bonniebroad

OO, Starrsville, I have to thank you both for encouraging our trip to Caladesi today! It was our first time swimming at a Gulf Beach, and we were just in heaven. My husband thanks you, too! OMG! The sand, the water .... what beautiful shades of green, and the water is so buoyant! Perfect beach for a poor swimmer like me!

We ate hot dogs and crab cake sandwiches at the Concession Stand for lunch (very good hotdogs, crab cake unusual but still fine ... my DH is used to Maryland crabcakes ... ) We did the 4-hour rental for umbrellas and chairs for $15. (Loved the ferry ride but the lightning scared the bejimminies out of me as we came back to Honeymoon Island!)

AND two dolphins went flitting right past us ..... we were amazed! They were so close to shore, and everybody on the beach was overjoyed to see them.

WE WERE BLOWN AWAY by Caladesi!!! We loved it, and definitely will go back there. Now I just read Wayne's message to someone else that he thinks the Red Tide may have turned today. I SURE HOPE SO.... am hoping Indian Shores will be presentable tomorrow. This morning, we were covered with dead fish!!! By yesterday afternoon, after the maintenance men and birds had cleaned up our beach, we had a nice walk on the beach with our company. When I just came in from Caladesi, I didn't cough on the way in to the condo....

We ate at PJ's Oyster Bar last night ... very good, but I wouldn't go back because I'm sure there are others that are better overall. My shrimp and oysters were quite good, as was the baked potato and cole slaw. DH had coconut shrimp, which were good, but I don't think they were as good as Outback's. The service was not at all speedy, but it was almost closing time so I guess everyone was pooped and ready to go home.

Tonight we are going for seafood at Guppy's. My family here loves it, so I'm looking forward to trying it. Tomorrow is my birthday, so DH is taking me to Salt Rock Grill for that .... and yes, I am getting about as old as dirt!!!

Thank you again, everybody, for all your help. You are the BEST!

OO

That's great Bonnie! Thank you so much for posting. I was actually thinking about you today and wondering if you'd gone or not. It is so tranquil there...a beach (and a side of FL) that most tourists never get to see. See what you would have missed had there been no red tide? LOL Lemonade lemonade.

Happy Birthday Bonnie. Hope you enjoy Salt Rock. It's tends to be loud...but it's good. You're only old as dirt if you act like it. You're doing great!

Hopefully the tide really has turned, just in time for your birthday! What a nice present that would be.

OO

By the way...how are you finding the heat?

So neat about the dolphins and I totally understand about the lightning. It's not for nothing that our hockey team (Stanley Cup champs a year ago) is called the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Tampa Bay area has the dubious distinction of being lightning capitol of the US! We watched those storms like hawks while we were sailing--I'd hate to be stuck out there with that big mast!! Take care late afternoon.

Wayne

I'm very glad you enjoyed your day. I think you'll love the food at Salt Rock Grill. Be sure to make a reservation for dinner, and ask for a table with a view over the water -- it adds to the ambience.

As you will have discovered by now, Guppy's can get a bit crowded, but I have never had a bad meal there. I hope that is your experience. Had I known you were going to go to PJ's, I would have advised you to go elsewhere. Even Crabby Bill's, not too far from you, is better (in my opinion).

Hopefully the rest of your vacation will be bright. Good luck.

starrsville

Scarlett, I'm so glad the day turned out great! I was thinking about y'all. Enjoy the "lemonade".

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW! If I were around I'd make a "dirt" birthday cake for you!

bonniebroad

Starrsville, you called me "Scarlett" but that's okay 'cause she's so sweet! Thank you, and thank you, OO, for your birthday greetings! I'm sure my birthhday dinner will be a lot of fun. My favorite niece, who lives in St. Pete now, will be with us.

Wayne, we didn't mean to go to PJ's ... we were looking for Guppy's ... hadn't really checked our P's & Q's. A young friend had recommended PJ's once, so we saw it and thought, oh, we're tired - let's just stop here, it'll probably be okay, and it was just okay! Guppy's was EXCELLENT tonight, every single part of the meal, from the bread to the Caesar salads to the chocolate hazelnut bread pudding with caramel sauce and whipped cream! I had a Grouper Piccata and my husband had the salmon in onion and leek sauce. Both were superb! Even the coffee was the best I've had lately .... Thank you for reminding me to make our reservation for dinner tomorrow night. I just called; he said he couldn't guarantee a water view, to ask when I arrived.

OO, so far, great with the heat! Once I started going in and out of the water today, I never felt too warm after that. With the breezes off the water, at least so far, it makes such a difference, compared to having 90-ish degrees in Raleigh, which is like standing in a sauna! I'm wearing a Solumbra white wide-brim hat in the sun, and light clothes. I am happy as a clam with the way I'm handing the heat so far ... I believe the weight loss and exercise have helped me a LOT in that way!

I'll keep you posted, good buddies!

starrsville

Sorry, BB! Have NO idea where that came from! I hope the rest of the week continues to be as great as today...and happy, happy birthday!

bonniebroad

Top of the mornin' from Indian Shores, where Red Tide seems to be just a memory! There is a very rare dead fishie here and there but overall the situation is vastly improved and THE TICKLE IN MY THROAT IS GONE! I do hope this is the end of it! I can comfortably get in the water today here. What a nice birthday present from God ... NO Red Tide today!

The pastry fairy here at these neat condos left pastry at my door for my birthday breakfast, which I ate outside looking at my beautiful ocean view ... What a great way to start off my 61st year, huh?

Now I'm going for a long walk on the beach, getting ready for a little shopping trip and looking forward to my birthday party at Salt Rock tonight. Have a great day, everybody! (And if anyone can think of a really good breakfast place near/in Indian Shores, please let us know!) Thanks ...

joan

Happy Birthday Bonniebroad!

I am so happy for you that the RT seems to be gone. Have a great time at Salt Rock (I wrote on another post: if you like oysters, you must get the Oysters Bienville...mmmm...and their spices for dipping the bread are to die for - you can buy some to take home too if you ask).

Breakfast a little south of IRB: Frog Pond in Redington (followed by a walk on the Redington Pier and/or a visit to the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary - short and sweet) is my suggestion. Enjoy!

bonniebroad

Well, I spoke a little too soon, before my two-hour walk down the beach and back ... I'm afraid I DID see quite a few more dead fish and eels as the tide was coming in!!! And we did start to tickle again, but I think it is much better overall. My DH will go in the water but NOT ME! Not with the eels ... YUK!

Thanks for the birthday greetings, Joan, and the breakfast recommendation ... we will try it one day!

joan

Yes I thought Wayne "jumped the gun" but I didn't want to say anything. It's really tragic - I took a walk on the beach last evening, the variety of dead creatures was astounding. I have never once seen an eel in the water alive, yet there were dozens on the beach, and the gulls were frantic. They won't eat a dead fish, (only the eyes), so it reminded me of that old saying "water water everywhere but not a drop to drink" - except of course it's "food food" for them. Very weird. Even the olive shells (which I thought had become extinct, haven't seen them in years) were squirming up to the surface to get some Oxygen.

Something tells me Man is to blame (or will be blamed regardless)...
sorry to put a damper on your thread bb!

bonniebroad

Guys, I'm going to surprise some of you but I was disappointed with the Salt Rock Grill tonight, especially for the money we spent. The House Salad was just okay, my entree was a special ... a N.Y. Strip stuffed with Scallops, and then smothered in some sort of smoky carmelized onion sauce that *sounded* delicious. The salty, smoke flavor (almost bitter) so overwhelmed the dish that I brought most of it home for the dog. The baked potato and bread with dipping sauce were good but not what I paid $32.00 for. My husband had a plate with four different fish on it, and he was happier than me. My niece had a snapper dish that was pretty good. The service was AWFUL!!! Our waitress kept us waiting forever for everything ... not *fine dining pauses* ... she was just unbelievably slow with everything; we ended up making coffee after we got home ... we never leave dinner without having coffee, but we did tonight!

Oh, well, you're gonna have those nights but I won't go back there. Maybe another night and another server would be totally different, but I won't take the chance for the money. One really nice thing though... our landlady here knew it was my birthday, and she is apparently friends with the manager there. They had reserved a corner table with a great view of the water for us, and she had ordered creme brulee with a candle for my dessert, and arranged for them to sing happy birthday to me! So nice of her ... so I'm happy! OLD but happy..........

OO

That's too bad Bonnie, especially as you'd been looking forward to it after all our reviews. Too smoky can absolutely break a dish, especially one with scallops in it! Bad service certainly can. Glad at least for the wonderful table and again, Happy birthday...and you must quit saying old! You haven't caught me yet. Hey...you motivated me to get out walking the other day--I read you'd just done a two hour walk, and I immediately grabbed my Nikes and went for one myself...thanks! How's the red tide today and when do you leave?

Joan, we found tons of olives at Ft Desoto last year. I think they've merely moved their stomping grounds to FL's prettiest beach. Though there were some washed up, the vast majority were just under the sand where you could feel them as you walked in about chest deep water, then pull them up. Unfortunately these were all live shells. Their color was still beautiful. Until coming onto that mother-lode, I thought they were practically gone too. I don't know how long it'd been since I'd found anything but old white broken ones prior to that!