Many of us who enjoy traveling have been bitten by the travel bug but don’t quite feel safe enough yet to go too far from home. So we planned a three day getaway to the west coast of Florida. We stayed on Treasure Island, a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico, between Madeira Beach and St. Pete Beach. Lovely wide and long stretch of beach for walking. There was also a paved walking, biking, roller blading, and jogging path along the beach facing the hotels and restaurants. Something for everyone who enjoys the Florida outdoors.
The area where we stayed was full of tourists who came to spend the entire day sunning aka burning on the beach so they could go home showing “proof” they had been to Florida. Our idea was to explore other areas of the island; beach towns I had heard or read about but had never visited—Redington Beach, Indian Rocks Beach, and Pass-A-Grille Beach. Those beach towns are quieter and less congested. We passed many large resort hotels but small mom-and-pop hotels are still sprinkled in and give some of these towns a charm and character of the past.
For lunch one day we stopped at the Conch Republic restaurant. Some of the best coconut shrimp and my chicken salad had coconut flakes sprinkled on top. If you like coconut, I’d highly recommend this place. And, we had enough for lunch the next day!
One afternoon we visited the Glass Museum in St. Petersburg. They were showing an exhibition of glasswork by artists from all over the world. Absolutely amazing pieces and to think these works had to have been packed and shipped from faraway places and arrived unscathed!
On our last day, we drove to the Salvador Dali Museum. Not only did we get to see some of the museum’s permanent collection but we were able to see the special Van Gogh exhibit where we could walk through his enlarged projected paintings and learn more about his work and his life. What I found so interesting was that his story was told through his own words gathered in the many letters he wrote to his brother that had been saved.
Goes to show you, one doesn’t need to travel far to find new and exciting experiences!
