St. Pete, Columbia, and a Surrealistic Fathers Day with Dali

Well....its been a LONG time since we have gone into St. Pete. and I still find it ADORABLE! We went over to meet up with Ray's dad for Fathers Day. Tons of awesome places have opened up, however we decided to go to a favorite restaurant Columbia at the pier. :( BAD BAD BAD judgment call. Lesson learned when in doubt try something new out. I had that gut instinct that we should try a different new place, but didn't listen and the food was beyond disappointing. THANKFULLY the only redeeming quality was the cava sangria and the fantastic company.

We then headed over to the new Dali museum where truly pictures do not do it justice and where photography isn't allowed in the exhibits. Suffice to say that I learned that in the process of wooing Gala, Dali concocted a "fragrance" of fish paste and cow dung and when he went to her home to court her she left her husband and off she went to start her new life with the mentally ill, disturbed, and genius of Dali. His art is by far and has always been one of my absolute favorites. I loved the architecture of the new museum, but was a little sad to see that the Hitchcock movie that he contributed to and the cartoons that he helped inspire were no longer part of the exhibit.

My gorgeous husband

My gorgeous husband and his handsome dad.

Wishing tree in the Avante Garden

My favorite Dali drawing/painting not featured in this museum by the way has always been the

City of Drawers

After walking around the museum we then went down to Cassis, had a drink and chatted a bit more and then finished our evening with Senora Crocadilla and her Armadillo handbag.

Happy Fathers Day to all the men out there that inspire their children to do more and to achieve more than their wildest dreams. Although I didn't get to see my dad this weekend, he is well aware that he means the world to me and I am lucky to have him!

Aerial Yoga at Allure Dance Studio

I've been rather steadfastly attending bikram/hot yoga classes at my local studio, but I've never been the type to turn down a chance to try something new.  I started a google search for ashtanga and happened across Yoga Girls Orlando and saw that they offered aerial hammock yoga.  A few years back I tried aerial silks and was less than stellar at it, but I'm fitter now and really enjoy yoga so I sent out a call to my girlfriends to see if any of them were interested.  Well word has gotten around of my friend's near death experience (slight exaggeration she's from Kentucky so you know they embellish a bit in the deep south) when she accompanied me to bikram so I wasn't very surprised when I didn't have anyone volunteer to come along.  No biggie.  I'm a big girl I threw  on my big girl knickers and called the number on the site to ask about booking the class.

The receptionist that answered explained that the class I was looking at was intermediate and she suggested for the first time out of the gate to try a beginner's class.  She was upbeat, friendly, and very helpful.  She signed me up and sent me a confirmation email.  I even received a reminder email the day before class, which is always appreciated.  My husband and I were going to have a busy day running errands together so he dropped me off and I was on my way.  The website suggested long yoga pants and at least 3/4 quarter sleeves.  I wore a tank and that seemed fine.  I had a long sleeve top just in case.  After signing the usual forms and disclaimers I  walked a bit through the studio where they offer pole fitness classes at the "sister" or parent company Allure Dance Orlando.  The studio was small, but very pretty and feminine without being pink frosting sweet.  Actually the best way to describe the studio was sensual, dark wood floors, and accents that were rich deep hues.  I then went and sat down near the front of the yoga door entrance until class started, where luck would have it I got to chat with the instructor.

Bow pose 

She was of course adorable, but very knowledgeable and again offered a lot of advice and information.  She trained as an aerialist silk performer and from there became yoga certified so it seemed a natural marriage to start teaching aerial yoga.  When we walked into the yoga studio it was again sensual, but serene.  The colors were a bit brighter, more zen, and the silks were suspended from the ceiling.  The instructor made sure to explain that the silks were extremely strong and could withhold up to 2000 lb.  Not sure if that is true because I was the biggest girl in the class so I highly doubt that theory has been tested.  Neither here nor there, we were able to get complimentary mats if we didn't bring one (for some reason I didn't think a mat would be needed but well I was wrong) and we went through a series of flow yoga positions to warm up, we then went into inversions and continued there through traditional yoga poses with the assistance of the hammock/silk to help us achieve better stretches.  We ended the class with relaxation and mediation.  I can tell you with 100% certainty that I was able to relax more in the hammock than I ever have in any other yoga class.  It felt natural, cocooning, and protective.  I would love to have one for home.  I could easily see myself enjoying a nap in those things.

I could seriously sleep in the cocoon hammock thing

I will definitely be going back and I would definitely suggest the class to anyone who wants to try something a bit different.  It was a fantastic core work out and feel that it would be beneficial to add to any fitness routine.  

I do want to very much add.  In going through their website I didn't see the special note.  I'll include it here. Do NOT do what I did and have espresso and breakfast about 45 min before class.

Special Note :* Food: it is not recommended to eat least 2 hours before class time. If you must eat during that time, try eating lightly and eating easily digested food such as fresh fruit. What to Bring: Hand towel or similar Yoga mat (we have limited mats in the studio so feel free to bring your own or we have some for purchase in the boutique.



I did not toss my cookies, BUT I easily could have if I would have eaten something a bit heavier.  On that note...has anyone tried aerial yoga?  If not, Allure is running a special for the first class only $9.  Send me a message, I'd love to go again, if you are interested!

Alien or Sea Turtle Egg Laying.....not sure

So I've mentioned before I'm a native Floridian.  I know that when I go to the beach and there is a marked sea turtle nest I'm to leave it alone.  That's all I know.  However, I have an amazing friend who may be the foremost authority on all Florida nature activities that I know of.  When she mentioned going out to see the sea turtles come ashore to lay their eggs for the season I thought...that sounds interesting.  What I also thought was wow....she hasn't lived here her whole life and she has had more "Florida" experiences than I have.  Before someone pulls my bragging rights or my "native" card I best get out there and see this for myself.

So after a few emails, thank you very much Ann for coordinating this, we had a small group of us together all set for this night time adventure out.  We met up in a local Mexican restaurant and had dinner and drinks.  We lamented that it was raining, but we were assured that the Sea Turtle Preservation Society - Space Coast wouldn't be cancelling unless if weather was severe.  Considering that I follow their facebook page and noticed that I have seen them respond to hurricane threats to the nests I assumed that a typical Florida rainstorm wouldn't be considered as severe.  So we all proceeded to the meeting location, signed in, paid our suggested donation, and sat down in metal folding chairs for an introduction to the team and the slideshow presentation.  We were promptly explained that what we were embarking on was only possible because of the special licensing permit that the preservation society held and if any of us were foolish enough to think we would be able to do what they did on our own he was giving us fair warning that it was a felony.

So after the stern warning of general "Don't be a dumbass" which included don't even try to bring out your camera or this walk will be ended, the volunteer team went out to scout for a loggerhead sea turtle that was coming up shore to start excavating her nest while the spectators were presented a slideshow.  I am not going to pretend to say that I retained vast amount of information from the slideshow.  I did retain that there are 5 species of sea turtles that nest or are found in Florida waters and that all, but the Loggerhead species are endangered.  I also noticed in the slideshow of these sea turtles that the vegetarians were the "pretty" turtles.  If there ever was a cause for going fully vegetarian this would be it.

Vegetarian Green Sea Turtle

Non-Vegetarian Leatherback Sea Turtle

I mean if that doesn't make you want to consider skipping the grilled chicken on your salad, I'm not sure what would.  The Green Sea Turtle is GORGEOUS.  Leatherback....not so much.  Sorry Leatherback, but console yourself in that you can eat meat...or jellyfish.  Whatever.  

Okay back on track, not much into the presentation, the organizer said it was time to get our flip flop wearing selves out to the beach to witness the miraculous birth of Loggerhead Sea Turtle eggs.  We all treked down the beach in a close group illuminated by little more than the red lights that they must use in efforts to be as non-disruptive as possible to the sea turtles.  We got very lucky and the rain let up, the night was cool, and although the moon was far from visible through the clouds, our eyes acclimated fairly quickly and we could see the waves crashing up on the shore.  Beautiful and breath taking really to see it at night.  Once we reached where the Loggerhead had made her next we formed a semi-circle of love to watch her in labor.  Well it was FAR from what I expected, since the scene was only illuminated by the red light on her birthing canal (we didn't get to the part of the slideshow when they gave us proper terminology) and her rear flippers....well yeah....it was interesting. Eerie and well beautiful is not the right word...truly its fascinating that you are witnessing this "birth", but its not a beautiful process.  

Doesn't look so bad under regular lighting

Under Red light all I can think of is Alien

She laid several eggs, afterwards, the volunteers check her for tags, she wasn't tagged so they only measured her once, and she then proceeds to fill in the nest with sand and to pack it down firmly with her flippers.  After she feels its sufficiently packed she throws sand around with her flippers in order to help act as a decoy of where her nest is.  While she is packing down her nest, the volunteers explain that she has several "clutches" of eggs within her and that she will be laying eggs 3-5 per season.  The sea turtles always come back within a mile of where they were born to lay their eggs.  I find that extraordinary that they have some kind of pull that brings them back, is it nostalgia?  I want my chitlins to grow up where I did?  Is it a survival mechanism?  Gravitational pull?  Whatever it is, considering that they travel hundreds of miles in the waters it is amazing that they always come back home in the long run.  She then proceeds to head back out to sea.  She laboriously drags herself back out and off into the shore.  We all then packed up and heading back in for the evening.   It was amazing to experience and I strongly suggest if you get the chance to support your local sea turtle society and check into if you can attend and evening with them and big mama loggerhead.