I'm back from St. Petersburg, and staying in my stepmother's guesthouse -- which means no Internet. So once again I'm at Dunkin' Donuts, where the weirdest thing just happened. I walked in and stood at the counter, and saw one employee in back and two more standing at the drive-thru counter, tapping away on phones or some similar devices. Their backs were turned to me and they might have been working, because I couldn't tell what was happening in the drive-thru lane, but I found it very weird that no one even acknowledged that I was there. So I stood for a few minutes, and then said, "Hello?"
And they didn't turn around. So I said it louder. One of the women turned and said "Good morning," and then disappeared into the back. The other woman continued tapping away at the drive-thru window.
Finally, just as I was about to walk out, vowing to myself never to return, a different employee materialized and took my order -- one medium coffee, one jelly donut. When I went to pay, she said, "Don't worry about it. It's a simple order."
I can't tell if they felt bad about leaving me standing there, so felt the need to buy my breakfast, or just couldn't be bothered. The whole thing was very strange.
I'm trying to see a couple of friends in Tampa before I head up to Jacksonville. Last night I visited my college friend Suzanne and her sister Sarah, who I don't think I've seen in at least five years. Their mother was English and they still have lots of relatives in England, so I brought them some of my antique Bovril bottles as a little present. We went to a neighborhood restaurant called The Green Iguana and I had a Carolina barbecue sandwich -- which was fantastic, and something I don't get in London.
We still don't really know what to expect from Hurricane Elsa. Last night, while I visited Suzanne and Sarah in South Tampa near the bay, my phone kept picking up storm surge alerts from the local authorities -- they come with a loud buzz that scared me to death. I thought we were under nuclear attack!
I'm still intending to travel up to Jacksonville tomorrow, but we'll see what the weather looks like. If it's hairy out there I'll change my plans, but I think the storm is supposed to be west of us. I'm optimistic.
Oh, and one picture I meant to post yesterday but forgot:
This is just some random (cute) guy I saw in St. Pete with a pretty great Fouth of July outfit. Of course he was amenable to having his picture taken because, let's face it, you don't dress like that unless you want to be noticed!
*Actually a red-shouldered hawk. Thanks, reader Anne!
29 comments:
That picture of the osprey - wow! You did well to catch every feather extended like that.
Your Dunkin Donuts experience WAS truly strange. We need you to go back and skulk around until the mystery is solved. Just kidding. Not the kind of vacation adventure that's worthwhile :)
The osprey photo is gorgeous. It sounds as if there is a hierarchy of servitude at the Dunkin Donuts and maybe drive-thru workers don't stoop to handle walk-in customers? Who knows, but I'm happy that a good old American sense of fair play got you a free coffee and pastry.
You can bet if you were an attractive young man in Dunkin Donuts you would have received prompt and attentive service.
The Fourth bloke is ok. I would have to investigate his other qualities.
Why don't you get an outfit like that for yourself Steve? You would look so cool walking around the mean streets of West Hampstead dressed like that!
Love your photos.
As for your Dunkin Donuts experience, well, at this point, DD is probably lucky anyone shows up for work, much less does any work. Recently read an article that estimated 95% of folks wanted to leave their job. Sick of being underpaid, overworked and treated like crap. That certainly applies to at least 95% of retail and restaurant workers. So many places can't find anyone to take those jobs so businesses are severely understaffed. Don't think it is going to change anytime soon. Corporate America has spent decades siphoning off profits for shareholders, not reinvesting in business and keeping wages for the average worker as low as possible--and oh, also doing away with benefits by making everyone, even managers, part-timers (hello @mazon and subsidiaries). Paybacks are the very devil.
Safe travels--wherever you end up in FL. :)
The duck is almost like a runner…an odd shape
I think "Don't worry about it. It's a simple order." is Dunkin Donuts code for "Don't ask for the manager."
That guy is cute but that outfit? Oh, honey, no.
Okay. Up until less than a month ago I'd never heard of a whistling duck and now I have seen social media posts about them three times. What? That's just weird. Not as weird as what happened at the Dunkin' though. Holy shit! What in hell was going on there?
That guy was cute. No doubt.
Be safe in your travels. I wonder what in hell this storm is going to do.
great shot of the osprey. and I guess the service at DD is commiserate with the pay.
VERY weird at Dunkin Donuts! I'm glad you got to hang out with friends. And yes, the flag dude is cute, but I have to wonder at the thought process of purchasing & deciding to wear that. Ha!
I’ve never seen a black-bellied whistling duck. Great photos. Thanks! As for the cute guy in the outfit, he likes to be called Papi Sam. (Actually Tío Sam would work, too. Tío is also used for dude or guy, and even hunk, in Spain.) Tio Sammi!
Beautiful photos, love that whistling duck and the osprey.
Crazy about the Dunkin' Donuts wait. Wonder what that was all about.
Glad you are enjoying your trip. Hope the weather doesn't turn on you so you can see all you want to see while you are in Florida. How is your Mom doing?
Thanks for the neat photos!
Oh my gosh....that is quite an outfit! That's a real attention getter. I love the nature photos. You got a great shot of the osprey.
To be honest, I think that's a type of hawk, perhaps a red-shouldered hawk, rather than an osprey. The wing structure looks different than an osprey's. Also, ospreys are typically white on the underside and over a large part of the body. Hawks can have pretty awesome calls, as well. Looks like you're enjoying your travels. You might get a little slammed if you find yourself in the northeast quadrant of an approaching tropical storm, where I understand conditions are the worst. Growing up in Florida, you no doubt know that. I'm in Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay, and we might see something of Elsa, as well. Safe journey! Anne
Great photos of the bird and the dragonfly! I hope you're enjoying your time in Florida. As for the Carolina BBQ sandwich....was the sauce vinegar, mustard, or tomato based? Between North and South Carolina it could be any of the three! Vinegar is my favorite.
That's quite a lovely photo of the osprey in flight. I've never seen a duck like the on in your photo. It's really beautiful. Be careful driving in the storm. Enjoy your day, hugs, Edna B.
Love the photo of the osprey in the flag suit. Oh, wait . . .
With such poor service as that, I'm not sure how long the Dunkin Donuts will remain open. Thanks to some nice posing, you got some great photos!
I sure hope Elsa doesn't give you much trouble!
That's a crazy outfit!
I would have to give the outfit a solid thumbs down. Whistling ducks are pretty cool.
I've been tracking Elsa and hoping she keep us off her mind. We have been spared for a few years now. Ike was bad and a few weeks later Rita was suppose to show up but she changed her course and went as far as Shreveport, Louisiana and Jasper, Texas which is East Texas. My sister packed up her family and hit the road and they regretted every mile because a 4 1/2 hour trip took 2 days. Everyone tried leaving at the same time and jammed the interstate. Stay safe out there you hear.
You're having a good time on your trip and it looks like a hurricane will be thrown in to boot!
Steve that is really a bright and Patriotic outfit that the random guy was wearing. He was most definitely into celebrating the 4th of July.
I loved all of the pictures and I had my granddaughter in my lap as I read and she has a thing for Dragonflies and loved the sky-blue dragonfly the most of all of the pics that you posted. It is pretty magnificent.
I am not getting much news on Elsa except that she might just slash some wind and rain but headed to Georgia is the last I heard.
Please stay safe. It is always jolting to get alerts coming in on our phones. Especially the ones that jar me awake in the middle of the night. I can sleep thru calls and thru my alarms but not thru the alerts lol go figure.
Have a great time with what ever your plans are for now... Hugs xxx
The stars and stripes guy is cute. Elsa isn't a hurricane anymore; she's a tropical storm. She's supposed to arrive here around 6 a.m. Wednesday and bring heavy rain and and strong wind. The biggest danger here is flooding. We've already had so much rain.
Love,
Janie
Some great pics as always. Oh to be travelling now; I miss it so.
Wow. There's poor service and then there's Dunkin Donuts apparently. Well, they've set a new low bar at least:)
Stay safe and enjoy your trip.
Anne -- I think you are correct! I just assumed it was an osprey because we usually see so many of those, but I think it is a red-shouldered hawk. Good catch! :)
You're making me nostalgic for travel. We've all been home bound for a while. I'm glad you're enjoying being home.
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