Monday

We heard about a long bike route from one of our causeway buddies, and we've been wanting to ride it ever since. Today was the day! First we went to Clearwater on the Pinellas Trail, then we crossed the sound to Clearwater Beach, then crossed another bridge to Sand Key, then Belleair Beach, then crossed another bridge back to the mainland. A few miles inland, we ran into the Pinellas Trail and took it back home to Dunedin.  (Map below, keep reading) The view above is from the Clearwater Beach bridge, looking towards to gulf. 

Pam on the Pinellas Trail. She had a big girl bowl of cereal with cottage cheese and fruit. We packed a banana, and she brought an energy bar.

John on the Pinellas Trail. We packed two water bottles per person. The temperature reached the mid 80s by the time we were through. The breeze was light, about 4 mph.

John going through downtown Clearwater.

Pam finally got to experience the corkscrew at the Clearwater bridge.

Clearwater Harbor

The famous Clearwater Beach, pier 60.

Pam at the beach

Our first bathroom break. A tourist offered to take our picture.

Happy 30th Anniversary 

The Sand Key bridge that connects Clearwater Beach to Sand Key

Same bridge looking back at Clearwater Beach

Here's a picture of the Sand Key bridge from the Clearwater bridge.

This is a shot from the Belleair bridge, looking south.

Belleair bridge looking north

We stopped at the top of all the bridges to catch our breath, regroup, and hydrate.

John got this amazing picture of a squirrel in Downtown Dunedin. Isn't it beautiful?

Pam, rounding the last corner into our driveway, over 27 miles!

I'm so proud of her. She hasn't ridden a bike since June, she said. And it was an electric bike. This one was all her.

This was our route.

After we got home, we were starving. We had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and fruit because it was the quickest thing we had available.

After lunch, Pam read a bit and then both of them took naps. I headed to the gym, because it's gym day, right?

Nice and shaded, a pleasant 82 degrees.

We got takeout from Con Sabor. I mistakenly said that the green sauce was mild. Pam put it all over her burrito and then took a huge bite. In the picture above, she's crying from the heat.

I didn't have any of the hot sauce, so I have no excuse for the goofy picture.

After dinner, we walked Toby and spoke to the trick or treaters and neighbors. In Florida, most people sit outside with buckets or tables of treats. Our neighbor's t-shirt is decorated with dachshunds dressed for Halloween.

After we walked Toby, we headed to a neighborhood party in our golf cart.

We enjoyed the decorations on the way home.

I think we'll all sleep well tonight.

Today's bike routes to Clearwater Beach, Belleair Beach, Largo, and Weaver Park

Miles walked: 4.6

Miles biked: 32.70

Sunday

We made it to the Francis Wilson Playhouse for The Drowsy Chaperone musical within a one man play.

The venue is right off the Clearwater harbor, just 5 miles from our house. It was a 2:00 matinee, so we went in shorts and flips, Florida style. 

The message of the play within the play is that life often goes wrong, not living up to expectations, and that’s why we need the theater (especially musicals), because you can depend on them having happy endings. Those happy endings help take away the stings and disappointments of life when you can escape into the magical worlds of the theater.

One poignant moment is when a character drops his walking stick at a crucial line when the heroine can’t make up her mind whether she has found true love or not, leaving it ambiguous. Is the line: “Live, while you still can.” Or is it: “Leave, while you still can.” The message is that even when we get the crucial answer we need, it’s often unclear. The heroine decides to move forward the best that she can, and that’s the message to the audience.

Here’s a shot inside before the play. It was a full house for the last performance of the run. We were all impressed with the quality of the production and look forward to going with our neighbors in December to see Once Upon a Mattress. 

Morning walk around the neighborhood under beautiful blue skies. The temperature today ranged from 70 degrees to 83.

Pam working on her art project 

Pam and Toby getting along

He can’t snuggle any closer.

We’ll, he’s found a way to get even closer. I think they now trust each other.

Pam got the border put together. It’s going to be a tough puzzle.

Here’s the famous Seurat painting we’re working on: A Sunday on La Grande Jatte

Miles walked: 6.7

Miles biked: 0

Saturday

We've had a busy day. We took the golf cart to preview the Halloween Festival at Highlander Park tonight. They're expecting 2,000 people. 

Pam did a great job driving us and learning how to do one-pedal driving and backing up to park in our garage.  We had our tunes blasting.

We walked all over the grounds and saw the booths being set up.

We probably saw more this afternoon in the daylight than most people will see tonight.

The drum corps was practicing as we walked through the park.

After our morning causeway walk, we picked up Toby and took the go cart to Bambino's for pizza. 

Pam and I rode in the back while John and Toby rode in the front.

Our view riding backwards with pizza boxes in our lap.

This morning, we rode our bikes to the causeway and walked from the drawbridge to the ticket booths at the entrance to Honeymoon Island. Pam did it on three bites of a banana, orange juice, and coffee.  But we did not have to call 911. She did great.

Pam spotted the rowers in the sound.

Low tide made islands in the sound.

Toby finally accepted Pam as a member of his pack.

He's getting a medicated shampoo tonight. His little bumps are plentiful. He hasn't gotten his naps today, so he's been a general banana head all day.

We did some furniture rearranging to get a better idea of scale and what might work in the sunroom. It's a tricky room to furnish. We made some headway.

Miles walked: 10.6

Miles biked: 5.27