The Wandering Disciple

In honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day, today's photo of the day comes from the newest exhibit at the Tampa Bay History Center.  Opened in 2018, Treasure Seekers is a gallery dedicated to Conquistadors, Pirates and Shipwrecks.  The interactive exhibit tells the story of the seas and also lets you board the Pirate Ship No Surrender on a fated journey to seek riches.  Will you make it to port with your treasures or sink to the bottom of Davy Jones Locker, hope aboard and find out.  The exhibit is one of the permanent exhibits at the Tamp Bay History Center, a three story museum dedicated to telling the story of Tampa Bay.  (Photo: August 30, 2021)

Football is a big thing in the Tampa Bay region. There are good games to watch all weekend long from high school games on Friday night, the USF Bulls on Saturday's and the Tampa Bay Bucs on Sunday. The region has even hosted the Super Bowl five occasions including 2021 when the home team Bucs defeated the Kansas City Chiefs to become the only team to win a Super Bowl in their own city. An exhibit highlighting all of the Tampa Bay area's sporting history can be seen as part of the history exhibits at the Tampa Bay History Center in Tampa's Channelside district. (Photo: August 30, 2021)

St Petersburg, Florida: When it comes to surrealism art, there is no one more renowned than Salvador Dali.  In the course of his career, Dali created more than 1,500 works of art with some of them being among the most known masterpieces in the art community.  While his works are displayed in art museums across the globe there are two museums dedicated solely to his work, the Dali Theatre-Museum in his hometown of Figueres, Spain and The Dali Museum right here in St Petersburg, Florida.    Located in the art district along the St Pete waterfront, the Dali Museum is a work of art in itself.  This iconic waterfront landmark may be the vision of the museum now, the collection was not always displayed here. It got its start in an Ohio family's private collection in the 1940's. The collection that is now on display in St Pete started when Reynolds and Eleanor Morse attended an art exhibit at the Cleveland Museum of Art which showcased works by Dali. The purchase...

In the early 1900's, mascots on the radiators of cars were becoming a popular fashion trend. In an effort of maintaining a classy look on the iconic Rolls-Royce, one of the designers Claude Johnson decided to have a dignified mascot created for the Rolls-Royce. The Spirit of Ecstasy was is a sculpture created by Charles Robinson Sykes and features a woman that appears to be flying. The final product was given to Rolls-Royce in February 1911 and initially became an add-on option for the car but by 1920 it was a standard feature of all Rolls-Royce cars. While the ornament may have evolved over the years since, it still remains one of the most iconic features of this classy sedan. This particular mascot comes from an exhibit at The Dali Museum in St Petersburg entitled "Rainy Day Rolls", a modern day take of Dali's iconic rainy day taxi. (Photo: August 28, 2021)

We just became members to the Edison Ford Winter Estate, unlocking a world of exploration not just into the lives of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford but to historic sites nationwide. For those that have followed the site since the beginning, you have probably noticed that I enjoy learning about history. By becoming members to this great historical site, we also have access to hundreds of historical sites, museums and botanical gardens nationwide through the memberships reciprocal privileges.  So if you are into learning about history like me head out to your local museum and become a member today, not only are you helping them preserve history but you are unlocking doors of exploration for yourself. (Photo: June 26, 2011)