Caladesi State Park

We ate eakfast outside at the hotel because the day started warmer. Sadly there is an inordinate amount of refined carbohydrate to eat, and all plastic disposables to eat with. Not cool.

I picked up sandwiches at the Island Market for our hike to Caladesi State Park which is located just north of Clearwater Beach.  The first plan was to drive up to the north of the town and leave the car but all of the area is private housing estates with no chance of parking a car.  So we dropped the car back at the hotel and walked up to the marina to pick up the North Beach trolley which took us part of the way north. Walking north we had a great walk up the beautiful fine white sand. Howard took his sandals off and walked through the gentle surf - magical. An Osprey “performed” just above us which was great.

The park is nice and had a decent little nature trail. Sadly we didn't see armadillos or gopher tortoises, but enjoyed it all none the less.

We walked back down the beach and caught the trolley to Pier 60 for the sunset entertainment. We were about 45 minutes early for sunset but the entertainment seemed a bit shoddy. There was a tacky market of souvenir stuff, a caricaturist, a break dancer and a fire eater. Instead of hanging about we walked south and had a nice sunset drink (sadly minus the sunset ) on the upper deck at Crabbis Bar. 

For dinner we took the trolley down to Sand Key for dinner at Backwaters. What a good thing that we had booked - it was full, mostly of snowbirds. The meal was good but the very noisy group of older Americans just beside us upset me. Plus I am pretty sure I left my favourite pink scarf there! 

Sand Key Beach

Woke up to another coldish day. We had the hotel breakfast, which was very disappointing and all on plastic plates and cutlery. I hate this American obsession with throw away plastic. Strangely though, the beaches are almost completely free of it.

We walked over the bridge to Sand Key and then a couple of miles down the beach. Gorgeous fine white sand with occasional shell beds and I collected some amazing shells. We also saw ospreys feeding just offshore. We had lunch at the Backwaters restaurant and liked it so much we made a reservation for dinner tomorrow. We jumped on the Jolley Trolley for a $5 all day ticket and headed up to the marina area in Clearwater Beach where we switched to the North route of the trolley and then walked back down the beach to Pier 60.  There is supposed to be some adhoc entertainment at sunset but today was rather cold and there was no sunset so we jumped back on the trolley, picked up some wine from the store across the road from the hotel and then headed up to the roof top bar.  Whilst enjoying a drink on the roof we saw dolphins in the sea just below us (glad Howard brought the binoculars). A nice dinner at Saltys Island Grill across the street from the hotel. 

An amazing towel bird sculpture awaited us in the hotel room!

Anna Maria Island and Clearwater Beach

We left the Dickson after breakfast and drove down to Anna Marie Island. It is a pretty little place with a lot of beachfront. We parked and walked on the beach seeing some amazing bird life, including Royal Terns and Black Skimmers. We dropped in to the Sand Bar for a beer & coke. A great place with a lovely vibe.  If we had been staying on the island we would have been back for a meal.

On to Clearwater Beach where we are staying at the Edge Hotel.  It was bitterly cold by the time we got here and the roof top bar was closed. Strangely enough the AC was still running so the hotel staff were in hoodies! We unpacked, put on all our layers of clothes and went out for a walk in the early evening before having dinner at Badfins, a quirky little bar with decent food and 28 beers on tap. Howard had The Other West Coast which was a nice IPA.

We walked along the beach in the dark and down to the Sand Bay bridge to check out the area for tomorrow 

A Chill Week with the Dicksons

We headed back from Naples on Wednesday 21st, having first explored the Briarwood area where Tony and Heather rent when they visit each year.  We also went to Costco to buy some steak and lobster for Thanksgiving.

We stopped in Zolfo Springs for lunch at then Pioneer Restaurant, an amazing place which felt as though we had stepped through a time warp into 1950’s small town America. Massive portions as well. 

Back to the Dicksons mid afternoon for a chill at the villa. Pizza and bridge at night.

We then had several comfortable days of golf, food, pool and a little bit of retail. A very nice way to spend time on holiday.

Naples, Florida

We had a continental breakfast outside on the hotel terrace, which wasn’t bad, then headed off in the car to explore Naples.  We drove to Gulf Boulevard N, had a quick walk on the beach, then checked out the (very large)houses, hotels and apartments on the Boulevard. We stopped at the pier and walked out to the end, lots of fishing going on, both by pole from the pier and a young guy in a boat throwing a circular net just like the Omani fishermen from the beach.

Tin City was next, which had a bunch of quirky shops in big tin sheds, but it was a bit disappointing. It gave the impression that it was struggling economically. We then went to Clayton dock and looked closeup at some of the amazing motoryachts which are moored there. Back to the 3rd Street Historic Shopping District where the Christmas lights were, for a walk around in daylight and then we dropped the car back at the hotel.

We walked down 5th Avenue S and had a fabulous icecream at Kilwin’s where we met some Canadians that we had seen at Clayton docks earlier in the day.  After strolling up and down 5th we ended up in the Irish bar for a couple of drinks, under shelter because thunder storms were forecast.  The storm came to nothing so we walked down to the beach to paddle in the Gulf waters and enjoy the sunset. We had dinner at one of the small Italian restaurants on 5th then walked back to the hotel.

The Everglades

Another lovely breakfast sitting down by the dock watching one of the pelicans on a pole. A beautiful calm day today.

We left Seafarer Resort about 9:00 and headed back up US1 on our way to the Everglades. Our first stop was the Royal Palm Visitor Centre in the Everglades State Park. It was $25 access charge for the car but we got a free one hour ranger guided talk along the Ahringa Trail (named after a very cormorant-like bird, common in Southern Florida). Leon, our ranger, was very good, explaining the unique environment, and how important alligators were to it. We spotted 3 alligators, along with several different bird species.

On leaving Royal Palm we drove through the outskirts of Homestead and into an enormous area of wholesale garden nurseries, stretching for miles. We stopped at Coopertown for an airboat ride which was quite good and we did find some alligators, lying in the water. The whole experience reminded us both of taking the club boat up the Miri river and finding crocodiles.

We briefly stopped at the Big Cypress Swamp Visitor Centre, which had even more alligators some very close up. We then drove on to Naples where Kay has got a great rate in the Naples Park Central hotel where we have a suite for £60 per night including breakfast and parking. Given that we paid £35 just to park the car in Fort Lauderdale it is a real bargain!

Naples was switching on their Christmas lights at 5th Avenue and 3rd street, and we heading out to see, but the walk was long, and it was a bit of a bust. When we got there the streets were mobbed, no lights were being turned on but there were a number of bands playing Christmas tunes and some snow makers had been installed on the top of lampposts. We didn’t stay long. We walked back to 5th Avenue S and ate at Yabbas, recommended by Heather G. A bad.y needed walk home to walk off dinner!