Sarasota FL
Today, we went on a road trip! And, you’ll be pleased to know, we remembered to take our cameras! We travelled on back roads, through cattle country. I never thought of Florida as being anything beyond citrus, tomatoes, and mouse ears, but there seems to be more cattle than anything else. GPS Maggie got a bit confused and tried to take us on a wild goose chase. She wanted us to make a hard left off a narrow country road to get to the castle, but there wasn’t even a tractor rut for us to turn onto. Common sense prevailed and we drove on, to the first safe left turn.
Back in 1972, Howard Solomon began building a castle. He hadn’t planned on that, but then, he hadn’t planned on finding a swamp on his newly purchased property either. He built the castle himself, using recycled products such as used printing plates, old milk cans, and reclaimed broken tiles. He drained some of the swamp in such as way that he could create a moat. In the moat, he built a 60-foot replica of a 16th century Portuguese galleon.
As we approached the castle, we noticed that a great deal of care had been taken to plant all kinds of flowers and shrubs along the path. Due to the heavy frosts we’ve had the last couple nights, the flowers and some of the bushes were quite dead. It was sad to see. Many of the bromeliads, hanging from trees, were wrapped in colorful quilts to protect them from the worst of the cold. The concrete path had been stamped with yellow, orange, and red “bricks” to create a yellow brick road. The castle itself was about three stories tall, with turrets and stained glass windows. It shined so brightly in the sun that we could hardly look at it.
We were lucky to be on a tour led by Howard Solomon himself. He began by showing us an example of the printing plates he used. They were very different from the ones my dad used to bring home. (My father was a technical writer and worked for a company that designed and built airplane engines. Back in his day, people wrote with typewriters and did real cut & paste. He often brought home used printing plates. They resembled sheets of roof flashing, with curious backwards writing and pictures on one side. He used them in all kinds of ways in his shop and garden. My mother used some in her artwork. I wasn’t allowed to work with them because their edges were so sharp.) These printing plates were smaller – about the size of a newspaper page – and with edges that had been folded over, with mitered corners. They also had an iridescent quality to them that had been missing from the ones of my childhood.
Mr. Solomon took us through several art galleries on the first floor of the castle. He has built sculptures from found objects. Each one had puns, language twists, or political satire worked into it. Some of his pieces took years to make because he had to wait to find just the right part. I wondered how a person with such a quick mind could find the patience to wait so long for the right part. The second floor of the castle was clearly his family’s living quarters. It felt a bit odd to be part of a tour group trooping through someone’s kitchen.
Lunch on the boat was a bit weird. I get seasick pretty easily and even though this boat wasn’t really floating, every time it swayed, I wondered how long I would last. The food was all homemade. Kelly had meatloaf and I had chicken pot pie. My side of spinach casserole was excellent and I figured out how to make it again. We were joined by a small calico Manx. She really wanted to jump into my lap. In my own home, I’d never hesitate to share lunch with a cat and lean over her to reach my plate, but it just didn’t seem like the right thing to do in a restaurant. On the other hand, the cat lived with a man who invited strangers into his kitchen. She was a sweet little thing and made me long for Bob, Rudy, Digger, and the rest.
Our ride back home was peaceful. Along the way, we found a new state park with RV camping and excellent kayak opportunities. We promised each other to incorporate more of these day-trip adventures into our time in Sarasota.
Here are some links to websites related to Solomon’s Castle:
• http://www.solomonscastle.org/ - his own site
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB56G9Xf2C4 – quick overview video from YouTube
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbSkDxhnzQg – Part 1 of 4 of the actual tour, from YouTube video
Today, we went on a road trip! And, you’ll be pleased to know, we remembered to take our cameras! We travelled on back roads, through cattle country. I never thought of Florida as being anything beyond citrus, tomatoes, and mouse ears, but there seems to be more cattle than anything else. GPS Maggie got a bit confused and tried to take us on a wild goose chase. She wanted us to make a hard left off a narrow country road to get to the castle, but there wasn’t even a tractor rut for us to turn onto. Common sense prevailed and we drove on, to the first safe left turn.
Back in 1972, Howard Solomon began building a castle. He hadn’t planned on that, but then, he hadn’t planned on finding a swamp on his newly purchased property either. He built the castle himself, using recycled products such as used printing plates, old milk cans, and reclaimed broken tiles. He drained some of the swamp in such as way that he could create a moat. In the moat, he built a 60-foot replica of a 16th century Portuguese galleon.
As we approached the castle, we noticed that a great deal of care had been taken to plant all kinds of flowers and shrubs along the path. Due to the heavy frosts we’ve had the last couple nights, the flowers and some of the bushes were quite dead. It was sad to see. Many of the bromeliads, hanging from trees, were wrapped in colorful quilts to protect them from the worst of the cold. The concrete path had been stamped with yellow, orange, and red “bricks” to create a yellow brick road. The castle itself was about three stories tall, with turrets and stained glass windows. It shined so brightly in the sun that we could hardly look at it.
We were lucky to be on a tour led by Howard Solomon himself. He began by showing us an example of the printing plates he used. They were very different from the ones my dad used to bring home. (My father was a technical writer and worked for a company that designed and built airplane engines. Back in his day, people wrote with typewriters and did real cut & paste. He often brought home used printing plates. They resembled sheets of roof flashing, with curious backwards writing and pictures on one side. He used them in all kinds of ways in his shop and garden. My mother used some in her artwork. I wasn’t allowed to work with them because their edges were so sharp.) These printing plates were smaller – about the size of a newspaper page – and with edges that had been folded over, with mitered corners. They also had an iridescent quality to them that had been missing from the ones of my childhood. 
Mr. Solomon took us through several art galleries on the first floor of the castle. He has built sculptures from found objects. Each one had puns, language twists, or political satire worked into it. Some of his pieces took years to make because he had to wait to find just the right part. I wondered how a person with such a quick mind could find the patience to wait so long for the right part. The second floor of the castle was clearly his family’s living quarters. It felt a bit odd to be part of a tour group trooping through someone’s kitchen.
Lunch on the boat was a bit weird. I get seasick pretty easily and even though this boat wasn’t really floating, every time it swayed, I wondered how long I would last. The food was all homemade. Kelly had meatloaf and I had chicken pot pie. My side of spinach casserole was excellent and I figured out how to make it again. We were joined by a small calico Manx. She really wanted to jump into my lap. In my own home, I’d never hesitate to share lunch with a cat and lean over her to reach my plate, but it just didn’t seem like the right thing to do in a restaurant. On the other hand, the cat lived with a man who invited strangers into his kitchen. She was a sweet little thing and made me long for Bob, Rudy, Digger, and the rest.Our ride back home was peaceful. Along the way, we found a new state park with RV camping and excellent kayak opportunities. We promised each other to incorporate more of these day-trip adventures into our time in Sarasota.
Here are some links to websites related to Solomon’s Castle:
• http://www.solomonscastle.org/ - his own site
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB56G9Xf2C4 – quick overview video from YouTube
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbSkDxhnzQg – Part 1 of 4 of the actual tour, from YouTube video
Now that looks like a darn good time. I will have to look into that next time we go to FL to visit the in-laws.
ReplyDelete