John's Pass Boardwalk

What better way to spend a day in Florida's spring near the water's edge at the Gulf of Mexico with our hosts Jan and Amity Kokochak.

Today we motored from Plant City a little over an hour to John's Pass Boardwalk.

John's Pass bills itself as a “quaint turn-of-the-century fishing village”and claims to be Pinellas County's number one tourist attraction.

It is lovely. It is quaint. And it borders on honky-tonk without the loud music that so often accompanies honky-tonk. It was worth the visit. Good food is all over. Hand-rolled cigars are a specialty. There is a fishing fleet, para-sailing, jet skiing and Madeira Beach nearby. John's Pass is not far from St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Tampa.

Also, it is a short distance away from a boyhood friend of mine who I failed to seek out. I will call him Bob. I know I will pay for this oversight in the future and I vow to find him the next time we are there. He will have to remain anonymous, as Bob, for various reasons, but mainly because I surely don't want to have him angry with me for missing a connection. Others would recognize his name and inform him, I know. I apologize to him now, in case he finds out about my short sightedness in planning on this trip.

We had lunch at Sculley's Block and Tackle Tavern on the waterfront, and our server Shawna, a recent transplant from New Mexico, was a pleasure to meet. None in our party had a complaint about the food. The view of the water was soothing and the music, relatively quiet, leaned toward Jimmey Buffet and The Beach Boys. It was a toe-tapping enjoyable experience.

The history of John's Pass is steeped in stories of escaped slaves and pirates.

I should have known that Bob would settle in a place entangled with pirate history and an oppressed people's quest for freedom.

The four of us strolled the boardwalk under the mostly sunny sky, and could not resist frozen custard, one of our favorites.

Another vice of mine was also satisfied.

After watching Eric Santana hand-roll cigars, I just couldn't resist. It is as close to a Cuban

cigar as I could get in the U.S. The seeds for the leaves Santana was rolling came from Cuba and were cultivated in the Dominican Republic. I didn't ask any other questions about the tobacco. I didn't want to know.

Santana said he did not speak English, but we managed to understand each other when I asked his name and asked his permission to take a picture. I wish my Spanish were as good as his English. You can watch Santana work at his fascinating trade at Cuban Paradise Cigar and Cafe, 12933-A Village Blvd, Madeira Beach, FL. I got a coupon from the shop for a two for one on my next visit.

I know I will go back again when I visit Bob next visit, and we will smoke a cigar together and toast with Grand Marnier.