Susie and I enjoyed a leisurely road trip from Dallas to the Tampa Bay area to get our store in Clearwater reopened. I’m really excited about our new concept, which is a great little bead boutique shopping experience at www.clearwaterbeads.com, together with a Showroom/Web Outlet with self-serve kiosk shopping in the store. If you’re ever in the Tampa Bay area, come see us in the Cypress Point Shopping Center. Here’s a quick virtual visit with some photos of the store.
Anyway, back to the trip out. We actually took three days to get here, stopping the first night at Shreveport for a little blackjack. The next day we drove as far as Biloxi, where we stopped for a little blackjack. Do you see a pattern developing here? Biloxi is really coming back after Katrina. There is a lot of construction going on, but to me it’s so much more pleasant than Shreveport or even the heat of Vegas. So, yes, Susie and I like blackjack when I can drag her away from work.
But the highlight of the trip for me was staying on St. George Island in the Florida panhandle. The eastern part of the panhandle is not nearly as developed and touristy as the western part from Ft. Walton Beach to Panama City. It was incredibly peaceful and picturesque. You just have to get off the beaten path sometimes to find these gems.
I resisted the impulse to make ‘gems’ a hyperlink to our gemstones page on www.clearwaterbeads.com. Oops, I couldn’t resist after all.
- Ron (The Real Beadman)
December 31, 2008 at 7:09 pm |
I once saw a ring you featured and it was covered with pearls on the top. Each pear moved independently of another. I would like to make some of these, but cannot find the design. Help!