Postcards from Aunty Cranky.: U.S.A. - St Petersburg, Florida

Friday, September 13, 2013

U.S.A. - St Petersburg, Florida - 16.12.1962

Florida Pelicans

Hotel Detroit, St. Petersburg, Florida - 16.12.1962

Dear Pen,

Only two more places to send cards from. It's warm here, Cheers! The town calls itself the Sunshine City, and Florida is called the Sunshine State, so ----

With love, Nan

Detroit Hotel

Corner Central Avenue and 2nd Street

St Petersburg, Florida

150 Rooms
Center of the Theater and shopping district two blocks bay - spacious lobby - open air veranda and patio facing south on Central Avenue - Patio Restaurant and Coffee Shop.

Hotel Detroit, St. Petersburg, Florida - 16.12.1962

Dear Tim,

X marks the spot. I have a large room with two rocking chairs. Have just eaten an enormous hamburger steak and chips (they call chips French Fried here), 4 slices of b & b & drunk 3 cups of coffee. I WAS HUNGRY.

Love Nan.

Underwater Pals at Florida's famous Weeki Wachee, Spring of Live Mermaids. Located jsut North of St. Petersburg, Tampa and Clearwater.

Hotel Detroit, St. Petersburg, Florida - 16.12.1962

Dear Mer,

Can you swim well enough yet to ride a Seahorse? I met two Australian Cockatoos yesterday and I talked to them in my best Australian but the horrid birds couldn't have cared less.

Love Nan.

Playful porpoises begging for food from feeder at Miami's fabulous Seaquarium Miami, Florida.

Colour Photo by Russ Hopkins, Miami Seaquarium.

Hotel Detroit, St. Petersburg, Florida - 16.12.1962

Dear Fish (Nick),

I don't think these porpoise are as clever as some I saw, they took the fish out of theman's mouth. I also saw a doctor (pretending Dr) put a spatula down a whale's throat and the whale said 'Ah' when he was told to.

Love Nan.

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About these Postcards.

Meredith, Penelope and Timothy.

My Great Aunt Nancy enjoyed travelling the World during the years from 1957 to 1962. Nancy was my Grandmothers younger sister, she was a Nurse before she met John Watson who was a patient of hers, he thought she was a very cranky Nurse so from then on, into their marriage, he and those living at the 'Homestead' called her 'Cranky' so 'Cranky' she remained at 'Wollogorang', the Sheep Station they lived on.

My family called 'Cranky' by her given name of Nancy, Nan for short but I lived at 'Wollogorang' on and off during my late teens even working there for long periods so she became 'Aunty Cranky' to me.

Cranky and John had one daughter, Susan, my first cousin-once-removed who spent some time traveling with Cranky and some time, at what was called back then, 'Finishing' Schools.

I loved my Aunty Cranky very much, I could spend hours and hours just sitting and listening to her long stories of her travels, she also bought me most of my childhood books which along with these postcards introduced me to the Big Wide World which I have now seen much of myself, but never with her style.

These Postcards were sent to me, my brother Timothy, my sister Meredith and when he was born to my youngest brother Nicholas. When Mum and Dad moved to a smaller home, Mum was going to throw these Postcards out but I, being somewhat of a hoarder, couldn't bear to see that happen so I saved them.

My brothers and sisters can follow this Blog and remember along with me those wonderful postcards that arrived at regular intervals from places some of which we had never heard... Wonderful Memories!

There are 320 Postcards on this Blog, many are obviously missing and who knows how many never arrived, what a prolific Postcard sender our Great Aunt was.

Someone in our family decided that they were a Stamp Collector so almost none of the cards still have stamps on them which is a big pity... I wonder where those stamps are now! In some bin I suspect.

BTW Cranky was far from cranky to me, she was loving if a little strict on how I should behave, she had a desire to turn me into a 'Lady'... which she failed at I'm afraid although I remember a few do's and do nots.

Enjoy, along with me, this view of a world in the late 1950's

P.S. 2015.

I put all these postcards into a large folder, then when my sister Meredith lost everything and her home to savage bush fires in Perth I sent her the Postcards to keep.