Weekend in St. Petersburg

We only live about 45 minutes from St. Petersburg (St. Pete for short), so we have visited several times since moving to Florida. This past weekend we were there both Saturday and Sunday, but for completely different adventures!

Saturday: Visting the Imagine Museum

St. Pete has a lot of museums (the Dali and the Chihuly probably being the most famous ones), and as Florida residents, we could visit the Imagine Museum for only $10/person in August. What a deal! It is all modern art featuring a lot of glass work. Here are some of my favorite pieces:

There were many of these purple glass pieces along one main hallway featuring butterflies and different kinds of flowers in each one. So pretty! That's the kind of art I would want in my own windows at home.

I loved all the different patterns and shapes in these glass pieces.

This is a close-up of a bigger piece that contains all sorts of glass flowers, creatures, and shapes. I felt like I was looking at some sort of other-worldly coral reef.

These flowers were so pretty, and the ones with clear glass at their centers look like they are glowing!

I think it's so cool the different colors and textures that glass can emit. Even though the horse's opaque body looks like it's made from stone, it's really just a different way of making glass. How cool!

I also liked that there were a few optical illusion pieces:

From the side, this just looks like a light blue glass egg...

But from a different angle, it actually has LOTS of different colors in it!

Up close, it almost looks like you're looking inside of an eye or a technicolor tunnel.

Steve and I were really taken by Anthony James' "Portal Icosahedron," which is made up of several mirrors. When you look "inside" of it, you feel like you are looking into infinity!

There was also a whole gallery that was essentially dedicated to fan art (i.e. art inspired by other art):

While this piece doesn't mention Don Quixote, those are definitely the vibes!

There were some questionable pieces included in the collection. The founder of the museum, Trish Duggan, has a piece featuring many Roman soldiers called "Let Men Be Men." I wasn't sure if this was commentary on the violence of men and war (valid), or her personal opinion to just let men do what they want to do (which is raping and attacking women, which are NOT valid). There was also a large display featuring different women throughout history, which was really neat, except it included J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series. While the books are very good, she is most recently known for her very transphobic views, and for that she should not be honored.

After visiting the museum, we walked down Central Avenue and had lunch at Little Philly's. Since I don't eat beef, I was happy to see that they had chicken and even vegan options. Yum!

Sunday: A Boat Ride with the Jewish Federation

The St. Pete skyline from the water

This boat ride was rescheduled due to Hurricane Debby, and I'm glad it wasn't fully cancelled, because it was so much fun! While the Jewish Federation of Tampa helped to organize the trip, the lead organization was Repair the Sea ("Tikkun HaYam" instead of "Tikkun Olam," which means to repair the world). Rabbi Ed Rosenthal founded the organization to connect Jews to ocean conservation. He talked about the creation of the ocean and how the second verse of Genesis is frequently skipped over:

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

The rabbi emphasized how there is not mention of the creation of the ocean specifically; it was just always there. And we talked about the power of water, how it can take three forms (liquid, solid, and gas), and how we all need it to survive. The organization teaches Jews (both students and community members) how to scuba dive, and in doing so, the group cleans up reefs. They manage an annual clean-up called a "reverse Tashlich" during Rosh Hashana, or the Jewish new year. Traditionally, the ritual of Tashlich is casting bread crumbs, representing your sins, into the sea to start of the new year with a clean slate. So the reverse of this is pulling sin OUT of the water, and that sin is pollution. Groups around the world organize clean-ups for that one day and pull out TONS of trash from the oceans. What a nice way to start the new year off! I immediately signed up for the group's newsletter, and I definitely want to participate in one of those clean-ups!

We did see some wildlife while we were on the water. As we were leaving the dock, someone pointed out a manatee. I couldn't see it, but they said the little thing poking out of the water was its snout. I'll just have to take their word for it! We also saw a blue crab (since I'm from Maryland, I'm very familiar with these!) and a dolphin (well, at least its dorsal fin). And of course sea gulls were all over the place!

We also had the chance to mingle with each other and hear our own stories of Judaism. Many of us talked about how people question our own Jewish-ness (e.g. if your mother isn't Jewish, or if you're adopted, etc.). I really appreciated how the rabbi doesn't stand by any of that. He sees all Jews as equal (not one kind or way of practice is better than another), and that anyone who identifies as Jewish is indeed Jewish. We also talked about the differences between Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews. Most people (including myself) are under the impression that the main difference is geography: Ashkenaz Jews are from Eastern Europe, while Sephardi Jews are from the Iberian Peninsula and north Africa (and the Middle East, although now many people used the term "Mizrahi" to describe Jews from the Middle East); this geographic difference leads to other ones, like general diets and what is eaten during Passover. But the rabbi taught us another way of looking at this divide through the teachings of Kabbala. Essentially, some Jews interpreted Kabbala as being the highest form of Jewish study, and therefore was limited in access to only older, married, male rabbis. Other Jews saw Kabbalah as the most basic understanding of study of the Torah, and therefore it was accessible to anyone. The first viewpoint turned into Ashkenaz, while the other is Sephardi. I think that is fascinating!

I learned so much on the boat, met some lovely people, and got to enjoy a few hours in the sun. When we came back to the dock, several of us went out to lunch at High & Dry, a restaurant right on the Harborage Marina. We enjoyed awesome fish tacos and delicious plantains, all while looking at the water and enjoying some live Reggae music. This really was the epitome of perfect Florida day!

We look forward to exploring more of St. Pete and Florida in general! There is so much to see and do!