Our winter 2012 trip is drawing to a close as we arrive in St. Petersburg, our last Florida destination before we head home. Our “entrance” to St. Pete is the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, a cable stayed bridge crossing Tampa Bay. George will always remember when his aunt who lived in St.Pete sent him a copy of the local paper reporting on the collapse of the old bridge in 1980 with cars and a Greyhound bus on it.
After our arrival at the St. Petersburg KOA, on Wed., we went downtown for Irene to see the Chihuly Collection, a stunning, permanent collection of world-renowned artist Dale Chihuly’s unique glass artwork. This presentation is unique as it is the first installation of Chihuly art in a building designed specifically for that purpose, and it’s located on the city’s waterfront in downtown St. Petersburg.
Having seen three glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly including “End of Day Tower” at the Fairchild Botanic Garden in Miami (blog post of Jan. 26, 2012), Irene was eager to see this collection which was breathtaking. Photography of the collection was not allowed, but the Florida Rose Crystal Tower outside the building (above) and bowls in the collection store (below)could be photographed.
While Irene was enjoying a guided tour of the Chihuly Collection, George was busy planning the next day’s bicycle ride. On Thursday morning we returned to the waterfront area.and rode along the bay through waterfront parks and enjoyed the beauty of the city and the parks.
We ate lunch outside at Moon Under Water overlooking the park and bay. Very nice!
After lunch we continued our ride along the North Bay Trail which took us by marinas and some grand homes in the historic Old Northeast neighborhood .
Of course, we had to stop for ice cream at the Cold Stone Creamery. On our return we passed by the city’s palm arboretum and took a quick look at the extensive collection of palms. It was a very enjoyable day.
On Wednesday, our last day in Florida, we set out to bicycle at Honeymoon Island State Park near Dunedin which juts out into the Gulf. However, we encountered high winds which caused us to seek a more sheltered place. In nearby Dunedin we found an interesting green market and enjoyed a nice bike ride along the Gulf.
We love the old Florida boom era hotels, so were pleased to see the Fenway Hotel and to learn that it too is being restored to its original purpose.
After the ride we returned to Dunedin for lunch and our choice was immediately confirmed when we spotted Casa Tina Mexican restaurant.
Our last biking venue of the day,and sadly, of the trip was the Clearwater Beach beach walk, a new wide curving concrete walking/biking path that is really revitalizing Clearwater Beach. As we approached the beach area, the prominent Regency Hyatt caught our attention and we wound up biking past it on the beach walk.
Irene gets a bike wash below:
George used to come to Clearwater Beach in the sixties and was totally amazed at the extent of development in the last fifty years.
It has been a great two month trip. We have covered both coasts of Florida and have biked a good portion of the best bike paths along the way. No more short jaunts now as tomorrow and Sunday we will be booking miles on the way back home, stopping in Valdosta to visit Irene’s niece and her family. The coach has performed up well on this trip with only a few minor issues to address when we get home as we do a “turn around” in preparation for another trip back to Valdosta for a flower show and then to Asheville to a rally of our Country Coach club.
Tina says, “Where do we go next?”
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