Tiki Gods Among Us!

Today was a nice adventure! We set off for Fort Walton Beach and the Indian Temple Mound Museum in the morning. I've wanted to visit there since our last trip, and there was supposed to be a letterbox there. To find out what letterboxing is, visit http://www.letterboxing.info/ When we found the site for the box, it wasn't there, so we took a picture of where it was supposed to be and then we explored the Temple Mound. The mound is an ancient earthen structure (700 AD) where the pre-historic Mississippian peoples built a temple. At one time, it looked out over the Santa Rosa Sound, but now the downtown shopping area and community park of Fort Walton Beach are between it and the water. It was an honor to stand on ground so sacred so long ago to the indigenous people of the area.


After we were done exploring the mound, we visited a shop right next to it called One Feather. It showcases art and artifacts from over 30 Native American tribes. We talked to the owner for a while, and conversed about Florida State, smudging rituals and the state of humanity in general! Chris and I are looking forward to saving our pennies for the next trip down. . .there are some amazing things there! We did purchase a Navajo rattle before we left, however!

On our way back to the car, Chris spied a walkway through a camilla garden, which led to a community park. In the park they were celebrating the winter holidays with, of all things, an ice skating rink under a big tent! Outside in Florida! Go figure!


While we were at the park, we played with the seagulls, watched ducks on the beach, marvelled over the Christmas decorations on the palm trees and had fun in the sun! It was 69 degrees while we were out and about today.
On our way back to Grandma & Grandpa's, we found the roadside studio of a wood carver named Charlie Knight. He had a forest of Tiki gods, a flock or two of pelicans, and some amazing underwater scenes. We talked to the artist about conservation and doing what you love for a living. It made me want to get back to the studio RIGHT AWAY! And it made me want a Tiki god or two and maybe a pelican for the back yard by the pond (the one that's not in the ground yet, of course!)






Here is Chris next to one of Charlie's smaller underwater scenes. This one was $18,000 dollars. There was one outside that wasn't finished that was twice that wide, and taller than Chris. It was amazing, and it wasn't even completed!

You can find Charlie Knight online at www.palmtiki.com
Here he is at work at his studio along U.S. 98 in Gulf Breeze: