We only get one chance at life, so do it right the first time. St Pete is a great city for food, beaches and music, a good university and very multi-culti. Come for a few days, weeks or even months. Summer is verrrry hot here until October, 90+ F every day. I keep the AC at 80F

I plan to be in Oaxaca MX during July and August. My friend Ashlee will be here taking care of my tribe but there is a guest bedroom for travelers.

This is Cat House 209. It is 1000 sq ft with a large living room; a cool kitchen; one bathroom; and two small bedrooms each with queen sized beds. I share the place with six sweet cats (I take strays) and a possum who lets herself in the back door every night. Parker Possum eats little bugs, cat food, is biologically incapable of carrying rabies and runs away if she sees you. She is almost as cool as my cats, who like her.

St Pete is a city of food and nightlife. Central Ave is a few steps away, a great food and drink scene plus a free trolley that goes east to the downtown and the harbor. Fabulous beaches are a fifteen minute bus ride to the west. St Pete streets are laid on a grid basis, easy to navigate by foot, bike or car. Fifteen minutes to our south is the lesbian/gay capital of the US south, Gulfport. Very artsy/musical/literate and even John Prine lived here.

Walmart is 300 yards/meters away and a small urban liquor store is 100 meters away. Aldi is one mile away. I might even take you to my favorite purveyor of day boat seafood; or the best Italian market south of NYC https://mazzarosmarket.com; or my Asian superstore. Food is important here at Cat House 209.

I rarely eat before noon but I always have eggs, oats, sausages, instant grits, plain yoghurt, dried fruits, nuts and breads (rarely milk or cream). Bring your favorites, you Vegemite freaks! You have access to all of my staples, spices, pickled, canned and fridge items. I want you to feel at home. You don't need to ask to consume (except my saffron!), just thank me and invite me to share what you prepare. I always do the same for my guest. You buy your own adult beverages. There is plenty of refrigerator space and a ginormous outdoor freezer. You clean up after yourself!!!

I have many beach blankets for some of North America's best beaches, less than ten miles away, 20 minutes by bus rapid transit (SunRunner). This is Florida, one of the front lines of climate change, and daytime temps are near 90F from June 1 until November 1, Big rain comes every few days with brilliant sun in between.

Water and electricity are precious commodities so please don't waste them. The AC is set for 80F. Please keep windows and doors closed. You will always need to clean up immediately after your kitchen activities since counter space is limited and bugs are everywhere here in Florida.

Mass transit in Florida sucks but I am only 300 yards to the central bus terminal. Getting here from the Tampa airport requires Uber/taxi and is expensive ($50) although there is an infrequent bus that can get you into St Pete www.psta.nethttps://psta.net/media/5781/route-300x-022722.pdf and connect to the #52 bus which drops you two blocks from my house (one block before the bus terminal). $2.25 for each bus ride., cheap but inconvenient.

The BRT SunRunner runs from from the Harbor in the east to the Gulf beaches on the west. Totally bike friendly, it is one of the best mass transit rides in the US. $2.25 But you need to buy a pass in advance.

https://www.visitstpeteclearwater.com/itinerary/best-hidden-gem-beaches

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I like ToBeOfUse.

Interests

• dining
• cooking
• politics
• trivia
• traveling
• volunteer work
• blues
• rock'n'roll

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Chocolat; Snatch; Blade Runner (running the range from sweetly erotic to the absurd to the dystopic future).

I am old and so is my music: Richard Thompson, June Tabor, Los Lobos, Santana, Bonnie Raitt, Pink Martini, Nina Simone, Gershwin, world music. But I also love Winehouse and Adele so maybe I am not as old as I sometimes appear.

Authors: Jared Diamond, John Steinbeck, Mark Twain, Mark Kurlansky, Michael Pollan. I mostly read non-fiction in politics, economics, climate change, food and anthropology. I can be really boring.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Two total eclipses of the sun, one in Mexico and one in Venezuela. The hundreds of millions of monarch butterflies that winter in Mexico. The Pacific gray whale breeding waters at Bahia Magdalena. Bio-luminescent plankton in the Galapagos. The aurora in northern Quebec. Petra in Jordan. Patagonia. The Amazon. Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. Meeting my hero Mandela; spending my 40th birthday lunch with the Dali Lama; and working with war refugees who teach you why life is precious.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I am glad to cook for anyone who hosts me and of course I will cover all of the food expenses.

Countries I’ve Visited

Anguilla, Argentina, Belize, Bermuda, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, England, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Netherlands Antilles, Palestine, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Martin (French part), Scotland, Singapore, Sint Maarten (Dutch part), Switzerland, Thailand, United States, Vatican City State, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Virgin Islands, British, Virgin Islands, U.S., Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Myanmar, Thailand, United States