The Best Walk

A Great Walk in St. Petersburg, Florida

More times than we expect, great walks occur spontaneously. This was the case last October. While staying in St. Petersburg, we found ourselves wide awake before sunrise and decided to walk along the beach. Because of the darkness, I debated whether to bring a camera. We decided to have a cup of coffee and wait for the sunrise to start. Then we would go with the camera.

We left our hotel room, walked across a small boardwalk, and entered the beach area. The visibility wasn’t the best, but seeing that the sun was rising was encouraging. We took a right with the Golf of Mexico on our left. The water’s edge is flatter and firmer, its easier to walk there. For those reasons we stayed near the water, and it allowed us to splash our feet in the water! Two things were immediately noticed: 1.) We were the only humans on the beach and 2.) There was an incredible amount of bird activity. They were busy and noisy. We could only assume that these birds woke up pretty hungry. As with most beaches, the majority of the birds were Seagulls but we found the Pelicans more interesting because of their fish catching ability.

Looking back at the sun’s position, we could see that the view of the sunrise through the palm trees was a beautiful site. Looking towards the Gulf, the sky and the water seemed to be changing color as the amount of light increased. We could see that the rocks in the jetties were now taking form and battle over perching positions was raging on one rock. Up ahead we could see that the beach line would be taking a turn to the right allowing for an inlet. We decided that the inlet would make a good place to turn around.

As we arrived at the inlet, we noticed that at its mouth there were more Pelicans – and they also seemed to be having a good breakfast. A couple of Seagulls approached, but they were no match for the Pelicans who promptly chased them away. We had walked for quite a while but the sun was in no hurry. The daylight was still dim, but for us it was just right. We were enjoying what we might be The Best we’ve taken in Florida.

As we headed back, we suddenly saw a number of Dolphins in the water. They were moving fast in every direction. We assumed they were also getting breakfast. Trying to get a picture of them was difficult. As soon as the camera was pointed at one it would dive into the water. Without exaggeration, there must have been thirty of forty Dolphins. I caught a picture of two. The Dolphin activity continued as the sun began to rise at a faster pace. We were now no longer alone on the beach. Others were walking and seemed to enjoying the scenery as much as we were. Before long we were approaching the boardwalk taking us back to the room.

About an hour later we went to breakfast with the others we were vacationing with and talked about the walk we took. They promptly asked if they could join us the next morning. We did enjoy another walk along the same route, but it was the first spur-of-the-moment walk that is best remembered.

Filed under: Florida on June 9th, 2007 | No Comments »