A beach day

Today was definitely NOT a beach day.  It was cloudy this morning with rain predicted.  Mr. Bill wanted to visit a cigar shop in Tampa so we decided it was a good day to take a ride.  It wasn't raining when we left but it was extremely windy.  We took Rt. 75 north following directions provided by the TomTom.  Unfortunately, one of the roads we were supposed to take was closed.  Uh Oh.  We drove in and through the Tampa airport, out the other side and finally got turned around.  The TomTom was happy when we got going the other direction and took us around the airport the second time.  It was a very circuitous route but we did end up in the right place approximately two hours after we left.


It was raining quite hard by the time we left.  We had talked about meandering our way back down Rt. 41 and maybe checking out some of the shops.  Well, we did come home 41 but it was pouring, along with thunder and lightening.  We didn't do any stopping, just slowly worked our way home through miserable weather.

Yesterday, however, was a different story.  We went to the shelter and walked some dogs; then spent some extra time with our favorite...Cheyenne.  This isn't a very good photo of her but she is a wonderful dog.  If we could figure out a way to get her home, she would be coming to live in Maine.  We have volunteered to take a dog to the AAA office in a couple of weeks and hope that we can take her.  We would be very happy if we could find her a new home.  She has been at the shelter since before Christmas, probably because she is older.


It was a beautiful day (nearly80*) so after the shelter we had lunch and headed to the beach.  Actually, we went to Ponce de Leon Park in Punta Gorda.  It isn't much to look at but there are a couple of pavilions with tables and a nice sandy beach overlooking the Peace River. There is also a nice boardwalk through some of the wooded area opposite the beach.  It is home of the Peace River Wildlife Center.  Mr. Bill and I had visited it once on an earlier trip but we didn't visit today.

 

The Charlotte Harbor Regatta is taking place this weekend so there were several sailboats in the river.  We spent the next couple of hours soaking up the sun, listening to our iTouches, taking short naps and feeling very lucky to be here.  We left there and went for a walk from Fishermen's Village to Gilchrist Park where there was a small group playing concertinas and banjos.  We stayed and listened for a few minutes; the music was very happy and bouncy and made me think of Wendy.


Thanks for stopping by...
;o)