years ago on vacation and surprised her family back in England when she announced she was selling all her possessions and moving to the island. She not only did that but she embarked on a totally new career direction, art. She has always been creative and talented in that direction and felt she needed a change.

Acclimating to St. Lucia is not difficult and Mo found a niche in painting local scenes, flora and fauna selling her creations to hotels, restaurants and people building new homes on the island. Since canvas is hard to obtain and expensive Mo often paints on smooth wood and even does murals on walls.

She is gregarious and bubbly with a warm personality and a positive attitude. One of those people who is easy to get to know and you are glad to have met. I hope when I get back to St. Lucia Mo and I get to spend some time together beyond working.

Mervin's Mosaic Magic

Mervin Edgar does not design and install tile floors, showers and counters he creates mosaic tile art surfaces that assault your eyes and brain with color, spacial conceptualism and reflections of the outdoor Caribbean world inside the suites of Ladera. His mark is everywhere. The infinity pool, the bar, the restaurant, the water closets, the walks, the splash pools, bathrooms and all the tile surfaces of the resort. His volume of work at Ladera is staggering. The resort has been his canvas for 18 years.

While in his teens Mervin learned his trade from John DiPaul the design/builder/owner father of Ladera who guided the hand of his island sons apprenticing them in the building trades. Many of these craftsmen started businesses of their own and return to Ladera for various building projects while others have stayed on working at he resort.

It is obvious to the casual observer that the creator of Ladera had the heart of an artist. As I have said before art is everywhere and the tile work is especially outstanding. One of the most difficult tasks was trying to decide which of the many mosaic tile scenes to feature in this blog. Mervin has so many great pieces, like him I am partial to the hummingbirds, Pitons and underwater visions he creates. But even his technical work is fabulous; he lays his floors off one string line and puts down row after row of perfectly even tiles without the aid of spacers.

If you look at Mervin's old work and compare it to his latest efforts you can see the growth and confidence that has emerged with each cut of the saw. His designs have become bolder, crisper and more detailed with brilliant color choices and background fields that blend effortlessly with his subject matter. Many people have copied the styling of Ladera and the tile mosaics are surely one of the most photographed features in the suites.

Mervin was at the resort to participate in the renovation of several suites that were damaged in the hurricane. I was able to watch him as he began the floor and laid up the drawings for the shower and pool areas. He is a gentle man, soft spoken but fiercely proud of his work and obviously touched by the memories of his mentor Mr. Di Paul. He frequently expressed his gratitude to the man and was misty eyed saying, " I still miss Mr. Di Paul, he taught me everything."