Florida Spring Training Trip - Day 15

We got a little bit of a late start today but drove to Fort De Soto Park at the mouth of Tampa Bay south of St. Petersburg on the Gulf of Mexico . It is a county park consisting of a chain of five interconnected islands, or keys, providing over 1100 acres of parkland and beaches. Activities in the park include a campground with 256 sites with water and electric hook-ups, hiking and bicycle trails, boating, bird watching, day use picnic areas, fishing and swimming.  It is a very popular park with over 3 million visitors a year.  There is also a ferry concession that provides trips to and from two of the five islands in the park (Egmont Key and Shell Key Preserve).  Egmont Key is the site of an adjoining fort in the Fort De Soto complex, and the Shell Key Preserve is a natural and uninhabited barrier island.

The area was first surveyed in 1849 and recommended for fortification by the Army Corps of Engineers.  Union troops occupied the islands during the Civil War to aid in the blockade of Tampa Bay.  After the war, the islands were abandoned until 1882 when military reservations were established.  No construction was started until 1889 when the state built a quarantine station on Mullet Key, the site of Fort De Soto.  The fort became the main activity on the island and served as an active military installation from 1898 -1910, it's mission being to protect the entrance to Tampa Bay during the Spanish American War.  After the war, the military presence gradually declined and the forts (De Soto on Mullet Key and Fort Dade on Egmont Key) were abandoned in 1923.  They sat in disrepair until 1938 when the state purchased the five islands for $12,500. During WW II, the Army bought Mullett Key back and used it as an adjunct airfield for the main airbase at nearby McDill Field.  The state bought the island back in 1948 and gradually built it into the major recreation area it is today.

It was about an hour's drive through the city to the park.  We had been there on our last trip in 2012 but wanted to see the fort and the surrounding area again,  They were renovating the fort in 2012 and as things often occur in government work, it is still a work in  progress.  The weather was excellent and many people were enjoying the beaches and fishing from the pier.  We didn't see a lot of fish being caught but it looked like the fisherman really didn't seem to care.  I guess that is the joy of fishing.

We then headed back north,going home along the coastal road.  We stopped at the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary in Indian Rocks Beach.  A small area sandwiched between beachfront hotels, it is essentially a bird rescue facility where injured birds are nursed back to health.  It is also a "safe haven" sort of place where all kinds of sea birds seem to congregate.  We also visited the sanctuary in 2012 and wanted to see how it was doing.

We continued up the coast and had dinner at the Columbia Restaurant in Sand Key, just south of Clearwater Beach.  We had an excellent Cuban/Spanish dinner - sangria, gazpacho soup, tapas and good Cuban bread.  We also ate there in 2012.  All-in-all it was a deja vu sort of day.

No home game tomorrow.  They are calling for a 60% chance of showers so maybe we will  do some inside stuff - perhaps the Tampa Bay Aquarium, but we'll decide after breakfast.

Here a few pictures from today's adventure:

Day 15 Pictures