Hope everyone survived the big party from last night... wow... we actually all stayed up here and watched the big ball drop in NY.
But it was not long after Judy and I hit the bed, as Tom and Cheryl took in a midnight swim in our nice warm pool!
To bring in the New Year just right, we decided to head off to the beach today, as it was a beautiful day! Judy and I had taken a motorcycle ride this morning to check this beach out, but turned back as they wanted $6.00 each to pass on the bridge! We came back in the afternoon, with the Jeep and only had to pay one $6.00 fee.
This beach is called Gasparilla Island State Park... and it is a good one... above you paid at the toll bridge...
Check out the trees as we made our way down to the beach...
Above the remains of an old dock now hold all the local sea birds...
Yes, that is Tom and Cheryl heading for the beach! Not too busy on the beach today...
We stopped along the way, and Judy caught me day dreaming looking out over the Gulf of Mexico!
Cheryl found a great big clam... and that is not all she found...
They are a bit blurry, but they are Shark's teeth!
What a pair of Canadian Tourist's we make...
As we walked the beach, we found a fisherman who landed this Bonnet Head Shark. He was thrilled, as he said it was real nice eating, and he would filet it as soon as he got home... The Bonnet Head is the smallest Shark of the Hammer Head Shark Family.
It was quite the catch...
Next we came across a fisherman who landed this Stingray! Wow...
The fisherman had a heck of a fight to land this Stingray, and quickly John Hannan of the Florida State Park Service came along, and helped the fisherman take the hook out, and released the Stingray back into the Gulf Waters! The Stingrays are caught by mistake and released. This one was fine.
John is a real great guy from the Florida Park Services, and stayed and talked to us, and educated us on the Park and water for 1/2 an hour! Told us all about the local Dolphins and Manatee's!
There goes that Stingray!
The only other thing caught today was this Mermaid... but she ended up staying on the beach!
What a great way to start the new year!
After all the walking we relaxed for a while in our chairs... and in looking at the pic I took above with my smart phone, I now know that "Life is a Beach!"
Till tomorrow....
Posted with Blogsy
Looks like another beautiful fun day. No matter how many times we have been on the beach, we have never found any shark teeth. Maybe we just didn't know what to look for. Enjoy the rest of the week. Happy New Year.
ReplyDeleteCareful you'll get so used to that weather you won't want to come back to snowy Ontario. LOL! Be Safe and Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteIt's about time.
Life is a beach? That's for sure! enjoy the fun in the sun and sand!
ReplyDeleteGreat beach! There was plenty of action to keep you involved and interested. That hammerhead shark was interesting too.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great start to 2013 John and Judy. So much more fun times to come too.