Local Faces

We crammed as much as we possibly could into this past weekend, starting with a visit to “Art on the Avenue” at The Shoppes of Heritage Village in Crystal River on Friday evening.  The last time we visited Heritage Village on their monthly Market Day I noted that there were new art galleries–they may have been there for a while but they were new to me! That’s also when I found out about “Art on the Avenue”.  Created to promote the arts in downtown Crystal River, this event is held the second Friday of each month.

We first visited the DownStairs Art Gallery & Studio run by Alexis Ellis.  Alexis is the potter and owner and was delightful to visit with.  She attended USF, studied her art in Mashiko, Japan, and her lovely pottery reflects that country’s influence.  Her ceramic gallery is also her teaching studio and she offers lessons to both adults and students. In addition, there are several beautiful displays of her work in the gallery for purchase.

Next stop was the Franklin Anderson Gallery of Art.  Karen Anderson is the owner of the gallery and most of the art works are created by local artists.  The gallery includes art in many different mediums plus art supplies.

GlassWerx, a glass art studio, was our final stop.  Debra Hawthorne is the owner and glass artist.  The gallery specializes in stained glass, fusing and mosaics.  She offers classes, workshops, repairs and supplies, plus she has a glass gallery with beautiful handmade art and gifts created by local artists.

The galleries are holding a poster contest open to all ages and includes artwork in any form.  The winner will be selected by a group of local professional artists and will receive $75.  The artwork will be used for the entire year of 2014 and displayed by local merchants.  For further information, you can contact artonave@gmail.com or call GlassWerx at 352-586-8546.

The three galleries will continue to hold the monthly “Art on the Avenue” the second Friday of each month from 5 – 8 pm.  They are also open during the week, check out their websites to see their hours.  If you are looking for a unique gift or something special for your home, or art classes, check out these galleries at The Shoppes of Heritage Village on Citrus Avenue in Crystal River.

If you have been following us on our bicycling adventures this summer, Terry, Maggie, and I have been riding on the Withlacoochee State Trail. (Yawn) We started this journey way back on May 4 at the furthest north trail head at Gulf Junction. It was actually a bit chilly on that first morning’s ride–it hasn’t been like that since! My unrealistic goal was to do the entire trail by October 6—the date of the Rails to Trails Bike Ride. (I totally forgot how freaking hot it is here in the summer) But we’ve been taking on manageable five mile sections on each ride (so that’s like a ten-mile round trip). We were over half-way through the trail when we were sidetracked with other life adventures in August. (That would be grandkids and a drive to North Dakota)  We finally made it back to the trail this month, starting our recent trek at the Ridge Manor Trail Head in Hernando County and riding north.

This section of the trail is very scenic as it goes through the Withlacoochee State Forest. We set out really early, like right after the sun came up and these humongous scary spider webs were glistening with dew in the branches of the trees right above our heads.  Very scary.  I mean, these spiders could stop a small plane.  We also came across a cypress swamp along the trail–can you say alligators, snakes and swamp monsters? This was by far the most beautiful section of the entire trail–only because I like spiders (as long as they don’t get in my hair) and swampy stuff (as long as that swamp monster stay where it belongs.)

We have about ten miles left to complete on the trail–south from Ridge Manor to Trilby and also south from the Lake Townsen Park trail head. (We should have done Lake Townsen Park before Ridge Manor but I needed to go to Brooksville so it seemed like a good idea. And I didn’t even get to make my Bville stop because there was a nasty accident under the interstate.) I thought we’d get out to do another five miles this week but it’s been rain, rain, rain and more rain since Sunday.  Finally stopped yesterday afternoon but there are still huge clouds hanging around.

So eight more days before the official Rails to Trails Bike Ride. So the question is, how many more miles can we get in? Any bets?  Whether we make it or not, Terry and I will still be attending the bike ride next Sunday (the 6th). Watch for more boring pictures and stories from the bike ride the following week!