Saturday

I was able to do storm clean up before sunset. I swept the entry, walkway, and driveway and then raked the yard. I filled up a 32 gallon container with debris. 

The weather was beautiful today. It started at 72 degrees on our early morning walk and got up to 80 degrees.

We decided on a whim to ride to Clearwater Beach on the route we took Pam last week: The 27-mile route on the barrier islands with a turn at Belleair Beach and then back to the Pinellas Trail and home.

First, we had to get past the Veterans Day run on the Pinellas Trail through Dunedin. It was tricky. 

Then we had to get through two street festivals, one in Dunedin and one in downtown Clearwater. The one in Dunedin was called Wine the Blues, a jazz festival.

It was good to see so many people outdoors enjoying the beautiful weather.

The shot above is overlooking the Imagine Clearwater renovation of the waterfront. They're making progress. The voters approved further land swaps and development in this week's election.

In the picture above from the Clearwater Beach causeway, you can see the Sand Key bridge to the right and in the distance the Belleair Bridge back to the mainland. These are the three main bridges we cross on this route. They are steep but provide beautiful views.

We saw the yacht, "Carte Blanche" at the Clearwater Harbor. Nice hot tub on the upper deck.

Clearwater Beach in the distance, as seen from the causeway.

That's the Belleair bridge in the far distance.

The Clearwater causeway bike trail is really nice.

Neptune hood ornament, as seen from the Clearwater causeway

Yours, truly enjoying the ride.

Passing the Clearwater Aquarium

Clearwater Beach was a little messy from Thursday's storm. Sand clung to the trees and bushes like snow.

Sand snow

The beach hadn't been raked yet.

But it's still very beautiful.

This shot is from the top of Sand Key bridge looking out of Clearwater harbor into the gulf.

Clearwater Beach from the Sand Key bridge

On Sand Key heading south to Belleair Beach

Sand Key from the Belleair bridge with the Gulf of Mexico in the distance.

Another shot of Clearwater harbor from the Belleair bridge, looking north. You can see the Clearwater causeway bridge in the far distance. That's the bridge we crossed earlier.

On the way home headed north on the Pinellas Trail, somewhere in Largo.

Because we didn't plan this bike ride until the last minute, we were a little unprepared. We didn't have enough water and no food. We were famished when we got home, so we ordered a Jet's pizza for lunch. We ate the whole thing, four pieces each.

We crashed after lunch and took a nap. We were exhausted.

Today's bike route to Clearwater Beach, Sand Key, Belleair Beach and the Pinellas Trail: 2 hours and 25 minutes.

Miles walked: 6

Miles biked: 26.81