A trip to the beach

Today we went on a trip to Crystal River. We still need to change at least one tire of the van and had heard of a cheap tire shop over there.

Unfortunately they didn't have a used one of our size and new tires cost about 120 $. But the two guys from the garage totally freaked out about our car. Funny.
And after all that trouble we had with it it's good to have someone who's a bit into cars freaking out about it. It reminds us that even if we had to put some money, work and tlc into the car we would get enough if we'd put it up for sale again. Yep. "If you'd put it here on the street for sale, you could get about 23" (hundred), that's what he said.

We tried to find tires at some places. We thought tires would be the easiest part. It is not.
Right now those drivers with a pick up truck can't find their size anymore and put the size of our car onto their autos. This means: our size is rare and gone immediately at the tire places. No good news.


Good news was: the beach was empty when we came there. The sky was clouded and it had rained a little. There even were some smaller waves. It was nice!
We went the little mosquito path. I had sprayed myself furthermore there weren't too many. Instead butterflies and some nice flowers. And little lizards that were hunting butterflies (one had a catch in it's mouth).

I went into the water. Real swimming. Suddenly no ground under my feet. I don't know how long I havn't been swimming. Too long. Swimming was awesome. When we drove back home I really had the feeling that we had been at the beach.

When walking in low water we suddenly saw a strange fish. First thought: a ray. No, something's wrong. This looks a bit different. Like something between fish and crab. With a shell. And flippers that were used almost like feet. It had the size of a breakfast plate.
Some ancient fish species. I just looked it up and obviously this thing is a horseshoe crab.

We shortly stopped at the mall in Crystal River since I havn't been to a mall yet and I was curious about it. Ok, it wasn't what I had expected. It was like Mülheim inner city on sunday. Dull. Most of the shops were empty. Some closed. The air smelled like popcorn and speakers transported what a girl sitting on a chair in the middle of the hall played on her guitar while singing. Something was wrong about the ratio of people and space in the large center hall.

And when we came home from our long long day Sisto got 6 letters from that stupid insurance company that didn't want to take us. Six times the same letters telling him in the same words that he doesn't fulfill their requirements. It's like a bad joke reminding me of Harry Potter getting his Hogwarts letters. Wicked, not.

We end our day by doing hippie stuff. But that's another story.

Lately Finds

We have been around. In thrift stores. On yard sales. Sometimes lucky and often not at all. So much crap everywhere. And nice things are often pricey.
On friday there was a clearance sale at a thrift store in Crystal River. We had seen it when we got there for the starter and waited the whole week long for friday to come.
It was awesome. The thrift store had some nice things. And you could go through each and every box in every room of the building. The had a big garage with yet not sorted items in big boxes. They had a bunch of halloween stuff. They had electronics and a few pretty boxes.

And we got a whole bunch of stuff for 15 bucks.
Sisto found an equalizer. And my treasure find was an old handmade quilt. A little bit worn out and to be repaired on the edges, but someones beautiful craft.

 The little iron is from todays tour. The only find on a long and annoying morning looking for at least a few hidden yard sales around Inverness. The little pocket I got from a thrift store a few weeks ago when I was looking for something to carry around bills and coupons and international drivers licenses and stuff like that. It's doing me a good service!

You know what? I can't await to look for things in Portland or when we're traveling the country. Looking for treasures in the nowhere! What nice things did you find on flea markets or in thrift stores?

Junk yard

We went to the junk yard a second time this noon. To get the little spring that was broken on our car.
Today I was well equipped, I took my camera.

It was hot again, but we didn't stay long. Got the part, got a rear mirror, too, and drove back home.
Now I'm sitting with two slices of this awesome self-made bread (just tweaked a bit: wheat flour instead of spelt and sunflower seeds instead of pumpkin ones), some vegetables and massaged kale.

St. Pete - Raw Food and Concerts

Yesterday we went to St. Petersburg. It's like 2 hours south from Inverness and we went there for a concert. But since we had to drive so far we were lucky ('cause nobody needed the car) to combine this trip with some other stuff.

We went to IKEA to get a mattress and a slatted frame for our bus. The shop was kind of the same as in germany. But still not completely. What I appreciate about those european companies is that I feel like they seem to care more about ecology. Even if it's just little tiny things like signs asking the people to switch off their car while in the loading area. Just stuff like that.

The other thing we had planned on doing in between this shopping tour and the concert was eating out. There are several (not too many but still some) options for vegan dining in the tampa area. And two of those even offer 100% RAW vegan food. We had to check one of those out.

We went to that one I prefered which was a little bit further from the venue. But we left Inverness early and after IKEA there was plenty of time. So we drove to St. Pete Beach to check out "vida de cafe". Since this island has a beautiful beach the town seems to take this for profit and the parking spaces were pricey. So we decided instead of eating there to just stay for an affordable hour, grab something to go and eat it on the beach. As a snack. Then afterwards drive to the other restaurant to sit down without a rush and eat there.

And so we did. We shared tacos and Sisto got himself a mango shake while I already had made my decision for cheesecake. Yes, raw cheesecake.
You know what: this food was f*cking awesome. We never tasted a mango shake that was so rich and creamy. The tacos were insane and my cheesecake heavenly. Nothing more to say. I made pictures. Haha.

The hour passed quickly. We got the food. The inside of the cafe was very welcoming, too. Simple and quiet. No big time scenario, just homely wooden furniture and green walls. An open counter. Big windows. We went to the beach. It was beautiful. Sunny. A little bit crowded, but ok for a saturday. We had our meal and went for a short walk around the block. There were many nice houses, close to the beach and all in all it was as you imagine Florida to be.

We left around five. Still enough time before the concert to check out the "leafy greens cafe".
I was already kind of full from the cheesecake but wanted to eat a little bit since the evening was going to be long and I was curious about the food. So I took the thai curry soup and decided to share pizza with Sisto. The pizza unfortunately was out. It was like the main thing we wanted to try out. So Sisto ordered a Burger and we decided to share a sandwich.

So, the food here also was delicious. The soup was so refreshing but spicy at the same time. Sistos Burger was great and I really loved the sandwich that had a cashew cheese inside which really made you scream for more. And after we finished it all up we were so full. Nobody ever thinks you can be so full from just vegetables. But go to a raw restaurant (because they know what they are doing) and order    a starter and a main dish and if you feel like a dessert: you won't be able to move afterwards, I promise.

We didn't stay inside but sat down in front of the shop. So I can't tell you about the interior. It was little bit more restaurant style. The outside was nice, just the neighborhood isn't the best, so there were some strange people passing. And we were the only ones on the street. (At least parking was free..)

What us bothered at the second cafe was the service. Maybe it's an american thing - I read something about it, so it doesn't necessarily have to do with the venue at all - but from the moment we went in until the second we left we wouldn't sit for a minute without the waitress to come and ask if everything's ok. Like we went out. With her. We checked the menu. She was out. If we wanted to drink. We denied. She was back after a minute. Who can read and decide about a meal in such a short time? She came back after another minute. We felt rushed. We ordered. She brought the soup. While we were eating the main dish she came out to ask if everything's ok. After we had finished she was out to ask if we want a dessert. When we said no she brought us the bill. Hey, if I'm going out to eat I want it to be restful. I want to enjoy my food, not rush over it. I want to sit while it fills me up. I want it to be unhasty. Eating out to me is something special. I don't eat out every day. And I dislike to feel watched: if I finished my dish, wether I like it or not, how I eat and how quick I leave the table (especially if it's not full). We felt uneasy and though the food was delicate and tasty we wouldn't come back. What a pity.

So when we left the cafe it was early. We had planned way more time for this part of our day. However we went to the club which actually was the home of the organizer. It seemed to be some workshop with a huge garage in the past. Now the garage was the space where the concerts took place. 15 or 16 acts. And in his living room they had opened a gallery. Full of pictures of a guy that had passed away some time ago. His widow gave away all of his paintings and they took them and put them there. You could buy all the pictures for 5 to 10 bucks which they pass over to his widow for medication and stuff. The most impressing piece was one of a girl and a dog licking some ice cream together. Light and dreamy, playful and naive. I loved the picture (that unfortunately was already sold). He painted a lot of portraits, too. Ordinary people and well-known ones like Clinton or the pope (last one without his eyes).
Altogether they looked amazing.

The concert was cool. For me after this day it was too long. So around twelve I went to sleep a bit in the car. And Sisto woke me up some hours later. There was a wide range of different noise related projects and bands. And a lot of people came to see them. Which to us was even more startling.
Around half past three I think the concert was over and we drove home.

 

We had to stop for a little baby racoon that wouldn't leave the street because it was so busy eating something from the ground and a deer was running cross the street in front of us. We slept too short. And I wrote a lot. So this is it for today.

The car didn't start.

The car didn't start.
"It drives good." said one of the guys who came with a big battery booster. "Try it now." The car still wasn't reacting. When Sisto pulled out the keys he hold the complete locker part in hand.
Awesome.
They jumped around on top of the motor block while I was trying to get the door open. With the same result as trying to open the crooked window.
Sisto released me and we already had made a decision. This car won't drive us nowhere!

/By the way: they wanted 1595$ for it. Not a joke.

Tampa /St. Pete

We drove to St. Petersburg today to have a look at a car. Unfortunately the car was crap.

Driving on one of those big bridges that cross the bay between Tampa and St.Pete is awesome. For some while you drive really close to the water, no high wall that cuts the view to the sides. We saw dolphins and lots of pelicans, too. My first impression of Tampa Downtown:

And today was sooo hot!