Spring Training 2019 - Day 33

It was a busy but enjoyable day today.  We started off with lunch at Frenchy's Causeway, another Frenchy's restaurant on the way over to Honeymoon Island State Park, just north of Dunedin.

We had another great lunch - soup, their famous fish pretzel, and a shared lime shrimp appetizer.  We also had Pina Coladas to wash it all down.

Frenchy's Causeway

After lunch we traveled a few miles up the road and across the causeway to Honeymoon Island State Park, a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico.  The island is named after a resort that was established in the 1950's as a destination resort for "honeymooners".  There was no causeway to the island then and accommodations consisted of a grass hut, minimal amenities and a private beach.  Eventually, the resort was closed, the state took over the mostly undeveloped island as a state park and a causeway was built over to the mainland.  Today the park is a very popular place with several beaches, picnic areas, hiking trails and protected natural areas that are home to a variety of birds and wildlife.

We have visited the park several times in the past and always enjoy coming back and walking along the Osprey Trail, a nature trail in the park that has lots of osprey nests, a bald eagle nest and a great horned owl nest.  You also normally see a gopher tortoise and maybe an eastern diamondback rattlesnake or two.

Before hiking the trail we stopped at the park nature and visitor center.  They have a great display as well as a native plant garden and a replica of one of the earlier "Honeymoon Shacks" on the grounds.

Pictures Day 33 - Honeymoon Island - Nature Center

We then started our walk on the Osprey Trail. On past hikes, we were part of a guided hike by volunteer docents.  No guide today, so we walked by ourselves.  The trail was not crowded, and we were virtually alone as we walked along the trail.

It is about a mile to the northern point of the trail where it loops around back to the starting point.  Since Judy had her walker we only went about 1/2 mile then turned around.  It wasn't too hot and there was a slight breeze along the mostly shaded trail.

We passed several Osprey nests and saw two tortoises and an armadillo.  The highlight was getting a sighting of the resident great horned owl.  We even got a peek at one of the two chicks in the nest, an exceptionally rare sighting.  We didn't see the bald eagle nest this time as it is at the northern turnaround point.  They said at the nature center that there are two chicks this year  that are about three weeks old.  We didn't see any rattlesnakes this time as we have in the past.

Pictures Day 33 - Honeymoon Island - Osprey Trail  

After a very enjoyable visit to the park, we headed down to Dunedin for a drink, a light dinner and a sunset.  We went to the Bon Appetite, another favorite restaurant at the end of the Dunedin Pier.  It is an outside restaurant and bar associated with an adjoining hotel that also has an inside restaurant.

As the sun set we were treated to one of the best Gulf sunsets we have ever seen.  

Pictures Day 33 - Dunedin Sunset

After that, it was a short walk down the street to the local ice cream shop for an ice cream cone before heading back to the RV and rest up for baseball tomorrow.