GARY & MARIE...OUR LIFE IN QUEBEC!: Fleetwood Mac, February 2019

Marie and I, brother Richard and girlfriend Nancie, sister Diane and her friend DeAnn got together in Florida for a week, ostensibly to go to the Fleetwood Mac concert in Tampa, but in reality to party on the beach, drink beer and rum, eat conch, clams and grouper sandwiches and watch the sunsets. John, Diane's former and latter, drove down from Land O'Lakes for a few days and sister Lynette spent a night, after we had driven up to Brooksville to wish Don a happy birthday, his 75th. We stayed in the Intercoastal Apartments, an AirBnB on Gulf Boulevard in the little town of Indian Shores, Florida. It was only a three minute walk to what we all agreed was one of Florida's finest sandy beaches on the Gulf of Mexico. Indian Shores is a beach-front community, or what I like to call just one more name in the continuous strip of concrete, cars and tourist spots from Clearwater to St Pete. Indian Shores is situated on a barrier island west of Seminole, easy walking distance to our favorite coffee and donut place, The Donut Experiment, restaurants (Original Pizza) and beach rental shops. It was a pre-March break type of quiet with mostly retirees and/or Canadians strolling around, enjoying day after day of sunny, SPF50 days. From our apartment it was a two hour walk and back to the old Redington Shores Long Pier on the beach. The pier, built in 1962, had been pummeled by strong winds and waves this past December and was falling down in sections, but was a good goal for Richard to walk to most days, keeping fit for his upcoming knee surgery in March.

Marie, Long Pier, Redington Beach

Dee and John, Indian Shores

Richard and Nancie, under the Long Pier, Redington Beach

fisherman and fisherbird, Long Pier, Redington Beach

the gang, Wahoo's Waterside Pub & Patio, Redington Shores

Marie, Dee & Nancie, Wahoo's, Redington Shores

Marie, John, Rich & Nancie, settling in for sunset, Indian Shores

...and the sunset, Indian Shores

Marie, Rich and Nancie admiring sand sculptures, Indian Rock Beach

We had all decided before leaving home we were going to catch a hockey game while we were in Florida, between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens at Amalie Arena in Tampa. The Habs unfortunately came out on the wrong end of a 3-0 score, though they played well in the first two periods. I wore my Canadiens blankie but the nimrods operating the jumbo tron cameras refused to acknowledge there were any Montreal supporters in the "obviously lots of seats still available" game and put up on the big screen only hysterical Bolt fans jumping around. Shawn and Lynette drove down from Brooksville and met us at Amalie and cheered for the Florida side. Very unpatriotic on Lyn's part I thought. We were all in the nose bleed section, the highest possible seats in the place and had to duck every time a jet came in to land at Tampa International. But it was fun none the less and some of us enjoyed the $16 beer. Before the game we did the Tampa Riverwalk, a nice stroll along the Hillsborough River. We saw the José Gasparilla tied up nearby, a 'pirate ship' named after the Spanish pirate Gaspar who is claimed to have roamed and plundered his way across the Gulf of Mexico and the Spanish Main. We had dinner at the American Social Bar & Kitchen downtown where I had the best meal of my trip, a humongous strawberry salmon salad I ended up sharing with Marie. The next day we dropped in to see Irene, John's mother, on our way to celebrate Don's birthday. She is just as spry and energetic as ever and was very happy to see us again. She is 86 now, doesn't drive anymore and refuses to quit. Boiled peanuts at Lake Lindsey Mall was a must before the party. A trip to Brooksville is not complete without these delicious treats!

Marie, Gary, John, Dee, Nancie & Rich, the Tampa Riverwalk, Tampa

Marie and the José Gasparilla, Tampa

Tampa skyline

Gary, Marie & John, outside the Amalie Arena, Tampa

Richard & Marie, Amalie Arena, Tampa

when it was still 0-0 and I thought we had a chance

Marie & Lyn, Amalie Arena, Tampa

Dee, Rich, Nancie, Irene, Marie, Gary & John, Land O'Lakes

Dee, Marie & Nancie, Lake Lindsey Mall buying boiled peanuts

Lyn, Dee, Rich, Nancie & Marie, Brooksville

Gary, Don & Rich, Brooksville

Brenna, Brooksville

Brenna and Don blowing out the birthday candle, Brooksville

Of course the raison d'étre for us all coming together this past week was to see the supergroup Fleetwood Mac. Dee's friend from Utah, DeAnn, flew in the night before from Denver where she had gone to see Bob Seeger perform. FM are nor getting any younger and it would probably be the last chance we would see them, though the members sounded as good as ever, if not better. Mick Fleetwood, now 71, did his usual zany drumming and grimaces that endear him to all and waxed philosophical about the group and the state of the world in general, Stevie Nicks was her mystical, poetic self who looms larger than life on stage and commands your attention at all times, Christine McVie who thankfully came out of retirement a few years ago made me happy when she sang her "You Make Loving Fun", John McVie, the group's great bass guitarist was steady as always, letting the rest of the band take the limelight, Mike Campbell, who played in Tom Petty's band before he died was fantastic and jammed his heart out all night, and Neil Finn, the great songwriter of Crowded House fame, sang his heart out throughout the set, especially on his "Don't Dream Its Over", the highlight of the night for me. A perfect night only got better when they did a tribute to Tom Petty, singing Free Fallin' and showcasing his life and career on the big screen on stage. Can it get any better than that?

Rich, Nancie, Marie, DeAnn, Dee & Gary, The Conch Republic Grill & Raw Bar, Redington Beach

getting ready for FM - the gang, Amalie Arena, Tampa

Fleetwood Mac, Amalie Arena, Tampa

FM singing 'All Over Again' Amalie Arena, Tampa

Fleetwood Mac, Amalie Arena, Tampa

Marie & Gary, early morning beach walk, Indian Shores

Our last day was spent relaxing on the beach or by the pool, enjoying one last meal together at JDs Restaurant and Lounge, then watching a final sunset. It was the first time since 1971 I had gone down to Florida and not seen Mom or Dad and I thought how it marked yet another milestone in my life. We had driven by their old home on Lake Lindsey Road, noting their name was still on the sign at the entry to the property, now in obvious disrepair and thinking there was now no reason to ever pass this way again. Marie and I bade goodbye to Dee, DeAnn and Nancie before heading out to the airport with Richard, the week's designated driver, glad we had had this opportunity to get together again. Maybe next time Carolyn will join us, wherever we end up. We will be seeing her in March and looking forward to a month among the friendly people of Estados Unidos Mexicano! gws