Blogger: Stephanie Lynch
Day two began again with an early morning swim to start the day. It is such a treat to wake up in the morning and just walk outside to have a swim. We love home exchanges as you really get to relax and experience living in an area like a local during your stay. We then decided to head to Clearwater for a day of adventure. Clearwater is a town located in Pinellas County, west of Tampa in Florida. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the east lies Tampa Bay. A local recommended this trip to us so we were very excited to check it out.
The drive itself is just breathtaking. We stopped off for lunch at ‘Whiskey Joes’, a restaurant on route to Clearwater which lies overlooking the sea and a beach to the right. A great spot to stop off for a swim during your journey. Seafood here was just unbelievable. We continued on to Clearwater with an stunning view. It is almost like an island with water on both sides. A spectacular drive.
We arrived in Clearwater and stopped for an ice-cream to cool down(It was very HOT!!). We then stumbled upon a beach called ‘Indian Rocks Beach’ which is a beautiful, peaceful, quiet beach just past Clearwater. Clearwater beach was very busy and packed with people so we decided we would go in search of a QT beach and we found it with ‘Indian Rock’s Beach’!! A quiet, heavenly beach with amazing waves… what more could you want? We enjoyed a few hours at the beach, relaxing and swimming in the warm sea(I honestly dont think I have ever swam in such warm waters!!).
To end the day, we went out sailing at sunset. As many of you know, I am a big water baby so I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to sail a catamaran at sunset. We went sailing with Kay Lani. There is no better place to experience this gem’s natural beauty than on the water. Enjoying a relaxing sail with island music and cold drink, in the glow of the beautiful sunset. A perfect way to end the day! It was an unbelievable experience with spectacular views all around. A great way to meet people from all around the USA as the boat can fit up to 27 people. We met lovely people from Pennsylvanian and Illinois during our sail. We weren’t lucky enough to see dolphins but we have been told it’s common enough to see them during your sail. What more could you want; the warm breeze on your face, the full sails and the sun setting…. pure perfection. The sunset was just beautiful… even nicer to see it out on the water. This has so far been the highlight of the trip.
Two things to tick of my bucket list: 1) Sailing at Sunset. 2) Sailing a Catamaran.
We ended the day with a great seafood meal at ‘Crabby Bills Seafood’. A seafood gem on the marina in Clearwater. We ordered grilled shrimp with fresh vegetables… it was delicious. The perfect end to a perfect day.
Over and Out for now from Florida,
Steph
