CLEARWATER, FL

Saturday, January 19, 2019. I covered a lot of distance during my overnight drive into Florida. I was making really good time. I even detoured through downtown Tallahassee, home to the Florida State Seminole’s, to get a glimpse of what a college town in Florida looks like. Turns out it looked just like any other college town in Texas does. It actually reminded me a lot of College Station, home to Texas A&M – Now, being a Longhorn fan, it is at this point that I would typically make a derogatory joke about the Aggies, but I have two nieces who attend that school now so I have to act supportive. (Shout out, Kristen and Kendahl!).

A couple of hours south of Tallahassee I realized my car’s motor was beginning to stutter slightly during acceleration. I figured it’d be a good idea to stop at the next town, Chiefland, and take a look at it.

I had real bad gas (petrol not intestinal) that I’d gotten from a Chevron in the middle of nowhere. Thankfully, a knowledgeable gentleman by the name of Stephen, at O’Reilly helped me ascertain the problem, and after a short delay I was back on the road again.

I made it to Clearwater right before sunset. I desperately wanted to get a shot of the beach at dusk and according to my maps app the causeway would be the fastest route. Memorial Causeway is essentially a tall bridge that connects Clearwater, the city to Clearwater, the beach. I parked at the foot of the bridge on the west side and was just in time to snap a few beautiful shots of the setting sun.

I didn’t really have a plan for Clearwater. I only wanted to go there because it is home to the original Hooters. Yes, I drove eight hours and 520 miles overnight to go to a Hooters!

So I drove to the beach to do some more sightseeing and get a feel for the town. Very tourist driven, Pier 60 was overrun with excursionist families. It was crowded and there were kids running around wildly. Not conducive to the mind-set I was trying to achieve. So I ventured out of the tourist traps and further into the meat of the city. That was more my speed. I casually strolled the streets while taking pictures of the scenery. I noticed Clearwater was clean and well manicured. I wanted to see it in the daylight. So that night, when I started to feel sleepy I found an abandoned parking lot and slept in my car for a few hours.

The temperature the next morning felt pleasant. Low humidity and a slight breeze made for a great morning drive back to the beach. My neck was stiff from the various contortions my body went through during the night while trying to find a comfortable sleeping position in my car. I hadn’t slept in an actual bed in almost a week so on the way to the beach I decided to treat myself to hotel room for that night.

I found a very reasonably priced Budget Inn four miles from the beach. It wasn’t the Four Seasons but it was good enough for this solitary traveler. My dear friend, Melissa however, would never stay there. (I’m pretty sure they had bed bugs!)

Shortly after I checked in to the motel I was beach-bound again. The water was too cold for swimming but there was no shortage of photo opportunities in every direction. Eventually I became aware of the salty, earthy, fish smells from the marina across the street. I ambled on over to have a look at the different boats docked there. Fishing boats, catamarans, sail boats, and even a speed boat were all at rest and softly rocking with the subtle, billowing waves. Fishermen were cleaning their catches as egrets and heron cautiously waited for any scrap to hit the boardwalk so they could swoop in and fly away.

I went back to my motel room early afternoon. In addition to not sleeping in a actual bed for almost a week, I had not watched any t.v. in almost as long. So I vegged out for a few hours. That night I would watch the eclipse, and create the beginnings of the blog that you are now reading.