If I Were Going...: Beaches and Birds

A special Florida bird: Roseate Spoonbills

Moving on after Caty left, I headed south from Tampa. Probably lazed a bit too late, but still was out fairly early. I took the coastal route because I wanted to see beaches. First, over the Howard Frankland bridge to St. Pete, down 75 through St. Pete and over the Sunshine Skyway bridge. It's the one we call the "new" bridge, built after the disaster in 1980 when I was working St. Pete (and using the bridge frequently).

Sunshine Skyway Bridge from St. Petersburg to Bradenton

Then, I turned toward Bradenton for my first NPS stop -- de Soto National Memorial. Imagine my surprise! I thought Ft. de Soto Park (which is in St. Petersburg) had been upgraded. But, de Soto National Memorial is completely different! It's where Conquistador Hernando de Soto made landfall in 1539. It's very small, but has a lovely path through the trees, along the beach and through the mangroves.

A pretty path to the bay

Then, on along the beaches, where the water was breathtakingly gorgeous! I kept saying that I should stop and take a beach walk or at least a picture and then said, "no, Sanibel Island is known for its white sand and beaches; keep going." The only pics I took were from a stop for a drawbridge.

Look at that water!

I stopped at the Columbia at St. Armand's Circle for lunch. Since we got in too late for a Cuban sandwich from Havana Village, I ordered one there (plus their yummy 1905 salad).

Photo: Columbia

I was disappointed in the sandwich. The bread was fabulous (nothing like Florida Cuban bread), but the meat flavor was just too strong for me. The salad was, however, yummy. The service - ai yi yi - so slow. I guess they figure we tourists have nothing to do. But, as I sat at my sidewalk cafe table, I did see a parade of Sarasota visitors and retirees. I actually saw a man in a pair of seersucker shorts that were green on one side, blue on the other and trimmed in pink seersucker. Ah, south Florida, fashion capital of the world!

I continued on the scenic route, finally arriving at Sanibel a bit later than I wanted to, but still early enough for the beach. My hotel (Holiday Inn) was right on the beach and had chairs - a nice touch - and beach towels in the room - another nice touch. It also had a pool that looked nice, but I never made it there. It was breezy on the beach, with some pretty rough waves and, much to my dismay, the water was murky. It was probably just the weather, but not the glorious turquoise I was dreaming of when I booked. And, no shells. Hey, what happened to the Sanibel of my youth.

As the afternoon waned, I took a drive to explore. Sanibel certainly has some beautiful homes (seriously gorgeous) and I did catch a wonderful sunset.

Florida has lovely sunsets

I tried to drive through the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, but was too late because the road closes at 7:00 p.m.

To late for sightseeing

By the time I got back to the hotel, it was too late (and too dark) to explore for dinner, so I went to the Starfish Grill at the hotel. After twice being ignored because the bartender/host thought I was with other parties, I was seated. Then after another server bobble (who has that table?), I had a delicious dinner of short rib tacos. Well, it was delicious after I asked for and added hot sauce.

The next morning, I was waiting to drive the Wildlife Refuge loop at 7:00 a.m. -- and behind a pretty long line of cars. Although infested with the dreaded "no see'ums," there were some special sights, including a large group of Roseate Spoonbills ...