A thunderous storm with rains that seemed like buckets of water constantly pouring down seems apt for experiencing Florida.
But let me back up to the start of our adventures last week.
Awesomely, Amelia and Sheldon (friends from DC/LA) now live in the Clearwater area, giving me and Amelia the chance to explore more of the beaches together!
Wednesday was beautiful at Ft. De Soto Park’s North Beach. Apparently when Jon and I went, we didn’t go to the designated swimming area. No wonder it was desolate for us! It wasn’t crazy crowded at the designated North Beach swimming area (marked by a few buoys), but there were lifeguards on duty.
We saw fish swimming around our feet and were lucky enough to see a whole school of fish jump in unison, just 5-10 feet away, in the middle of a few other beach goers!
Thursday we stopped by the Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg. They’re a botanical gardens with a few exotic birds.
The Sunken Gardens started when a gardener bought 4 acres of land, and drained the shallow lake that had filled an ancient crater. It sits 15 feet below street level and he planted fruits and exotic plants.
Though I didn’t see any fruits, they say many of the original plants are still there, along with the newer addition of animals.
The Sunken Gardens is small and easy-to-explore. If you’re quick, and because there’s not much signage or labeling of the various exotic plants, it can be done in about an hour or so.
We were off to the beach in St. Pete immediately after. But as soon as we parked and step foot on the sand, we could see the storm clouds coming. Lightning struck in the distance.
Sadly, as soon as we snapped a few pictures, it was time for us to move on before the rain and thunder really came down on us. We made it back to the truck just in time, and moved North. As we moved, so did the storm. We stopped off at Indian Rocks beach hoping to catch more sun, but the storm was just as fast as we were.
The storm got much bigger before clearing up. We waited it out at Amelia(/Sheldon)’s beautiful and large house with some Broad City comedy before picking up the guys.
Dinner was our first evening excursion to Ybor. We ate at Coumbia’s, the oldest restaurant in the area. It’s been around since 1905 and has been family owned ever since, going on its fourth generation of family owners. It’s Spanish style restaurant, serving tapas alongside Cuban favorites (it’s in Ybor, after all), but the decor makes you feel like you’ve been transported to Spain. They have 15 dining rooms, each with spectacular decorations, and a capacity of 1,700 at any given time. On a weeknight, we still had a 15 minute wait. With all the tables, rooms, and seating, it’s limited only by its waitstaff (they’re hiring, our waiter informed us).
They also have a nightly flamenco show in one of the rooms (for just an additional $6). We popped our heads in to take a quick peek since we got to the restaurant after it started. It had a great ambiance and the room was full. After stuffing ourselves silly, we took a stroll through the historic district at night.
We stopped in at a cigar shop and chatted with the manager. He told us what we saw was nothing on a Friday or Saturday night (“It’s like Mardi Gras!”). While we did see some fancy bikes with light-up rims and some loud sound systems, the weekends are when everyone comes out to show off. This was enough for us, a pleasant surprise and different vibe than Ybor during daylight.
Hasta la próxima, Ybor.
Beautiful narratve and photos. Thanks for the post.
Thanks for reading!