Spring Training Trip - Day 44

We left for Dunedin about 11:00 am to attend the St. Patrick’s Day activities in the town square.  The event is sponsored by Flanagans Irish Pub and the city of Dunedin.  The city block in front of Flanagans was closed and food booths, beer trucks and other vendors had things for sale.  There were two entertainment stages, one in the city park at one end of the venue and the other at the other end near Flanagans.  The entertainment was different groups playing mostly Irish music and the town bagpipe club was there upholding the town’s Celtic (Scottish) heritage.  There were also booths for kids with things like face painting and balloon art. A weekend farmer’s market was additionally in full operation today at the west end of the park near the shops and restaurants in the center of town.

The event was well attended and had a family orientation, at least in the afternoon.  There were a lot of older people sitting in the park listening to the music and enjoying the activities, although people of all ages were evident. Almost everyone there was wearing some sort of green and a lot of people had very elaborate Irish-theme ensembles.  We listened to was a group singing traditional Irish folk ditties and watched a female dance group doing Irish step dances.

We ate lunch from one of the food booths and walked around the grounds and the farmers market.  Judy found a lawn pig made out of a recycled propane tank that she had to have and we bought some homemade rum cake. We also had an ice cream cone for dessert at the excellent ice cream store down the street from the town square.  After listening to the music for awhile, we headed back to the RV and were off the roads by 4:00 pm.  We suspect the party in Dunedin would get a little more lively in the evening when the retirees return to their condos and the younger set comes out to party (or perhaps more accurately, continue to party).  Dunedin is not a spring break destination, but the event had all the makings of an active St. Patrick’s Day party site and I had a feeling the place would be jumping before the venue closed at 11:00 pm.  I suspect Flannigan’s Pub stayed open much longer than that.

Dinner was leftovers in the RV.  It was not a very exciting finish to one of the more popular party days of the year, but we are older and wiser now and will unquestionably feel much better tomorrow morning than a lot of people in town. 

Day 44 Pictures