Beach Day

Growing up in Florida, I wasn't much of a beach bum. I rarely, if ever, went to the beach. My kids wanted to go today since it's a novelty to them. When I was little, the beach was there. It was a normal every day thing. No big deal. We decided today to go to Caladesi Island. This was actually a place I mainly went with my grandmother when she visited. It's only accessible by boat (well... actually, since 1985, you can walk from Clearwater beach, but it's a long walk) so we headed out today on the ferry.

It was heavenly. We got an umbrella for my mom to sit under, and the kids played in the shallow and surprisingly clear water. Now, in "Clearwater" the water is not clear. But over here on Caladesi it was. The shelling was incredible. We found several sand dollars that weren't alive, yet were whole. I found a nice sized conch and even found a live sea urchin! The urchin obviously went back into the water. We were there for four hours. It was so pleasant to sit on the beach . It wasn't hot. It wasn't cool. There was a great breeze coming in too. My daughter even found a little playmate under the umbrella next to us.

I was surprised to hear that Caladesi is ranked as one of the "Best Beaches" at first. It's always been right there and I never gave it much though. However, after my visit today, I suppose I can see what others see in it. It's quiet, restful, nice water, activities and lots of great shells.
We are definitely going to add Caladesi to our list of things to do in the future. It was SO much better than Honeymoom Island or Clearawater Beach.