Many of my readers have been following along with 4 series of blogs/videos I have run over the course of the pandemic - Acrobatics during the crisis, Analyst Cam, Burning Platform, and Technology and my Passion.
There is a fifth series which has mostly shown up on Instagram and in my notes squirreled away on Google Drive. As she wrote in the Passion series, my wife Margaret is a packing pro - as in lots of activities on a day trip. Over the last few months, on weekends, she has used it to great advantage navigating all the lockdowns. We have gone up and down the West Coast of Florida mostly between Cedar Key and Marco Island - roughly 300 miles of Gulf coastline. A couple of destinations like Christmas (yes!) and Gainesville, are a bit inland. (Some of these posts are pre-pandemic.)
They have been mostly day trips, with masks and distancing precautions. Our roads are excellent, and access to many of these places costs only a parking ticket. One of the best investments we made was annual memberships to local museums and botanical gardens. They have opened up access to many other places with their reciprocal arrangements.
Most folks think of Florida as Orlando or Miami. The West Coast of the state is way better - not that I am biased. Some of the places here are still rustic, some are swanky, most offer plenty of history, almost all of them have stunning scenery with the water in the Gulf, in springs, lakes and rivers.
Come visit when you are comfortable getting on the road again. In the meantime, enjoy 10 photos from each visit. I will be happy to share my notes when you are ready. And many more photos.
In the meantime, I think I will donate a copy of my photos and notes to a time capsule of the pandemic of 2020. Hopefully, in posterity, someone will find them and contrast them to all the doom and gloom they will read about this year in the media clippings.
Ft Myers - Edison and Ford Estate
more Gainesville
Punta Gorda - Babcock Ranch
Sarasota - Celery Fields
Sarasota - Ringling Museum
Sarasota - more Ringling Museum
Sarasota - even more Ringling Museum
Sarasota - Selby Gardens
Sarasota - more Selby Gardens
Sarasota - Tibbals miniature circus
St. Petersburg - Christmas
St. Petersburg - Crescent Lake Park
St. Petersburg - Dali Museum
St. Petersburg - Edge District
St. Petersburg - James Museum
St. Petersburg - Museum of Fine Arts
St. Petersburg - New Pier
St. Petersburg - more of the new Pier
St. Petersburg - Sawgrass Lake Park
St. Petersburg - Sunken Gardens
Tampa - Channel A
Tampa - Cypress Point
Tampa - Historic District
Tampa - Lettuce Leaf Park
Tampa - River Walk
Tampa - River Walk at Christmas
Tampa - River Boat Parade - Super Bowl 55
Tampa - Raymond James stadium - Super Bowl 55
Tampa - River Walk prep for Super Bowl 55
Tampa - Upper Tampa Bay
Tarpon Springs - Easter
Thonotosassa - Hillsborough River State Park
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