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  1. #1

    On the Road Again!

    My car was tied up for almost 2 1/2 months with the paint job. I fixed a few stray items this morning and this afternoon we took it for a spin. It felt good to be driving it again. The engine ran cool and smooth. We took it to the "Hula Bay" restaurant that is at a marina on north Tampa Bay. It was a beautiful day. 65-degrees, clear and sunny.
    In Front.jpg

    Parked.jpg

    The restaurant has an open veranda that extends out over the water and gives a nice view of the marina. The boat in the foreground is marked "Tampa Fire Rescue":
    Tampa Fire Rescue.jpg
    Dennis Pierson
    Tampa, FL
    "The Wonder Falcon"

    '63 Futura Hardtop (260, Ford-O-Matic, bench seat)

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Seattle
    Posts
    1,430
    Next time you drive through Bradenton, stop off and see my old pal Snooty. That was a regular stop for us growing on during our winter pilgrimage in the '70's.

    Amazingly, the Google machine says he is still around and recently celebrated his 65th Birthday.

    Here is a link to some details for those interested. He is a big boy!

    http://www.southfloridamuseum.org/Th...ootyFacts.aspx

    I wanted to add his digs look nice now. When I used to visit him his home was a simple little fountain like you would see in a mall. It was located in the City Hall lobby.
    Last edited by Jeff W; January 26th, 2014 at 03:18 PM.

    Jeff Watson
    Seattle, WA
    '63 Tudor Wagon (170 - 3 spd.)

  3. #3

    Snooty

    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff W View Post
    Next time you drive through Bradenton, stop off and see my old pal Snooty.
    Hello, Jeff.

    I'll do that. Now you have given me an excuse to drive down to Bradenton. That will be a nice trip.

    Thanks, Dennis.
    Dennis Pierson
    Tampa, FL
    "The Wonder Falcon"

    '63 Futura Hardtop (260, Ford-O-Matic, bench seat)

  4. #4

    We saw Snooty!

    We drove The Wonder Falcon to the South Florida Museum & Aquarium to visit Jeff's old pal Snooty, the 65-year old manatee. The aquarium is in Bradenton, on the south side of the entrance to Tampa Bay. We found a parking space right in front of the museum.

    1-DCP_4916.jpg

    Snooty is a celebrity.
    Snooty Memory Book.jpg

    They have a nice aquarium for him now.
    1-DCP_4923.jpg

    On the way back, we stopped at the dirt-track speedway in Gibsonton. They have races every Saturday at 6:30 pm. I have been wanting to go for a long time and today had seemed like a perfect opportunity. Unfortunately, there had been some rain and the races were cancelled for this evening. Oh, well. Some other time.
    1-DCP_4925.jpg
    Last edited by ew1usnr; February 1st, 2014 at 04:17 PM.
    Dennis Pierson
    Tampa, FL
    "The Wonder Falcon"

    '63 Futura Hardtop (260, Ford-O-Matic, bench seat)

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Seattle
    Posts
    1,430
    Awesome! Thank you for the pictures. Sure brings back fond memories. He used to come right up to me for a head rub. At the time I thought he was my special little friend but I bet he did that to all the visitors

    We used to bring him snacks and he would snuffle them right from my hand. Very gentle giant.

    Jeff Watson
    Seattle, WA
    '63 Tudor Wagon (170 - 3 spd.)

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Seattle
    Posts
    1,430
    Hi Dennis, we were just down to Orlando last week to visit the Big Mouse. It was a great time but sadly I learned that Snooty died last fall. He was the oldest living Manatee in the world. Apparently he drown after getting into a restricted area of the pool. Sad day when your childhood disappears... kind of like when Toyota uses a Beatles song for their car commercial.

    Jeff Watson
    Seattle, WA
    '63 Tudor Wagon (170 - 3 spd.)

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