October 17, 2021

October 17, 2021

From the Tampa area we drove south along the gulf shore of Florida for nearly an hour to the town of Bradenton on the Manatee River. On a peninsula sticking out into Tampa Bay we find De Soto National Memorial. This park commemorates where historians think Hernando De Soto and his huge entourage first landed on his explorations. The Visitor Center is being vacuumed so we start out with some exercise doing a mile-long circle of the park, Most of it is along mangrove swamps that line the shore. There is a foul sulfur smell from the decomposition of decaying matter in the water. One more reason to prefer Arizona over Florida. Humorously the park has a number of Indian and Spaniard cutouts along the trail that give Aimee a startle.

Back in the Visitor Center, we watch the park film and peruse the couple exhibits. De Soto had severe gold fever. After landing here in 1539, his men spent four long fruitless years brutally searching the Southeast US from Florida to Texas. He left a trail of destruction in his wake before finally succumbing himself to fever. Not much of a legacy to celebrate. In the nearby town we stopped for a photo of his bronze statue.

From Bradenton, we drove north crossing Tampa Bay on the many-mile long causeway and Sunshine Skyway Bridge to St Petersburg. Downtown we stopped at the Salvador Dali Museum. It is housed in a surrealism-inspired building with a glass entryway and spiral staircase.

We start our visit in the special exhibit gallery featuring the photographer Lee Miller. We have never heard of her, but Aimee is especially intrigued with her life. She is a beautiful girl who moves to New York City and is discovered accidentally by Conde Nast, publisher of Vogue. Lee goes from fashion model to photographer to war correspondent. Along the way she poses for, beds, and weds a number of famous artists.

We then moved to the Dali gallery. This museum has more of his masterpieces than any other, especially his large-scale paintings. Dali was a Spanish born artist who spent his wartime years in the US. His famous Surrealist paintings were inspired by Freud and his views on unconscious desires. We had lunch at the museum, and then walked around the beautiful waterfront of St Petersburg.

From St Petersburg we crossed another long bridge over an arm of Tampa Bay to our airport hotel. After checking in we turned in our rental car. We had a glass of wine sitting by the pool to celebrate another nice vacation.