We collect shells at Caladesi Island and spend an evening at the theater
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It was a free breakfast at the hotel (at the same restaurant as last night) but it still felt like we were the hired help that someone accidentally let in. Just not a welcoming feeling.
We decided rather than driving back down to Sarasota, we’d do a beach day today. Across the bay are two islands, Honeymoon Island and Caladesi Island that are both famous for their beaches. So we decided to give that a try.
We drove out to Honeymoon Island and from there caught the ferry to Caladesi Island. We were there for the first boat over (you get 4 hours max on the island). The captain and crew were funny and pleasant. We saw dolphins in the bay just as we left and the captain paused for a bit so we could see. Didn’t get any photos though. Too bad. But loved seeing them.
The beach was rated the #1 beach of 2008 and it must be a rule that any mention of the beach must also mention this fact. But it’s not anything special beach wise. It’s covered in decaying beach grass and there’s not a single geographical feature to make it interesting. Just a long flat line of sand and a wide flat ocean beyond. But, it was covered in shells. More than Sanibel. Which I’m sure garnered it some points. And there’s no surf. You can walk out quite a ways and still be only up to your waist. And the water, while brisk, is pleasant enough.
There’s a row of blue beach umbrellas which were very pretty. And only a small fee to rent one (sarcasm). We wandered down the beach. Marion immediately found a conch shell and we found 3 or 4 more before we were done. Lots of great shells. We gathered quite a collection.
We stopped at one point and went in for a dip. Brisk, as I said. Once you were in it was refreshing but definitely brisk getting in. The water was totally cloudy. You couldn’t see a thing underwater. Although at one point I did notice a school of fish go by. Only because I saw the silver glint in the sun when they were near the surface.
We wandered farther down the beach and found the nature trail. A nice sandy-path walk through the palms and palmettos. And even some cactus. We saw some critter tracks that were either raccoons or armadillos (yes armadillos) according to the nature guide. We didn’t ever see any critters though. Nor the snakes that there were signs posted to watch out for. Rattlers. A brief stop for lunch and a quick walk down the beach the other way (to the right). There were lots more people by this time. They all tended to congregate right near where the path hits the beach. Which means they are all either fairly social or fairly lazy. Not sure which.
It was getting too crowded and our time was practically up anyway, so we took the boat back. It turned out to be the same captain who brought us over. But no dolphins this time.
We went back to the hotel for a rest where we discovered Marion had fried herself pretty good on her back, despite having applied lotion. It’s become a tradition for her to come home red from any trip to the sun. So it was good this was carried on.
Tonight was the night to see Spring Awakenings. We weren’t sure how long it would take to get to the theater or find a place for dinner so we headed out about 4:15. We discovered there was a Bonefish Grill near the theater so we went there, thinking we were very early (it was about 4:40). But the place was hopping and not just with old people.
We had an excellent meal but it was still a few hours before the play. So we wandered into Safety Harbor, a small town on Old Tampa Bay. We found a few houses we’d like to buy. And it looks like it’s a buyer’s market. Plenty for sale. Whatever used to keep them going doesn’t seem to be anymore. It was a cute little town. We wandered around a bit. We came across at least two groups that seem to be speaking Russian.
On to the play. There appeared to be two types of people (women anyway) who came to the play. Stick legged women and rotund. We saw one ghoulish looking blonde woman in a turquoise sheet that barely covered her butt and two stick legs. Freakish. And any number of sizeable women who we were glad did not attempt to sit near us.
The play was quite good and the crowd appreciative. They gave the actors a standing ovation, just like in Portland (where the crowd always gives a standing O). Afterwards we were looking for a dessert place (it was my birthday after all) but no luck. We had to stop at a mini mart which looked a bit dicey (definitely ripe for an armed robbery) and managed to get a chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich without getting shivved. It was quite tasty.
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