Today dawned bright and clear with temperatures starting to warm up so we decided to go for a drive along the coastal islands down to St Petersburg.
We left the rig around 10:30 AM and headed south through Palm Harbor to Dunedin. While Dunedin Florida (pronounced DONE-EE-DIN) has a small town image, it is actually a bustling city of 37,000 residents. One of the oldest towns on the West Coast of Florida, it has a wooded and subtropical setting with almost four miles of picturesque waterfront, a relaxed lifestyle, and activities for all likes and ages.
After leaving downtown Dunedin we drove south to Clearwater drove west across the and took the Clearwater Memorial Causeway out to Clearwater Beach Island for the start of our Island Beach and Town tour. We quickly got on Gulf Blvd and started south past huge resorts, hotels, beachfront condominiums and large private homes. Soon we crossed over the next causeway to Sand Key Island. Each of the islands are considered barrier islands, not much more than very large sand dunes usually less than a quarter mile wide. But the amount of money that has been poured into (or onto) these islands is truly phenomenal. To the west along the beaches are the developed resorts and condos. To the east, between the inland waterway and Gulf Blvd are businesses, restaurants and residences. No sooner do you enter one community, usually an incorporated beach city, than you pass a few beaches and enter the next city. It's really amazing how much of the land is developed yet how well maintained everything is and there are small parks with plenty of beach access points and nicely designed parking areas.
We stopped at Indian Shores Beach and went for a walk. Lots of people out walking but with the wind and temperature in the low 50's we didn't stay long. After getting back to the car we decided to stop at a small wayside cafe for lunch and a coffee warm up. Our next stop was Madeira Beach Bird Sanctuary to take the dogs for a walk, then it was on to Johns Pass Village and Boardwalk. This is a very nice area and since it is Winter and chilly out there weren't a lot of tourists so we had the place virtually to ourselves. we walked the boardwalk and stopped in most of the stores to look. Eventually I bought a new tanktop and really nice Hawaiian shirt. After our fill of shopping we continued south across Johns Pass onto Treasure Island, one of the earliest developed of the coastal islands, though still very nice and well kept.
Eventually we crossed back to the mainland and into west St Petersburg. I remarked to Tina that, "... if you didn't know where you were it would look like any other suburb with shopping centers, strip malls and sprawl, kinda like Lynnwood." And it's true. In our travels so far, for the areas with significant 'unplanned' development, they all look the same. There are exceptions, though they tend to be newer areas with restricted geography, hot money and cities that make an effort to plan their development and growth. Examples include cities like Destin and Dunedin. Eventually we headed north back home on Highway 19, a six lane arterial to Tarpon Rd and headed into the small community of Tarpon Springs where it's beginning to feel like home.
To see all of our photos click on the following link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski
Saturday the 31st
Today was a lazy day. Tina went shopping and I hung around reading ant taking the dogs for walks. Very relaxing.
Sunday, February 1st
Superbowl Sunday!! The neighbors had invited everyone to bring a dish and we'd have a big pot luck. They provided the brauts and a pull-out TV from beneath the coach. Tina made a macaroni salad and an Avocado & Shrimp salad. Both were yummy. About 3:00 PM people started gathering with their lawn chairs and formed a big semi-circle around the tables and TV. There were about 30 people for dinner and the start of the game. By half time most of us had decided it was a little too chilly to stay so we drifted back to our own coaches to watch the rest of the game. A really fun day with lots of good food and visits with our neighbors.
No photos today.
Monday the 2nd
It rained all day today along with a lot of wind so we just stayed in, read, ate, watched TV, read, ate, watched TV, etc., etc.
Tuesday the 3rd
Cold morning with wind but a beautiful blue sky. After an early start we got on the road around 9:15 AM to meet with a travel agent. We needed to get some of our flight tickets figured out since Tina and I will be staying in Europe and flying to Scotland for a two week visit with family.
After our meeting we decided to drive to Tampa and see the "Bodyworlds and the Story of the Heart" exhibit http://www.mosi.org/bodyworlds3.html at the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI), which is only a few blocks from Busch Gardens. We missed it when it was in Seattle.
It took about 40 minutes to make the drive. After parking and taking the dogs for a walk, we headed in and got our tickets. This was an incredible exhibit and we're really glad we went. The exhibit is made up of actual donor bodies that have been displayed with organs, muscles, nerves and vascular system. Interwoven throughout the exhibit is the story of the heart and how our blood flows through our body. Additionally, there were displays of the organs themselves including the brain, lungs, liver, kidney, stomach, intestines and reproductive organs with explanations of how they function, what they look like when diseased and causes. Since we had audio guides, we were able to get a more in-depth explanations. All in all this was a very thorough tour of the body and how it functions.
After returning home we had dinner and planned our activities for tomorrow.
No photos today.
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