Monday, February 17, 2014

Monday, February 17, 2014

Tonight's picture was taken in February of 2009 in the Hospital's clinic. As you can see Mattie was working with a pottery wheel and trying to make a clay creation. After Mattie's limb salvaging surgeries, he was unable to lift his arms very high. Certainly he couldn't lift his arms over his head. The pottery wheel and working with clay was very therapeutic for Mattie. He did not realize he was getting exercise this way, but he indeed was using his arms and hands to create. Sitting with Mattie were Jenny (Mattie's art therapist) and Whitney (one of Mattie's child life interns). Mattie always did better when he had those he trusted by his side encouraging him to play, create, and to be a child. Being a child in a very abnormal environment was a tall order, but it was thanks to people like Jenny and Whitney that this was even possible. 

Quote of the day: The past is a ghost, the future a dream. All we ever have is now. ~ Bill Cosby

Today we ventured to Weedon Island Preserve in St. Petersburg. The Preserve got its name after Dr. Leslie Washington Weedon. Weedon was the only physician in Tampa at the turn of the century. He was best known for his study of yellow fever. Weedon lived on the island with his wife and the Island had quite a history because at one time it housed an airport and even a movie studio, Sun Haven Studios which produced three movies. This photo captures the remains of the airport terminal building. In fact, a park ranger told us that the two stone pillars you see in the middle, were literally the arch through which passengers entered the terminal building. 

The preserve is an expansive 3,190-acre natural area located on Tampa Bay. We climbed up to an observation tower and literally we could see mangroves for as far as the eye could see. 

Here is a close up of one of the boardwalks we walked on today. The boardwalk took us in and among the mangroves for miles. About four to be exact!

This is what the root system within the mangroves looks like. Mangroves do not populate by seed, but instead through off shoots that grow from one tree to another. These root networks act like shock absorbers, cushioning coastal land from wind and wave energy. In addition, roots trap soil, reducing coastal erosion. Mangroves provide an important line of defense against hurricanes and other storms. This isn't surprising because to me this looks like a nest of wires that are intertwined and wrapped around each other. It would be hard to sever or destroy such a system of branches.

Along our journey we entered a peaceful bird sanctuary. It was so quiet there you could hear a pin drop. Water birds of all kinds populated this area, feeding on fish, shrimp, and other things in the water.  

Within the bird sanctuary were many great blue herons.

In addition to the great blues, there were Ibis (which is also nicknamed the Florida pigeon, because they are SO common), and a new one for me today was the Roseate Spoonbill. What a charmer! This bird has beautiful rose colored feathers and a bill that looks like a spoon, to scoop up fish!

There were many white herons to be seen as well. 

I am intrigued by all the Spanish Moss hanging off of many the trees. This is most definitely a different sight than what we see in the northeast or middle Atlantic region. 

While walking along one of the trails, we literally had an armadillo crossing! In fact, we saw three armadillos at the Preserve. I went from NEVER seeing an armadillo before, to now seeing four in two days. 

Is this not the perfect armadillo photo???

Check out this cutie sitting on a piece of wood! This lizard was so tiny, yet happy to bask in the sun. It was the perfect weather day in Tampa/St. Petersburg today, and I related to his need to capture the sun. Mattie would have absolutely LOVED the armadillo and lizard encounters!

After our visit to the Preserve, we went to downtown St. Petersburg and ate by the water. We walked the town, found a home made gelato store, and even snapped photos by the Vinoy. When Peter worked in St. Petersburg years ago, I visited him in March for a week and we stayed at the historic Vinoy. Seeing it over a decade later was still very special. The Vinoy is a historic Mediterranean Revival styled hotel in downtown St. Petersburg. On September 11, 1978, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The Vinoy was built in 1925 by Aymer Vinoy Laughner. Construction began on February 5 and took 10 months to complete. The hotel was a seasonal hotel open from around December to March. Rates were $20.00 a night, the highest in the area at that time. The hotel was a popular destination for celebrities ranging from Babe Ruth, Herbert Hoover, Calvin Coolidge and James Stewart. During World War II the hotel was taken over by the U.S. Army and used for a training school. The hotel was sold to Charles Alberding after the war for $700,000. The hotel continued to prosper for the next couple decades. In 1974 the Vinoy closed its doors and sold most of its contents. The hotel became a haven for vagrants until the early 1990s when it was bought by a partnership between Renaissance Hotels and Resorts and the Vinoy Development Corporation. A $93-million renovation was undertaken, and in two years the Vinoy reopened as an almost perfect replica of its former self.