There was a wonderful reception for the attendees of the Florida Historical Society Annual Meeting. This was held at the heritage village at the Pinewood Cultural Center in Largo. Click here to learn more.

The drawing is of one of the buildings in the park.

The next talk given was by Jay Starkey who is from the Starkey family that has lived in the Tampa Bay area for many generations. He told of his parents and himself and growing up in the Tampa Bay area. This is a drawing of Mr. Starkey.

The second part of this talk was done by Jay Starkey’s daughter, Laura. Suddenly the talk became a real estate sales pitch as she started talking of what she and her three siblings are developing on the 6,000 acres. She had all of the developers terms down pat.

 

In the audience was the great writer, Stetson Kennedy. He is a contemporary of Zora Neale Hurston and Arlo Guthrie.

The first session I attended at the Florida Historical Society Annual Meeting at the Belleview Biltmore was about the developing Brevard Heritage Park.  The drawing is of the speaker.

Amongst the items that will be on display will be the lost papers of Harry T. Moore, first to be head of the NAACP in Florida, who was murdered with his wife in their Mims home when a bomb blew up their home. The sketch is of the notebook that holds the notes. One page indicates that the first members paid a $1 fee to join.

The sketch of the church is of the oldest church in Brevard County that the park is hoping to be part of their village.

We stayed at the Kenilworth Lodge built in 1916. There are some great displays of the historic significance of the Lodge. The drawing is of a small part of the architectural significance. For more information click here. 

‘Expedition Headwaters’ was a 12 day trip for a small group of selected hikers and kayakers to trek along or in the Kissimmee River all the way down and into Lake Okeechobee. The trip ended on our second anniversay and Sandra had to be there for the end. So we were up early in the morning in Miami and speeding across the southeastren part of our state to the City of Okeechobee to meet the hearty outdoor warriors!

The purpose of the adventure was to try and bring attention to that which goes into the headwaters of the Kissimmee River, including Orange County’s Shingle Creek and the Wekiva River floats down and into Lake Okeechobee and then into the Everglades and effects the water south Florida uses. Soooooo, any and all pollutants that come from, say, Disney World end up in the water are the same pollutants later effecting the glass of water Sandra’s cousin Ruth would drink in Miami. Alot of folks don’t understand this and too many developers and their ilk would like to keep that a secret to the potential purchasers of buildings and property along the Kissimmee Valley cooridor and throughout southern Florida. Not a very nice thing to do.

Alot of the reporting of this trip skirted the main issue for obvious reasons. The bottom line is: A well educated public can better take care of themselves. Click here to go to the Florida Trail site and scroll down to a selection of other areas to click and learn more.

One drawing is of Ian Brown hiking his way to the end. The photo is of ‘Expedition’ hiker Beth Kelso who I owed a drawing since the Florida Trail Annual meeting. The drawing of Beth I created depicts the aftermath of the mud tromping that the group had fun with after the hiking group met the kayaking group in Lake Okeechobee.

Sandra, myself, Rob, and Manfred all got some vittles after the Fairchild excursion at a small out of the way place called Berries in Miami. Very good food including an interesting dish Rob got, pumpkin ravioli. Each ravioli was filled with actual pumpkin filling.

This is a sketch looking over the bar to the outside garden area. What looks like a microphone is a lamp hanging down.

Sandra and I joined Rob Labby and Manfred Wegscheider and we toured the gardens. Amongst the gazillion plants are many pieces of glass art intermingled by the artist known as Chilhuly. For more information click here!

It is hard for me to have a sketch here that even begins to show all to be found at the Fairchild gardens. This is but a sketch of some and of far more than I would have time to draw.

Our next stop was the Montgomery Botanical Center just down the road from Pinecrest Gardens and Fairchild Gardens. This is a private venture that’s been going on since the 1920s. Click here to find out more!

The drawing is of limestone formed by quite a few centrues of water swirling around it. These protude from the now level ground. They’re in a sinkhole and there are quite a few more. Fascinating what lies beneath our feet here in our state of Florida!

After we were through with the Gifford Arboretum at the University of Miami we headed over to the Lowe Art Museum. It was my first time there, that I recall. I should have gone before, but have been so rarely in the area. The museum is named after my grandmother’s uncle, Orton Lowe, who founded the literature department and was involved with other activities at the University some 80 years ago. A further story of Orton Lowe I will relate in my posting of Fairchild Gardens.

The drawing is of the entrance of the museum.

 On the University of MIami campus is a small arboretum, The Gifford Arboretum. You can learn more by clicking here!

The outdoor arboretum’s markers are made of natural limestone. The drawn here is about three and a half feet tall.

We visited one of the last remnants of the original natural area land of the Dade County area and one of the oldest houses left. Learn more about the house and the area by clicking here!

This is a drawing of a corner of ‘The Barncle’.