Florida West Coast
Trip Start
Aug 15, 2008
1
26
90
Trip End
Aug 14, 2009
Sarasota,
Florida,
United States
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
St Petersburg
Another day, another car journey - we headed this time for Tampa on the west coast - although there is apparently a lively Cuban district which is worth visiting, Tampa seemed a bit "industrial", especially the docks (where I got lost) - so we decided to push on to St Petersburg.
The waterfront, pier & marina areas are all very smart - we had an 'al fresco' lunch at the 'Moon - Under Water' a "British Pub" near the waterfront. We had a typical British meal, curried chips washed down with a very nice Pinot Grigio.
We really fancied staying by a beach, so again pushed on across the harbour to St Pete's which is a beach resort on the southern end of the string of barrier islands that stretches up the coast to Clearwater. The area was ok but it was still out of season, so many places had closed down - also the weather was crap, unusually cold & windy, not good beach weather.
We stuck it out there for one day, then headed south to Sarasota. This was a very good move.
Sarasota
Sarasota Park
Sarasota is a lovely town, a lively downtown area with many good restaurants, a bookshop that served coffee that you could enjoy lounging in an armchair, good beaches & parks - we loved it.
Our "Best Western" motel lived up to its name - it was our favorite motel so far. The weather was still cold, however, we managed a picnic on the beach while we watched pelicans & egrets fishing on the shore - very much back to nature.
