Exploring the Floridian Gulf Coast

I decided to go ahead and post my "Odd Shot Monday" shot (please visit Katney's Kaboodle to play), since I have it all ready, and I will be swamped in a void of weatherlessness on Monday. Bf and I were stopping in Clearwater Beach, FL, to enjoy the sunset over the beach, since it took us 2 hours to travel up Highway 699 from Fort DeSoto up to that point (more about all that in this post)... great timing, huh? Anyways, they were having some sort of beach party out there, including this giant inflatable shark... alrighty then... if that's not odd, I don't know what odd is... lolWonderful, wonderful weekend!! Unfortunately, I missed the opportunity to support Alabama Mike on his chase, where he intercepted an awesome tornado warned wall cloud with a fabulous tail cloud. As well as it being on his blog, the account of that chase is located on the Southern Weather Brigade team blog, showing radar captures that Rick got while he offered support (btw, I love the comic posted on Rick's blog, but you can click on his name-- the link to check it out, rather than me swiping it...)

Anyways, I think I mentioned that bf and I were headed down to the Tampa area for the wedding reception of my dear San Antonio... Florida friend, who was married back in January, honeymooned last week and was just getting around to the reception, was having... a barn dance. My first barn dance, actually. The open walled barn was a rustic scene, offering up a mulch floor, a deer head decorated sitting area around a rustic fireplace and a lovely view of the rodeo arena. We had a blast though, dancing the night (and the wee hours of the morning) away. Open bar, and someone thought it would be a good idea for me to serve myself, so I indulged in some vodka/cranbery juice... in an 80:20 ratio. After about 3 of those, I was feeling pretty good. lol. This shot is what bf took of me after tieing a few on... the other is of my dear San Antonio... Florida friend's step-granddaughter... so cute.

After recovering from a really fun... and late night, bf and I decided to head on down to the beaches of Tampa, and after a strong recommendation from my dear San Antonio... Florida friend, we decided on Fort De Soto, which was a nice secluded beach (for the most part), major fishing spot though. Just about every spot on the pier was full of fisher-people, catching lots of little silver dollar fish for bait, I guess. One guy caught something larger while we were out there, and one kid decided to start feeding the little fish to the pelicans and sea gulls which really got them going. Here are the Fort De Soto pics...

We left there and headed up Highway 699 traveling through the many beaches near Tampa, Florida, up the west coast of Florida, Treasure Island, Redington Beach, Clearwater Beach, etc. All along, enjoying the splendid views. Here are those pics, including some spectacular shots of the sunset out of Clearwater Beach... We were lucky to be able to witness the Forbidden Dance of Chaser Merriment in action... lol Anyone know what kind of birds they are???Have a great day!
~Dewdrop