Honeymoon Island State Park

Today we took a day trip over to one of the Gulf barrier islands, Honeymoon Island, which is one of Florida's state parks. Located near the tip of Florida's barrier island chain, the island received its name in 1939 when a New York developer purchased the island and, together with LIFE magazine, held a contest for newly married couples. The winners of the contest stayed in thatched bungalows in sunny Florida for a two week "honeymoon."

The ranger at the Nature Center told us to keep an eye out for Gopher Tortoises, and sure enough we saw one an hour or so later crossing a parking lot.

Among the many birds who call these islands home is the Laughing Gull --

In addition to all of the shorebirds we saw, this Mourning Dove posed on a post for us. Can you see the iridescent feathers on his neck?

The lavender hue doesn't show up near as much in this close-up,,,

These Sea Grapes are all over the coastal areas of Florida, both in bush and tree form --

Today we found one in bloom. I understand that "grape-like" seeds form in a cluster all down the flower stalk like clusters of grapes.

I don't know if it is because of the name or because beach weddings are popular --

By late afternoon there were TWO weddings taking place on the beach where we were sitting in the sand watching the birds!

There is even a cafe on the island which, since it was Friday, was having an "all you can eat" fish fry tonight. It was getting late and we had been wondering where we would stop to eat...

At the Beach in St. Petersburg

After spending several hours at Kathy's Korner Nursery yesterday, we went to the beach in St. Petersburg. Leslie just had to prove to us that there were indeed, beautiful beaches in Florida -- not just rocks and coral!

This is a gorgeous white sand beach. Some of our party just sat in the sand and watched the birds --

While Bill and I shed our sandals and roamed the beach, waded in the surf, and took pictures --

At the water's edge, there were hundreds of little shells, most pretty worn by the wave action, but many intact --

 This little Snowy Plover was very busy at the water's edge --

He's so pretty with his black legs, eyes and beak --

There were lots of Laughing Gulls, but they were mostly dozing, standing on one foot --

Then there were the party kids. There was a band of Willets running up and down the beach --

Then one would dash out into the retreating wave and find?--

They were fun to watch, as occasionally a wave would catch them and then they would really scurry -

But as the wave retreated, they'd again go hunting --

This is what the sky looked like when we decided it was time to walk across the street to the Hurricane Restaurant to eat outside on their patio --

By six PM, it looked like this! Bill walked back across the street to the beach to get this shot --

Can you see why watching sunsets is a favorite activity on the Gulf Coast?

With the low clouds on the horizon, there was no "green flash" as the sun hit the water this time --

I thought these Robellini Palms (see I did learn something yesterday) silhouetted against the evening sky were the perfect end to a wonderful day --