Florida Trip blog: Skipping thru time & space Part 2 (Hindu Temple of FL & Henry B. Plant Museum)

Hey Ho~

Continuing the traveling stories from our tour south....

Our second adventure was to the "Hindu Temple of Florida" and it was wonderful to go and see the artwork and feel the vibes here at this most beauteous temple! Construction started in 1994 and was finished in the year 2000.  The folks there were very kind, hospitable and welcoming. We each came away with a banana that was given to us by the Priest. :) We marveled at the shrines, the artwork, the stories, the lavish colors. It was very, very kewl.

We couldn't take pics of the inside of the temple, (which is fine and we used our decorum) but there are a couple of pics posted on the web, that I did include.
See for yourself and surf here:
Hindu Temple of Florida

Check out the Osprey's nest on tip-top of the shrine!

(Ospreys are symbolic for The Osprey is a majestic Bird of Prey. ... The Osprey is a symbol of true power, with mastery over the sea, air and land. It is a true hunter, with speed, agility, power and precision. It is a symbol of keen vision, seeing its prey clearly and not being blinded by the sun as it dives towards its target.)

Ganesh, with his big elephant tusk to carry things is the "Remover of Obstacles"
I personally said a prayer to Ganesh for you, and for our country. <3
Hey, we need all the help we can get! :)

It was beautiful!

Our third adventure was to the Henry B. Plant Museum in Tampa. Talk about your gilded age in the day of robber barons! WOWSA. This building was previously a 500 room hotel in its heyday! So posh! Yet so HUGE! It never really filled....and started going into decline...but it was saved by turning it into another site for the University of Tampa.

The Henry Plant Museum was formerly known as the Tampa Bay Hotel, which was a 511 room resort hotel opened on February 5, 1891 by Henry B. Plant near the terminus of his rail line. The museum's exhibits focus on Gilded Age tourism, the elite lifestyle of the hotel's guests, and the building's use during the Spanish–American War. It was designed by architect J.A. Wood who also created the old Hillsborough County Courthouse and the Oglethorpe Hotel.

U.S. National Historic Landmark

The Tampa Bay Hotel was built by railroad magnate Henry B. Plant between 1888 and 1891. The construction cost over 3 million dollars.^[5] It was considered the premier hotel of the eight that Mr. Plant built to anchor his rail line. The hotel itself covers 6 acres (24,000 m²) and is a quarter-mile long. It was equipped with the first elevator ever installed in Florida. The elevator is still working today, making it one of the oldest continually operational elevators in the nation. The 511 rooms and suites were the first in Florida to have electric lights and telephones. Most rooms also included private bathrooms, complete with a full-size tub. The price for a room ranged from $5.00 to $15.00 a night at a time when the average hotel in Tampa charged $1.25 to $2.00.

The grounds of the hotel spanned 150 acres (0.61 km²) and included a golf course, bowling alley, racetrack, casino and an indoor heated swimming pool. In all, 21 buildings could be found on the hotel's campus. The Moorish Revival architectural theme was selected by Mr. Plant because of its exotic appeal to the widely traveled Victorians who would be his primary customers. The hotel has six minarets, four cupolas, and three domes. In the early 90's, all were restored to their original stainless steel state.

Click this link!
Henry B. Plant Museum on Youtube!

Gorgeous!!

Just LOOK at the SCALE of this place!
See me?
See the size of the window??

Look at Donna and I...
can you see us?

See how long the hallways are???

After all that walking and learning and adventuring....
Lunch was long overdue!

So a trip to Frenchy's Rockaway Grill, in Clearwater, right on the beach!!
Complete with a sighting of a PIRATE SHIP!
Arrrg!

We enjoyed the day to be sure!
And Rockaway Mules to drink washed down Steamed Oysters and Shrimp.
Mmmmmmmmm!
What a great treat.

 A very happy time of it!
Thanks to Donna Davenport for being our tour guide and driver!

<3

Babar, King of the Elephants

StoryBook Club went to Africa last night to visit with our friend, Babar!

(Baabar? or B-barr? Which do you say? I say Baa-bar. :)

This elephant king was gracious and sweet and fun, but was kind of concerned that folks throughout time haven't always taken him right.

Babar took us aside and told us plainly that he "is not a French colonialist, nor prejudiced towards blacks, nor an elitist with a class issue. I'm just a good, big elephant who has taste and style and tries to make the world a more fun and orderly place."

The adults (notice I didn't say "grown-ups") in our StoryBook Club, did delve into all those political issues that have plagued this cute wee children's story.

When I first read Babar to my girls when they were little, I also was personally taken aback by some of these idiosyncrasies. I didn't like the way that Africans were depicted. I didn't like the hierarchy of elephants into classes. I didn't like the way it was culturally organized.

But then again, I wasn't 5-years-old either. To my little girls, Babar was awesome. He was big and silly and he liked to dress nice and travel and adventure and fix problems. We liked the fact that he could be a wild elephant, but also magically fit into spare clothes that the Old Lady had on hand. Babar and his wife Celeste would often visit the Old Lady and sleep in her twin beds. Just think of that. An elephant sleeping comfortably in a twin bed!

Elephants drinking out of tea cups.  Elephants taking balloon rides.  Elephants having posh parties!

Yah, Babar was right.

He's just for fun.

Granted, there are these issues in the books. Just like there are issues in Civil War music and Minstrel Shows of by gone days. But remember, they are a time capsule. A snapshot of that point in time. We should be aware of people's feelings and be respectful, but at the same time, it's good to remember and note that things have changed for the better with these issues.

But 5-year-olds don't need the conspiracy theories.

They need story figures who run into trouble and problems and can fix it magically and maybe even a bit silly with a sentence or two.

And that's what Babar is.

He's simple and fun and he wears a green suit. He loves his wife and children and he tries to take responsibility the best he knows how. He protects his elephants and he is kind to the Old Lady and to animals that aren't as big as he is. He is truthful and resourceful.

Babar is a good role model overall. Try not to make him responsible for human beings foibles.

We ate well at our monthly meeting!

Themed food was prepared and devoured!
There was Tea in china cups, "French" Onion Soup, Stuffed "poison" mushrooms,

Roasted Veggies,

Chili, fresh bread and real butter, Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup, Peanuts and delicious homemade Peanut butter cookies!

A feast fit for a KING! :)

Because we know that elephants remember...and they like to eat well.

A lovely get together with intelligent folks on a cold and wintry night. With a story!
YAY!

Next month:
In honor of St. Paddy's Day the  theme will be: "Leprechauns!"

The Ponderance of Pooh~

Winnie the Pooh was our StoryBook Club theme this month and we all met up at the House of Pooh corner, (Val's big Victorian house on a corner).

The thing about Winnie the Pooh is that he's just so squeezable. He's sweet and laid back and naive and wise all at the same time.

Zen Pooh.

There actually was a book that many of us have read in the past, about this simple reflective character:
 "The Tao of Pooh" by Benjamin Hoff.


The personalities of the Winnie the Pooh story are all boiled down versions of our own character.
Pooh~ Naive, thoughtful and laid back
Piglet~ Hopeful, nervous trusting loving soul

Rabbit~ OCD, a bit anal, analytical and ordered

Kanga~ the perfect compassionate and able mother figure

Roo~ the wide eyed child up for learning what life is in all its forms

Owl~ a bit "too far north" and out there, know-it-all-chaotic, somewhat oblivious to surroundings

Eeyore~ the pessimistic "oh poor me" Law of Attraction casualty

Tigger~ the over the top- ADHD -love life- gotta be me- Ego... at it's best and worst. Confident and Fragile.

Christopher Robin~ the compromiser and adventurer and solid foundation

Which one are you?
We are all of the above put together. A.A. Milne was onto something there with Philosophy that led you along the wordy path of language in its forms on the page. Literally. You can walk, hop, skip and jump from page to page! How fun is that to get to be able to live and play IN and ON a book?

In fact, most of us in the group, found ourselves relaxing so much just with hearing the sound of Sebastian Cabot as the narrator. ("Mr. French" as I mused to the group). We were lulled into an evening's repose much like a baby in a rocking chair.

Of course, it could've also been the grand dinner that we all brought and mowed down at our fun monthly themed gathering.

Let's see....
There was "Pigs in a Blanket", and hot sliced ham right out of the oven (for Piglet), Fresh farm milk and yogurt and homemade Granola (for Kanga & Roo) and there was fresh veggies and dip and hummus, and CarrotOrangeAppleGinger Juice, and Carrot Cake (for Rabbit), a fermented Tea (for Owl) and Peanut Butter Fudge, Honey Meade and Baklava (for Pooh).
There was nothing for Eeyore... (in his sad voice) , "Which, when you think about it," was perfect for Eeyore

No pics this time....sorry. We were too busy eating and visiting and talking of great and magickal things like: Heffalumps and Woozels....and how to avoid Jagulars )
All very important information while wandering in our 100 acre woods of Life.

Swinging from Zen calm goodness we change it up for next month's October spooky theme.
We will also get some good information on Sociopaths, when we read the Classic children's literature piece:

The Folk Tale of "Bluebeard."

And for God's sake honey.....don't open that door.

Consider yourself warned :)

StoryBook Club visits Beauty & The Beast

Are we crazy to believe in Love?

Is there more to life than beauty?

Is there a love that transcends time and attractiveness?

What IS attractiveness?

These are some of the themes that we explored last night at our StoryBook Club. A group for adults only that have a children's joy de vivre!

Beauty and The Beast is a traditional French tale first published by Gabriell-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve in 1740. A time when it was breaking conventional for women to be a person on their own account and their own accord. It was actually published in a women's magazine at the time.

How do we feel about beauty in our society? Is it only those who are handsome or beautiful that have worth? Or could there be something more within? Is a person who is attractive on the outside but corrupt on the inside still a beautiful person? Is a person who got hit with a fugly stick or someone who has a disability worthwhile? Of course we all as individuals must traverse this ground if we are to see people as more than skin deep.

Beauty IS as Beauty DOES.

On the other hand, there was some notation offered, off the original topic that Belle could've actually been schizophrenic. She heard voices. She was odd. She was a victim of the Stockholm Syndrome. Maybe Gaston wasn't really a cad but was trying to save her from herself. Maybe it was all a reaction to the grandiose discrepency of distribution of wealth and a class society and her need of wanting to fit in and have more. Maybe the Beast really never changed, but her attitude did when she accepted him as her Lord and Master and became wealthy too?

Who knows?

It was all fodder for discussion and discuss it we did! And ate WELL. As usual!

Being a French tale, we devoted ourselves to the task with aplomb!

Here is our table centerpiece last night at Squirrel Haven!
Complete with Books, Teapot (Mrs. Potts and Chip :) a Rose Garden, a Magickal Rose, a mirror and Luminere! A Belle doll even graced our table too.

 

Our menu of delights included: Soup du Jour (Black Bean Soup), Onion Gruyere Dip with baguette, fresh French bread, Coq au vin Blanc, Quiche (Cheese Souffle :), Cream Puffs, Red wine and Tea.

It was tough to take, but someone had to do it :)

Dinner was followed by a showing of Disney's classic "Beauty & The Beast" which we all watched with new and more discerning eyes :)

Next month we look at a German tale and another community of characters, and try to decipher who they are, and how they are perceived, and what they have to offer us when we discuss

The Bremen Town Musicians!