Apollo Beach, Florida

You have to know by now, that if I miss a night of blogging, it is because we are simply too busy, or having way too much fun to fit it in to the day... That is what happened last night...

On Saturday we received an invitation from my Cousin Carrie and Bill, to come visit them in Apollo Beach, (just south of Tampa...) and take in the annual Christmas Boat Parade!

We took a drive over to the Gulf, just prior to going to their home, to check out some beaches... We could hardly believe what we ran into!

 

As Judy and I walked the beach, these two Stingrays cruised by, looking for dinner I assume! We must have come across about 10 of these during our visit, all this close to the shore! We were told you certainly do not want to step on one, as they will sting, and it hurts!

 

The beaches are simply beautiful along the Gulf... it was a hot afternoon as well...

We walked out this pier and were wondering what everyone was looking at...

The pelicans were putting on a show for everyone... I caught this one with just his head hitting the water during his big dive... it was incredible to watch!

We made it to Cousin Carrie and Bill's house by 6:00 just in time for the parade to start... they have a simply incredible home, right on the water way... these palm trees line the 200 feet of waterfront they own on the waterway!

I took this picture above from the boat dock. Nice home! We didn't want to leave!

They also have a great pool, and I am pleased to report I did not fall in while walking around taking pictures!

You can see the boats starting to gather for the light parade...

It is hard to get good pictures of the boats all lit up, you have to have your camera set up, and I didn't... this one above had a palm tree on it!

These boats had lots of lights on them, and there was at least 20 of them out...they also fired off fireworks to boot!

We stayed overnight, and this morning, Bill was fishing trying to catch breakfast for the dogs... didn't happen...

After Carrie fed us all breakfast, Bill fired up his boat and was ready to take us touring! Perfect day weather wise for a boat ride! We enjoyed.

Lots of fancy homes to view...

 

We cruised Tampa Bay, and yes, that is downtown Tampa in the background...

On our "3 hour tour", Capt. Bill found us a deserted Island to walk the dogs on... what a day!

Carrie and Judy were wondering what all the Family Members were doing back in Ontario today????

We were all on "Dolphin alert" today...

We did find Flipper and his Friend... there were lots of them out today... but hard to get a good picture of. We also saw a couple Manatee's swimming near the Island, but could not get a good shot of them either...sigh... We ran into a couple more Stingrays as well on this trip, and all kinds of exotic birds... phew... what a trip.

Bill tried his best to strand us on the Island, but the Suzuki motors started back up and we safely made it back to Apollo Beach... thanks for the great ride Bill, (and Carrie...) we enjoyed it!

 

OK, so why would I show you a picture of an empty lawn chair???? Carrie tells me, she went to a Hollywood type Restore Outlet, and purchased a set of these chairs, that were previously owned and enjoyed by John Travolta now less! Had to throw this in...

Thanks again Carrie and Bill, for the great day and your hospitality. It sure is great to run into Family members as we travel the Country!

Till tomorrow...

 

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