1-1&2-2017 Highfalutin Monkey Business

On January, first we left Marker1 Marina. Leaving was bitter sweet. We met many new friends and had to say our goodbyes. The great thing about this trip is that we will likely run into them again. On the other hand, we were ready to get back to anchoring. On our way to to our next anchorage this tiny island had every inch filled with birds. Lovely.

We find the best stuff at anchor like this amazingly beautiful Don Cesar Hotel in St. Petersburg.

It is a small anchorage so 3 looper boats rafted together.  The next morning Ellis Island left and Sanctuary and Last Call loaded our bikes in the dinghy and we rode all around the key.

It was quite warm and lunch time, so it was time to find cold Rum drinks and seafood.  We found a table on the balcony overlooking the ocean at the Brass Monkey.

They had fresh squeezed orange and grapefruit drinks. They were so refreshing after biking. We might have had two.

Lunch was crab cake Rueben sandwiches. Best sandwich I have ever had. The menu was funny with things like Monkey balls.

That led us to the old saying “It’s so cold it could freeze the balls off a brass monkey” This is Salty Dog Talk.  In the olden days cannon balls were stacked on the decks of the ship on a brass plate called a monkey.  Brass, however, expanded and contracted with the temperature and if it got cold enough, the monkey would contract and the cannon balls would fall off. There you have it folks…get your mind out of the gutter. 😉

On our way back, we decided to see if this Tee Shirt, shorts, camera toting crew could go into the hotel without getting kicked out. I think Steve’s fancy camera saved us as we got to stay. It was beautiful.

We even could go down on their beach, but not to the Tiki Bar. We just wanted to say we had exorbitantly expensive drinks at the Don Cesar, but rules saved our pocket books.  They did have an Ice Cream shop with a deck right on the main street.  

We sat outside hoping with little hope that someone would think we were important as they drove by in their Lexus, Mercedes, BMW and Ferrari cars. A rusty Chevy truck drove by, we figured that was our only hope.

While we sat on the deck, a random bottle of Vodka showed up in the middle of the sidewalk. 

We were all intrigued so Scott, who didn’t care if he looked like a vagrant looking for a drop in the bottle, went over and did his duty to pick up the trash. Scott’s first thought was that someone super-glued it to the side walk like the firefighters used to do with quarters for entertainment.

He did act it up and weaved his way down the sidewalk as we all laughed on the deck.

We didn’t exactly put it in the trash, we sort of left it in another place to intrigue the next sucker to come along.  We be bad.

Here is an interesting mini history lesson on the Don Cesar Hotel which was built in 1928 by Thomas Rowe. It was the playground of the pampered rich at the height of the Jazz Age. It survived the depression because the rich still had money to spend and the hotel made a deal to house the New York Yankees during spring training for 3 years. The hotel is named after the hero in the Opera Maritana. Rowe died suddenly without a will and “The Don” was left to his estranged wife who allowed it to fall into disrepair until the US bought it during WWII for an Army Military Hospital. In 1944 it became a US air Force convalescent center, then later Veteran Administration Regional office. 1969 the graffiti covered hotel was vacant and at risk of being torn down. The locals put up a fierce opposition and in 1972 it as sold and renovated into the grand hotel it once was and is now.

What a fun day.

Thanks for reading,

Karen and Scott

Unique Random Picture of the day:

An empty magnum bottle of Grey Goose Vodka on the deck of the Don Cesar… How did that get there?