Florida Spring Training 2017 - Day 41

We had long and busy day today.  We took a nature walk this morning on Honeymoon Island, ate lunch at Frenchy's Outpost, and went on a sunset cruise from Clearwater Beach.

We have done the nature walk at Honeymoon State Park several times in the past and wanted to do it again.  It was  a nice day for a hike as well as a good opportunity for weekend beach time (sunny, 80 degrees and a slight breeze).  The traffic over the causeway to Honeymoon Island was heavy and the beaches along the causeway and in the park were packed.  Spring break visitors are also starting to kick-in with a noticeable increase in young visitors escaping the rigors and tensions of present-day college life with the more traditional spring break activities such as excessive beer drinking, displaying the latest in minimalist beach attire, and engaging in young person mating rituals.

The nature trail is slightly inland from the park beaches and is home to a variety of wildlife including ospreys, horned owls, gopher tortoises, eastern diamond back rattlesnakes and the highlight, an active and protected American Bald Eagle nesting site.  The tour today was planned to be a guided hike lead by a park volunteer, but no volunteer showed up.  So on our own, we took an enjoyable one mile hike on a partly shaded trail.  We saw just about all the wildlife in the area, including a big rattlesnake, an elusive gopher tortoise, lots of ospreys and two adult bald eagles.  We didn't see the female Great Horned Owl who another hiker on the trail said was nesting with two chicks in a secluded nesting site.

Day 41 Pictures - Honeymoon State Park Nature Trail

After the hike, we ate lunch at Frenchy's Outpost, another Frenchy's restaurant at the end of the causeway in Dunedin.  It was another great meal at a very popular area restaurant.

Day 41 Pictures - Frenchy's

We then drove over to Clearwater Beach for our scheduled sunset cruise on a catamaran sail boat.  It took awhile to get over to Clearwater Beach although it was only 5 miles away. You have to travel over a causeway with a two lane roundabout at the end funneling traffic to and from the causeway as well as north and south traffic along the barrier islands.  We had enough time however and had a drink at a dockside restaurant before we boarded the boat for the cruise along with about 40 other people.  The boat was motor powered until we went under the bridge and into the Gulf of Mexico.  The crew then unfurled the sails and we headed out to sea for about an hour.  We then turned around and watched the sunset as we returned.  It was a very smooth ride and an enjoyable end to a busy day.

Day 41 Pictures - Sunset Cruise

More baseball tomorrow with the Boston Red Sox coming to town.