Today was set aside as nothing more than a beach day. We slept in pretty late (which is the norm these days) and then did some laundry. While Jasmine folded the clothes, I hopped on the internet to search for the best beach in the area. I narrowed it down to a couple, both of which have been named the top beach in the USA before.
The beach we decided on was Fort DeSoto Park south of St. Petersburg. It was voted the best beach in the USA in 2005 and continues to be in the top 10. After finishing the laundry at noon we were ready to depart, On the way, we stopped at the super market to pick up some sandwiches and drinks. We thought that it would be nice to have a picnic lunch on the beach.
We arrived at the beach at 1pm after getting all of our supplies for the picnic. The first thing that I noticed was the abundant amount of sea shells we saw. Shawn Reece managed to find shells of just about every shape, size and color. While swimming in the ocean, I even found a living clam under the sand. My first thought was to take it out of the water for a picture, but I decided not to. I didn’t want to cause it any harm.
The other wonderful thing about DeSoto Park’s beach is the soft white sand. The word soft doesn’t even describe how delicate this beautiful sand was. DeSoto Park’s beach sits right on the Gulf of Mexico so the water tends to be warmer than the water on the east coast of Florida. The one thing we did notice, was that moving a few feet in either direction could change the water temperature 10 or 15 degrees fahrenheit. I am not sure how this happens, but I guess it has something to do with the different currents. A local that I met on the beach today, told me that the water gets to 90 degrees fahrenheit in the summer. I wish it was that warm today!
We also discovered a really nice campground at Fort DeSoto. Most of the campsites sit right on the Gulf of Mexico. After driving around the campground today, Jasmine and I agreed that we loved it. Instead of leaving this area tomorrow, we decided to camp at Fort DeSoto tomorrow night. After all, we have to start using all of the camping gear that we brought with us! I can’t think of a better setting to start camping.
One of the things that has become obvious now that we have completed most of the Florida circle, is how different the people are from one coast to the other. The people on the west coast seem quite a bit more blue collar that their counterparts on Florida’s east coast. I really don’t favor one set more than the other, but the difference is obvious. We definetely have enjoyed driving around the different parts of Florida in the past few days. The rest of the state seems quite a bit more “real” than Orlando. I guess that shouldn’t be a surprise.
Being on the beach today was relaxing. This is the first day we didn’t do much in a while. Even in Disney World we were going all of the time. As we continue on, I think that we will take more days like this to relax on the beach. The people around here have told us of some great ones up in the Carolinas! We are also looking forward to seeing the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. At least five different people we have met in the past week let us know that we can’t miss them. We don’t plan to!
We want to thank everyone for the comments and emails. Your support is truly appreciated and keeps us going.
The Coomer Family
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Dont forget to use lots of sun block!!!! I got the worse sunburn of my life as a little kid,in jacksonville beach.you kids have a safe and wonderful time…..I am envyous of your travels,luv and miss u,thinking of u often.
OH HOW GREAT THE BEACH SOUNDS!! RELAXING YES, HOW I REMEMBER THOSE WONDERFUL DAYS. I MISS THE BEACH SO MUCH. THAT’S ONE DRAW BACK LIVING IN THE DESERT.OH WELL I ALMOST FELT LIKE I WAS AT THE BEACH WITH YOU SHAWN. ANYWAY I LOVE YOU ALL VERY MUCH AND MISS YOU TOO. BE WELL AND STAY SAFE. LOVE MOM AND GRANDMA XOXOXOXO