Weekend Reflections: Imagine Museum, St Petersburg, Florida

Happy Fall!

Well… sort of. It still feels like summer here in West Central Florida, with daytime temps lingering in the mid-90s °F. Thankfully, the early mornings and evenings have started to cool down, dipping into the low 70s, which feels great. 

This past weekend, St. Pete hosted a Free Museum Day, with eight local museums participating. You can check out the full list here. The Imagine Museum offered free admission for two days instead of just one. We decided to skip the Saturday crowds and visit on Sunday instead—and it turned out to be a lovely day.

The Imagine Museum offers a truly breathtaking collection of contemporary glass art. Featuring works by artists from around the globe, the museum showcases a wide range of styles, techniques, and creative expressions in glass. We were amazed by the artistry and innovation on display — as you can see in the photos below. 

Before our visit, the only glass artist we were familiar with was Dale Chihuly. During our time at the museum, we learned a little more about him and his mentor, Lino Tagliapietra — a Venetian glass master whose influence can be seen in the exquisite glass boats that seem to float from the ceiling at the museum's entrance. These delicate, gondola-like forms are a stunning tribute to Venice’s rich glassblowing heritage and set the tone for the incredible experience that awaits inside.

glass boats hanging in the ceiling greet you at the entrance

Japanese glass art

Venetian glass

Chihuly's signature blown glass

Amazing number of Buddha heads

Next time you’re headed to the popular Clearwater Beach, consider making a quick detour to nearby St. Pete for an arts fix — the city is packed with amazing museums, including the Dali Museum and the Florida Holocaust Museum, just to name a couple. If you’re a fan of glass art, you’re in for a treat: the Imagine Museum and the Chihuly Collection are both must-visits. They’re just a few blocks apart, so it’s easy to see both in one trip. 

Fun fact: the Chihuly Collection is less than a mile from downtown St. Pete, and you can either walk or hop on the free Looper Trolley to get there.

This post is shared on Skywatch Friday, **Art*Journal*Journey* and ColorufulWorld.

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Have Food Will Travel: Boston, Massachusetts

In May, we set out on a road trip from Chattanooga, TN to New England. Our mission was threefold: reconnect with friends and family in the Boston area, attend a college reunion, and eat—specifically, Chinese food and seafood.  

Our first meal was at Mulan  in Cambridge—our longtime favorite for Taiwanese food. Big mistake! It was graduation week. Getting there was a crawl through stop-and-go traffic.

Driving through Kendall Square brought back a wave of nostalgia. I used to work there, just a stone’s throw from MIT.  But with all the new buildings, biotech offices, and ongoing construction, it’s barely recognizable. Then again, it has been almost twenty-five years. One thing that hasn’t changed is the unpredictable New England weather. This spring was unseasonably cold—classic Boston. Still, the chill didn’t faze the college kids. Bundled up, they were out on the Charles River, tacking sailboats that bobbed in the wind-chopped water.

I didn’t think to take photos of the traffic mayhem, but I did snap a couple shots of the delicious food at Mulan.

Stir fry beef with hot peppers, our favorite dish at Mulan 

Eggplant with basil

We enjoyed a leisurely walk around Boston one sunny day.

Public Garden, location of the 1970 movie "Love Story"

Swan boat in the Public Garden

Old South Church on Boylston St, Copley Square

Boston Marathon finish line, where the 2013 bombing occurred.

We spent a few days in York, Maine, devouring seafood: lobsters, steamers, and spiny crab. Everything was fresh and sweet —a feast we’re still thinking about.    

 our first time, and we were not impressed 

Steamers, one of our favorite seafood

Reunion week was filled with laughter, long-overdue catch-ups, and wandering around campus and Boston. It’s always a little surreal to see how much — and how little — everyone has changed over the years. 

Our favorite spot for dim sum and seafood dinners is Ming's Seafood in Malden, Massachusetts. It’s about a 40-minute drive north of Boston, a convenient stop if you're heading to or from Maine.

Dinner at Ming's Seafood

Gigantic Wonton in Allston

Good hand cut noodles at Kung Fu Kitchen, Coolidge Corner, Brookline

One of the things we really miss in Florida is good Chinese food. We haven’t found a place in the Tampa Bay area that we’d go back to again and again. So while we were in New England, we made it a point to eat as much of it as possible.

Here are some other restaurants we sampled on this trip:

• Noah’s Kitchen in Brookline Village – if you're into spicy Sichuan food, this place is for you.

• South Garden in Quincy – Classic Cantonese dishes. The chicken with garlic was especially good.

• Dumpling Xuan in East Cambridge – great soup dumplings and excellent scallion pancakes.

• Dynasty in Boston Chinatown - classic Cantonese cuisine and dim sum.

Every place had a wait (especially on the weekend), but totally worth it. If you’re in the Boston area and love Asian food, definitely check these places out. And if you have a favorite spot we should try next time, let us know — we’re always looking for new places to add to our list!

This post is shared on Skywatch Friday.

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