Exploring St. Pete

Before meeting with Lainey for parent/student meetings at Eckerd today, Steve and I visited St. Pete.  The first stop was for some much needed coffee.  The Manguson "Resort" does not offer free breakfast and coffee like most the hotels we visit so we took off in search of some coffee.  It wasn't going to be free, but we were making a point to the Manguson staff--I sure they took little notice of our mini demonstration.

We found this place:

They were very friendly inside and didn't kick us out after I turned over a display--we met a man named Will from Hull, Georgia inside.  He talked to us for a while before he had to get back to taking breakfast orders.

We enjoyed the coffee and Morning Glory Muffin from this extremely pet friendly establishment.

We decided we might need to build this for the dogs who live at our home.  We have five dogs--all labrador's calling our house, home. Check out the book Go Dog Go by P. D. Eastman for a glimpse into our lives--one big dog party.   Katy has Hobie, Lainey has Jack, Steve has Piper, Barry and Matthew have Nala and Brandy.  (Caroline has an extremely anti social cat named Sookie and I guess that leaves Fat Cat Oliver for me to call my own.)

We visited three marinas before going back to campus.  The marina at Isla Del Sol capture our attention.  Meandering Joy will be here in November and December.  Check it out here.

joy

Eckerd College Move in Day

Sweet Lainey decided to transfer to Eckerd College on Father's Day.  She got everything together, called for an interview, drove down to St. Pete, interviewed with the admissions counselor and found out she was accepted a few days before July 4th. Since that time, we have been getting packed.  After loading up Mr. Adventure's truck and Lainey's little car, we headed to St. Petersburg, Florida.


We pulled into the Manguson Hotel and Marina Cove--you know we have to stay near a marina even when we are not aboard Meandering Joy.  We looked like "country come to town" with boxes and bags stuffed so high that we couldn't see out of the windows.

View of the Beach Restaurant from our room

Friday morning we drove to Eckerd and began the check in process which went very smoothly.  Lainey commented that she was never doing this again--she doesn't stand in lines very well--neither do her parents.
Finally, her check list was complete and she was given the key to her room and permission to move all her worldly belongings into her new home.

I managed to get one picture of the dorm.

Eckerd College was founded as Florida Presbyterian College which opened in 1960.  But in 1971, Jack Eckerd donated $12.5 million to the school and the name was changed to reflect his generous donation and support.  The campus has 188 acres on Frenchman's Creek and Boca Ciega Bay.  Lainey was drawn to Eckerd because of its waterfront facility. She wants to pursue a career in the boating industry.  Florida is the boating capital of the world.   Her dorm is the closest dorm to both the waterfront and the cafeteria.  She won the jackpot.  Waterfront activities include sailing, kayaking, windsurfing and fishing and my personal favorite--soaking up the sun on the beach.  Lainey plans to join an award-winning student group, Eckerd College Search and Rescue (EC-SAR) which assists the the U.S. Coast Guard in rescue operations throughout the Tampa Bay area. There is an intensive training program for this community service.

 

After checking out the waterfront activities we were ready to eat.  We headed down to the beach for some lunch.  We found a great place--Hurricane in Pass-a-Grille on St. Pete Beach. 

Grouper Sandwich for me--I didn't eat the bread.

Burger for Steve

Burger for Lainey

 After lunch we headed back to Wal-Mart and Bed Bath & Beyond for some more supplies.  Mr. Adventure practiced his assembly skills by putting together a bed side table.

OOPS--put the legs on backwards

Got it right this time!!!

joy