After I found myself enjoying the Vince Flynn novels, I thought I’d try another non-Florida contemporary novel. What a mistake. I know people who love Baldacci. Not me, at least this one stinks. A rambling, predictable mess.

I quickly leaped back into Florida with a wonderful book on the rambunctious former governor, Claude Kirk.

As I finished the book on Kirk I learned of the death of Florida author Barbara Parker. She was one of the few Florida fiction authors I hadn’t read. So I pulled her first book from our collection, Suspicion of Innocence. It’s a bit wordy but a good story with a tinge of Florida history included. This was the first of her 12 novels she produced. And the first of her series with her fictional Miami attorney character, Gail Connor.

Pushing myself to get an ‘Illustration Friday’ piece done. The word this week is ‘Poise’.

Below is the rough pencils.

We celebrated Sandra’s birthday by - SURPRISE! - Hiking! WE tromped throughout Lake County at P.E.A.R. Park, The Florida Scrub Jay Trail, Palatlahaka River Park and the Crooked River Preserve. Above is a sketch of the many, many cypress knees at the P.E.A.R. Park interpretative trail.

For more of these hikes, Sandra will write more on her Florida Hikes blog shortly and the Genuine Florida Blog will feature the Florida Scrub Jeay Trail shortly.

Took a swing at Illustration Friday’s word for the week - ‘Subtract’. I wasn’t going for a gag cartoon. Just something to illustrate a scene. Abve is the finished part. Below is the rough pencil, inked with marker to work out towards the final inked lines. Then it was all digitally colored.

Spending a lot of time at the drawing board. To the left is a part of a larger illustration I finished today. Physically inked and digitally colored.

Orlando Remembered met today. To the right is a sketch of member Bob Buck. Later met with Ken Culotta at Beefy King and wrote gags. Below Ken strikes a GQ pose.

This was the first time of our years of meeting at the Belleview Biltmore that they didn’t have our space for us despite my arrangements. Since this was our last meeting there I guess it didn’t matter. We gathered in the coffee and ice cream shop, Maisie’s. Above is a group shot of our last gathering there.

Below is Katie. She works currently at the Belleview Biltmore in Maisie’s until it closes on May 31st.  She’s been there for a few years and is the only one who know how to make the souped up hot chocolate I like. She has gotten me out of plenty of binds when I’ve done something there nearly half asleep until she cooked one of those drinks up. I remember a Florida Historical Society meeting there a few years ago where she saved me and I could be minimally consious during the terrific lectures. Anyway, as a thank you I drew a caricature of her and wished her good luck in her future endeavors.

Guess what I did today?

I was at ‘We Surround Them’ in Kissimmee at Kool Katz restaurant. For more about the event read and see more at the Robs Right blog.

After the meeting I proceeded in drawing free caricatures of the attendees. Here are a few.

Sandra and I went down to Punta Gorda to review a number of places for one of Sandra’s travel guides. Jennifer Huber, with the visitor bureau was kind enough to meet us for dinner at an interesting Mediterranean restaurant and then to a wonderful 1910 building that houses an ice cream shop, Chubby’s. Above is a sketch of the are underneath the porch of the 1910 structure.

We also covered the new Muscle Car City. It’s a museum of ‘muscle cars’. The most incredible part is that it’s in an old Wal-Mart building. See photos at Genuine Floria, by clicking here.

We later had some excellent seafood at Peace River Seafood and then Sandra and I made a return trip to Chubbys.

Wednesday we started off with breakfast at Brenda’s Restaurant, which also houses the Masons.  Brenda lost her original place because of Hurricane Charley in 2004 and the Masons were very kind to let her move in and save her business. Which clearly is a large and loyal one.

 Then we continued on to hiking parts of the Babcock Rance. Below is a sketch of what’s left of a tree.

We made our way south out of Charlotte County and stopped in Bradenton and toured Robinson’s Preserve, along Tampa Bay and across from the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Collectively we hiked 7 plus miles. Below is a sketch from there. We had hoped to stop at the infamous Shake Pit, but is had closed early. Instead we took US41 south through Ruskin and Gibsonton, Sun City Center and Tampa. We stopped in Temple Terrace and had some vittles at the Dairy Queen.

Guess what I did Friday? Above is Craig Taoka, who always does a great job as D.J. at the event! Below is Cook Neilson, who in 1977 became the first and only winner of the Daytona Super Biker series with a Ducati motorcycle.