Clearwater, Florida to Gulfport, Florida

December 9, 2010

Sunset at Clearwater Beach

We left the quiet solitude of Caledesi State Park and found the hustle and bustle of Clearwater Beach.  The day we arrived in Clearwater it was a warm 86 degrees (That's the last day of warmth we've had in the past nine days!) and there were lots of people on the beach enjoying the sun and water.  There seems to be an abundance of hotels and condos but many appear to be vacant.  Clearwater Beach has  "Pier 60" that you can walk on,  fish from or just admire the view.  Again there are lots of shops, restaurants and bars.  We went into Cooter's for Happy Hour and as we looked around at the others, we realized we were the youngest ones in there!  That doesn't happen often!  The $.99beers brought all the snow birds in to take advantage of the super specials.  We couldn't figure out their technique of putting ice into their beer-isn't lite beer light enough?

Miles of Clearwater Condos

Acres of beautiful beaches

Gulfport was our next destination.  We had no rhyme or reason to choose Gulfport except that it's along the Gulf Intercoastal and it was in our cruising range for the day.  On the way Pete mentioned he would really enjoy a small town with an interesting Main Street, a museum, good restaurants, a clean marina and quiet streets so we could bike around.  We pulled into Gulfport Marina and discovered Gulfport fit all the requirements. How lucky can we be!

Gulfport Pier

Birds in shrouds

Monk Parrots

We stayed in Gulfport for a week and can't believe how time flew by.  We rented a car (skateboard on wheels) from the weekend Enterprise special and used it to the max.  We went to the St. Petersburg Boat Show (no, we haven't had our fill of boats yet!) and then went to visit some relatives I haven't seen in a very long time.  Uncle Vito is in an assisted living facility in Sarasota, about a forty minute drive south. His sons, Cousins Peter and Anthony and his lovely wife Joan, were also there so we spent a  fun afternoon reminiscing about years ago.  We all went out to dinner to Marie's, a fantastic Italian restaurant and got so caught up in the moment, that I forgot to take pictures-can't capture that time on paper but I'll never forget the great day we had!

The next day we drove to Riverview, a forty-five minute drive north of Gulfport to visit Aunt Mary Ann. We found her and then went over to her son Anthony's beautiful home where we visited with more cousins-first, second and third.  This time I remembered to take pictures!

Aunt Mary Ann

Cousin Alisha and her mother Lisa

Lisa,Stephanie,Denise, Avery(3rd cousin)

Suzanne and Anthony(second cousin)

Chris and Anthony

We used the car to get our laundry and grocery shopping done without having to bike or carry bags for great distances...Boy, do we miss the convenience of a car!

After the week in Gulfport, we traveled across the Boca Ciega Bay to a marina to have our boat hauled.  A line (rope) fell into the water and got caught around the prop as we were tying up to the dock in Gulfport.  There doesn't seem to be any damage, except to my ego. The rest of the bottom enjoyed the power wash and everything else looked good.

 

Line on prop-oh, dear!

Tomorrow we're  off to Sarasota on our way to Fort Myers where we hope to connect with Jeri and Walter to make our way across Florida via the Okeechobee Waterway...