St. Pete’s Beach Drive, right by Paciuga gelateria. Tap to view at full size.
Last night, Anitra and I had dinner with friends in St. Pete at The Birchwood Inn’s rooftop bar, The Canopy. We were having such a good time that I completely forgot to snap some pics of the gorgeous view from the roof, which would include the all-new St. Pete Pier.
It was such a pretty evening out, and I remembered to capture at least one photo (the one above) before hopping in the car for the drive across the Bay and back to Tampa. The Beach Drivegelateria,Paciugo, was doing some pretty brisk business.
Accordion, Anitra, Jenn, Emily, Michelle, and Erinn. Tap to view at full size.
Last night, Anitra and I were joined by our just-on-the-other-block neighbor Jenn, and local friends Emily, Erinn, and Michelle on Southern Brewing’s lovely patio, which Erinn has cleverly described as “Mr. Miyagi’s yard, if he’d opened a bar instead of a car lot.” It’s an open, yet comfy space, surrounded by a wooden fence for Daniel-san to paint, and lots of palm and bamboo. It’s one of the many reasons I love living in Seminole Heights.
Every Tuesday from about 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., the Seminole Heights locals hold the “Tuesday Tipplers” event, where we gather at Southern Brewing and Winery to have some good beer, good food, and most important, good company.
Tuesday night is Locals Night, which means that if you can prove that you live in a local ZIP code (33602, 33603, 33604, and 33605), you get a free beer with a purchase of a beer. Combined with happy hour, this turns into a really good deal.
Red Hat BBQ provides the food on Tuesday, and their ribs are excellent. They even have vegetarian options, such as vegetarian “ribs”, and their collards are cooked without meat to flavor them, yet are still tasty.
If you’ve ever driven south on Florida Avenue past Trip’s Diner, you may have seen the structure pictured below on the south end of Trip’s parking lot:
Tap to view at full size.
It’s the local “Twice the Ice” ice vending machine, run by Ice House America, which boasts a network of more than 3,500 ice vending machines around this world. It’s automated, open 24 hours, and a convenience that I’ve overlooked until recently.
This one is Seminole Heights’ very own, where you can buy filtered water for 25 cents per gallon (3.8 liters) or dispenser, a five gallon (about 19 liters) bag of ice for a dollar, or fill your cooler with 20 pounds (9 kilograms) of ice for $1.75.
Tap to view at full size.
I moved to the neighborhood two years ago, and on the rare occasions that I’ve had to purchase ice, I’ve been paying way too much for too little at the gas station like a chump. Later this year, when it’s time to have guests over for cocktails, I’m going to have make use of this machine’s services.
