A Trip to Florida

Off our balcony

Scott and I recently drove to Florida to deal with some family business. Because we needed to bring things back, we opted to drive. We always think it's going to be a fun-filled trip with lots of exciting stops along the way. But, it's usually pretty quick and a bit boring -- especially in July when it is too hot to do much. 

Acme; Photo: Scott Stevens

The route stops looked like this:

• Euless, Texas
• Biloxi, Mississippi
• Dunedin, Florida, where we spent four days
• Ichetucknee Springs State Park in north Florida
• Chattanooga, Tennessee
• Through Nashville to outskirts of Little Rock
• Oklahoma City to visit Becca
• OKC to home

A lot of driving without many meaningful stops except to eat and sleep.

I won’t do a blow-by-blow. I'll just touch on a few interesting stops, activities and sightings.

Cane River Oakland Plantation

Cane River Oakland Plantation

We have driven through Louisiana many, many times, but we seldom stop for more than just some Cajun Food (usually at the Acme Oyster House in Baton Rouge, as we did this time). 

Instead of just barreling through Louisiana, we made a brief visit to the Cane River Oakland Plantation, which is part of the Cane River Creole National Historical Park, near Natchitoches, Louisiana. 

Old fields and out buildings

Originally known as Bermuda, the plantation was built by Jean Pierre Emmanuel Prudhomme (could he be an ancestor of famous chef Paul Prudhomme?) on a tract of land granted to him by the Spanish government in 1789. He built a fortune, increased his land holdings and accumulated a large number of slaves (104 by his death – not a pleasant topic, but historical). The plantation was passed down to descendants, who continued to develop and expand it. In 1868, the estate was split between two heirs, Jacques Alphonse and Pierre Emmanuel. Jacques kept the land on the west side of the river, including the Main House and the area now considered Oakland Plantation. Pierre took all of the lands on the east side of the river and renamed his plantation Atahoe.

Main House (somewhat marred by the addition of an ADA-compliant elevator)

Oakland has a “raised Creole plantation” Main House and 27 historic outbuildings, giving a good look at what plantation life was like. Before the Civil War, plantations were basically small villages (of which most inhabitants were slaves). In addition to producing cash crops such as rice, sugarcane, tobacco or cotton, they also grew food crops and raised poultry and livestock to support their large populations. 

The store looked like this until it closed

The Oakland Plantation has two pigeonniers (basically two-story pigeon houses), a corn crib, a cattle corral, a hen house, a fattening pen, a turkey shed, a blacksmith shop, a carpenter's shop, a doctor's cottage and a plantation store. 

The store opened after the Civil War to cater to the newly freed African Americans and those sharecropping or tenant farming at the plantation. It doubled as a rural post-office for around 100 years. It closed in 1983.

Oakland Plantation continued to be passed down from one generation of Prudhommes to another and parts of it are still farmed today. The Prudhomme family sold the core of plantation to the National Park Service in 1997, and the last family left the land in 1999.

View from the stables

It was hot and humid (the theme of this trip), so we didn’t spend too much time there. But, we walked around and got a feel of the land – especially the beautiful southern oak trees. And, the drive in and out along the lazy Cane River was very pretty.

Spreading oak trees

We spent our first night in Biloxi, where I had hoped to go to the beach, but our hotel’s proximity to the shore was less than advertised (and the nearby beach wasn’t that nice). It was July 4 and traffic to the good beaches was crazy, so I scrapped that plan. Instead, we crashed early and I watched the July 4 fireworks from our balcony.

Dunedin

Dunedin

We stayed in Dunedin, which is just north of Clearwater, where we grew up. 

My mother was a guidance counselor a Dunedin High School and most of my Safety Harbor Junior High friends went to Dunedin High (I lived in an area zoned for Clearwater High). 

Scott and I bought our second house in Dunedin and my oldest daughter, Caty, was born in Dunedin.

We decided to stay in there for proximity to Dunedin Beach, which is a lovely, non-commercial beach (it’s a State Park). 

Our hotel -- the Best Western Plus Yacht Harbor Inn -- doesn't look out on the beach. It is at the town’s marina, a nice location for visiting town, restaurants and bars. The whole family will be gathering there this Thanksgiving.

Dunedin Marina

The corridor leading to the rooms was basically a sea wall. From outside our room we saw Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins, including a mother and baby …

Mama and baby

Ospreys …

Looking fierce

Great Blue Herons …

Preening

Great Egrets …

Extreme close-up

As well as mullet ...

A common fish in Florida

And Brown Pelicans ...

Fly-over

The first night, we drove toward the beach, but were interrupted by a magnificent storm (a Florida staple) ...

Crazy sky

Close call

... and almost interrupted by a big hole behind the tire when Scott backed into the space. That would have been great since it rained right after we discovered the hole. We didn't stay long because we have a healthy respect for lightning -- something you definitely develop in Florida.

One morning, I took a walk around the Marina and discovered lots of Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets and Ospreys (including a nest flanked by some recent fledglings). 

Juvenile Osprey

I did make it to the beach briefly for a walk with good friend, Donna. But, my dream of spending a lot of time on the beach didn’t come true. And, the day I went was crazy crowded because it was a Sunday. Ya gotta go on weekdays, people!

Tarpon Springs

We took two trips to downtown Tarpon Springs, which boasts the highest density of Americans of Greek descent in the country (almost 12 percent, of which most still report speaking Greek in their homes). Of course, that means great food.

Recently harvested sponges

Tarpon Springs didn’t start out as a Greek village. It was first settled by white and black farmers and fishermen around 1876. In 1887, it became the first town incorporated in what is now Pinellas County. The town was primarily a wintering spot for wealthy northerners.

Diver statue

But, the natural sponges found in the bays around the village changed everything. The first sponge business was founded in the 1880s, employing a few immigrants who had been sponge divers in their native Greece.

Greeks continued to arrive and, by 1905, sponges became one of the leading maritime industries in Florida and the most important business in Tarpon Springs, generating millions of dollars a year. And, most of the town's residents were Greeks.

In 1947, red tide wiped out the sponge fields in the Gulf of Mexico, causing many of the sponge boats and divers to switch to shrimping, while others left the business. 

Eventually, the sponges recovered, allowing for a smaller but consistent sponge industry today.

The Greek immigrants brought their culture with them and the town is rich with restaurants, Greek Orthodox churches and Greek traditions. We used to take field trips there throughout elementary school. I had many friends descended from early Greek arrivals.

Our favorite eatery is Mykonos and it didn’t disappoint. 

Me in front of the restaurant; flaming cheese; Photos: Scott Stevens

We had flaming saganaki cheese and then I had spanakopita, my favorite. Scott has a sampler plate with moussaka, patistio, dolmas, falafel, gyro meat and peas. Yum! Plus, the leftovers made a great breakfast later.

Mixed plate; Photo: Scott Stevens; spanakopita

If you go to Florida’s west coast, try making it to Tarpon Springs. You won’t regret it.

One of the biggest surprises of our visit was that sleepy little Dunedin has become a really happening place. It has lots of new restaurants and bars. Golf carts are legal street transportation. A high school friend borrowed one and we tooled around for a while.

Dining with Family

We visited Scott’s Mom and took her out to the Columbia for lunch (because, yes, in addition to Greek food, we also have to have Cuban food when we go to Florida – oh, and Sonny’s barbeque and Frenchy’s grouper). 

Scott and his mom, Betty

We, along with Scott’s brother and sister-in-law (you will remember Craig and Cheri from our Viking Cruise) had brunch with Scott's mom, Betty, at her new home, Market Street Memory Care in the newer part of Tarpon Springs. It's a very nice, brand-new facility.

Me, Craig, Cheri and Betty at brunch; Photo: Scott Stevens

That evening, we had dinner at Bern’s Steakhouse in Tampa. Yeah, it was pretty much an eating trip..

Craig, Cheri, Me and Betty at Bern's; Photo: Scott Stevens

The restaurant is owned by the son of original owner, Bern Laxer. Born in New York City, Bern served in World War II, got a degree in advertising and ran his own one-man advertising agency. In 1951, Bern and his wife, Gert, visited Bern's aunt in Tampa, ran out of money and stayed. In 1953, Bern and Gert bought a small luncheonette and later they purchased the Beer Haven Bar, which became the base for Bern’s. 

Equal partners, they had planned to share equal billing in the name of their new bar. But to save money, they salvaged letters from the Beer Haven sign and bought an "S" to create "Bern's." 

They eventually added "Steak House" because the phone company (that would be my former employer, GTE) wouldn't allow single name listings.

When their landlord threatened not to renew their lease because he disapproved of alcohol sales, Bern and Gert changed the bar to a restaurant. Their focus on prime steaks and fresh (often homegrown) ingredients made the restaurant very popular. Bern's has grown from one 40-seat dining room to eight dining rooms with 350 seats. As the restaurant grew, so did their wine collection and expertise. Now, Bern's has the largest wine list and largest private wine collection of any restaurant in the world.

They added a separate dessert room in 1985 using redwood wine casks to create 48 private areas where guests can select from nearly 50 desserts, wines, ports, sherries and madeiras.

Dessert room; Photo: Bern's

The first time I went to Bern’s, I was surprised by the old-fashioned, dark (there is only one window in the entire restaurant and it is not viewable by customers), seemingly bordello-inspired décor. It seems a bit fusty. The dessert room is even darker. I am surprised they don’t have lots of insurance claims from trips and falls in the dark.

Bern's decor; Photo: Bern's

I have had some great meals at Bern’s. this wasn’t one of them. It was OK, but a bit uninspired. 

First course was French onion soup. Very good, if a bit salty and blazing hot. A good start. Then a very average salad with a very yummy and chunky bleu cheese dressing. 

The main course was a 6 oz. filet cooked medium rare with gorgonzola sauce. I expected perfection, but I got just OK. The steak was a teensy bit dry and the gorgonzola sauce was thin and bland (the bleu cheese dressing would have been better). 

Green beans and carrots were fine. My baked potato was lukewarm and lacked the fluffiness of a well-baked spud. The onion strings were very, very good. 

Photo: Scott Stevens

Scott selected a very expensive wine that was a bit astringent for me. Dessert was better. 

Cheri and I split a very delicious pineapple dessert, advertised as hot, but actually barely warm. 

It’s a highly regarded, very expensive restaurant, so I hold it to high standards. This would have been an extraordinary meal for Outback, but not so much for Bern’s. I keep finding that restaurants that boast that they do things the same way since they were founded may be giving you a warning!

But, enough about that. The disappointment of Bern’s was mitigated by the great Greek food, the wonderful fish dip, ceviche and grouper nuggets at Frenchy’s and the 1905 salad and Cuban bread at the Columbia (I also had a half Cuban sandwich, but the Columbia’s sandwiches are not my favorite). Plus, the scenery ...

Dunedin

.. and wildlife was lovely ...

Great Egret

We had fun with Scott’s mom and with Craig and Cheri, so it was a nice visit.

Trip date: July 3-12, 2018