Those Were the Days

Good Morning from the Sunshine Shine state! I writing you from the sun coast where I just attended my 45^th High School Reunion, Leto High School Class of 71.

There is the old saying that, “If I had known I was going to live this long I would have taken much better care of my body!” I have had the pleasure of being able to keep in touch with some of my closest friends through out the years but I I look at each and every reunion as the icing on the cake. It is truly heart warming coming together and renewing friendships from classmates that you shared 4 years of youthful experiences with that you do not get to see very often. As the years go by and we get older I think you begin to value those experiences much more no matter how much or how little you can remember correctly. This year seemed to be even more special for those attending and we all appeared to have had an extremely fun time reliving the days of high school. Most discussions were centered around catching up on our successes and failures since roaming the halls of Leto High School but many reverted back to the days of our youth. It was very emotional recognizing our classmates that have passed away but truly heartfelt spending time with those that made the effort to be there to share our glory days. Like most reunions there were some of us that maybe enjoyed it a little too much and like all other reunions it was over in a blink of an eye.

From there it was off to St. Petersburg, FL. to spend time with a few of my college schoolmates. Like I said previously, as I have gotten older I have become much more aware as to how important maintaining these friendships are and I try to say hello every time I come to the area. It also goes without saying that I have acquired a new affinity for St. Pete and enjoy the time I get to spend here catching up and photographing the beautiful surroundings. I love heading south on the interstate and going to out to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. I generally find a slew of windsurfers and kite boarders with their very colorful sails out on the water but today was a somewhat windless day and I was just left with capturing the majestic beauty of this iconic architectural structure.

Once accomplished I headed back to the city to spend the afternoon capturing the essence of this once very sleepy town now turned into a thriving entertainment and business community. When I was growing up, St. Petersburg was known as the retirement capital of Florida but in its current state it is anything and everything but that. I liken it to becoming a “mini South Beach.”

While photographing in one of the harbors, the very large Sir Winston motor cruise yacht was finding its way in through the plethora of smaller vessels. It was like a semi tractor-trailer maneuvering in and around a Walmart parking lot. The vessel is a 128 feet dinner cruise yacht that boasts over 16,000 square feet of living and entertainment space and can accommodate up to 370 passengers. I can only assume it was coming in to dock for another excursion of fine food, libations and a sunset cruise. I was amazed to learn that the yacht is up for sale for a mere $3,900.000.00. Now if I can only find 369 of my closest friends to invest.

Happy Monday to you all ….. Enjoy!!!!!!