Switching Gears November 3, 2019
Posted by nrhatch in Humor, Life Balance, Mindfulness, Travel & Leisure.trackback
Yesterday morning, we planned to go to the Bishop Museum of Science and Nature. In addition to the Mosaic Backyard Universe (opened this fall), we wanted to enjoy a special exhibit from the American Museum of Natural History in NYC ~ Giants, Dragons, & Unicorns (The World of Mythic Creatures).
After touring the museum, we planned to visit the Bradenton Farmer’s Market to get some fresh local produce.
Of course, life is what happens when we’re busy making plans.
Just before leaving, I checked the museum’s website to confirm the time it opened . . . and learned that it was closed all day in preparation for a fundraising gala that evening.
OK. Plan B. We’ll go to the Farmer’s Market, get some produce, stash it in the car, and then enjoy a walk along the Riverwalk.
When we arrived at the Farmer’s Market, our favorite farmer wasn’t there. Greens On The Go was a No-Go. We walked from end to end of the market without making a purchase because the produce didn’t look appealing. Or local. Instead of small farmers selling their current harvest, the vendors looked like they grew everything under the sun . . . a sign that they didn’t grow anything at all.
So we enjoyed our walk along the Riverwalk, made a couple of pit stops for provisions at Panera and Fresh Market, and returned home for lunch.
After lunch, I looked through the island papers and saw:
The Sandblast sandsculpting contest will be 9 am – 1 pm, Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Manatee Public Beach, 4000 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach.
BFF and I agreed to head over there for a pre-sunset stroll to see the sculptures. When we arrived at the Manatee Public Beach, 4000 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach at 5:30, we saw No Sculptures. Not one.
If you’re feeling gypped too, type “Sandblast” into the search widget (upper right) to see past sculptures, like this one:
OK. Plan B. We drive up island to the Art & Culture Walk on Pine Avenue to see the featured artwork at the AMI Historic Museum and a sprinkling of area stores ~ Three Island Monkeys (featuring the work of the Florida Audubon Photographer of the Year, RJ Wiley), Emerson’s Studio, AMI Accommodations and the Flip Flop Gift Shop.
Since the event ended at 6 pm, and we didn’t arrive until 5:45, our quick tour of the paintings and photographs was more “whirlwind walk” than “studied stroll.” That’s OK:
Do What You Can With What You Have Where You Are.
Heading home, I thought it would be nice to stop in and pay G & W (two nonagenarian friends) a visit. I reached for my flip phone to give G a call and see if the timing was convenient. Oops. No Phone. How inconvenient.
Ok. Plan B. We decided to chance it, arriving at G’s door just as she’d started dinner preparations. Imperfect timing. Nonetheless, she invited us in for a quick visit and a few laughs.
Aah . . . that’s better!
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Spirit Lights The Way 
Some days just don’t go as planned, do they? At least you got in a good walk! Enjoy your Sunday!
We did ~ about 3 miles under sunny skies. And today we’re going to complete our aborted mission by visiting the Bishop Museum to hang with Giants, Dragons, and Unicorns!
Happy Sunday, Jill.
Sounds like you may have switched gears so often on this trip, you might want to have your transmission serviced.
Too bad about the sand sculptures, I think that would have been fun to see. At least you could count on the nonagenarians being home.
You’ve got a point, TG ~ our transmission may be shot!
We’ve seen the sand sculptures about 5 of the past 10 years and always enjoy it. Not sure what happened yesterday since both island papers listed the same time, place, and date for the event.
This morning, I checked the Keep Manatee Beautiful website and Facebook page ~> NOTHING about the event. It’s a puzzler.
Sounds to me like whoever was in charge of promoting the event may have screwed up big time.
Agreed! Our local island papers often get things wrong (or not quite right) . . . but never both at the same time for the same event. Somebody dropped the sand pail this time!
Plan Bs are meant to Be 😎
You B right!
Well, nothing went as planned but you still had a good day….. shame you had to miss the dragons though.
😉
We went to see the Dragons, Giants, and Unicorns today! I snapped some good shots and shall share soon.
Yay!
“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” 🙂
Or . . . gang aft agley!
Ocb aye. 🐭
Sweet memories… We used to have a tomato guy who supplied us with the most delightful pineapple tomatoes (that’s what he grew). You made me nostalgic for the delicious pounds of tomatoes we consumed every week, until he quit and became a mechanic, cutting off our supply to those delicacies. I get the “no go”!
Aargh! Getting cut off from delicious tomatoes is dreadful. I’ll have to look up pineapple tomatoes. They sound interesting.
Glad you enjoyed the day, despite the disappointment. What a lovely photos!
It was a fun day and funny/quirky/unusual.
Being fluid in our expectations allowed us to go with the flow instead of fighting the current.
Your plan B’s (C’s) seem to have contributed to a wonderful day. Aren’t our farmer’s markets a gift to us? I typically spend too much, but I sure do enjoy.
Delicious, fresh, local produce = the best! We’re going to try another one on Tuesday to see if we can get some goodies.
I’m glad you were able to swiftly make other plans at each step ;)! Gee, that produce in the pic looks beautiful though!
That produce came from a previous visit to the Bradenton Farmer’s Market ~> I wanted to see what I could get for $20!
It looks so good. My fridge is bare. My cupboard is bare. But Wednesday is senior shopping day ;). Their produce will not look that good.
My first stop at the grocery store is always the produce aisle, but I also buy lots of frozen veggies since they are frozen at the peak of freshness ~ still, there’s nothing like FRESH greens.Happy Shopping. Fill your cart, your fridge, your cupboard and your belly!
As my Great Aunt Edie used to say: “It’s the belly that keeps up the back.”