Second Wind on the Great Loop and Beyond

Thursday, December 3, 2009.
After sleeping soundly through another big blow, I walked around the large Clearwater City Marina complex and took pictures of some tour boats and pelicans, my favorite coastal bird. Later Bob and I decided that we should take advantage of the Jolley Trolley to see the entire area around Clearwater. For only $3 each, we can use any trolley in Pinellas County, via a system of transfers. The Jolley Trolley is for Clearwater Beach only, but by catching a larger trolley, we could go north to Downtown Clearwater or as far south as St. Petersburg Beach. So that is how we spent most of the day. As we headed south, mile after mile of condos was mainly what we saw.

I guess I was expecting a bunch of cute villages with specialty shops and galleries, but this is serious retirement country. Most residents are looking for a place to escape the cold North and watch the sunset. One nice lady on the trolley suggested that we get off at St. John’s Pass, where we were happy to see a funky boardwalk with nearby shops and ice cream parlors. I helped the local economy by purchasing yet another pair of boating sandals. These are pretty clunky, but oh, are they comfortable.

By the time we got back to Second Wind at sundown, we were delighted to see a group of Loopers enjoying happy hour. Of course we joined them and spent the evening sharing adventures, wine, and snacks. As the temperature dropped, several of us went aboard Voyager II, where we continued doing what Loopers do – talk about where we’ve been and where we are going, while sampling cheese and crackers and sipping wine. It was fun.