Our search for a winter nesting spot and possible retirement place if we ever hang up the keys is basically a process of elimination. While we haven’t found “the place” that is right for us yet, we have crossed several possibilities off the list.
After our most recent day trip we have now ruled out all of the Gulf Coast north of Tampa to the Big Bend where the Panhandle begins. We’ve looked at all the small towns from Cedar Key to Dunedin and just haven’t found what we’re looking for.
Yesterday we explored the area around Hudson, New Port Richey, and further south. Traffic on US Highway 19, the main north-south route, is heavy and there was a lot of road construction going on, making it no fun to drive on. And the few beaches we were able to find were narrow to nonexistent.
About the best beach we found was at Honeymoon Island State Park, and while the park’s website makes it look attractive, it’s actually a very narrow strip of sand, and even on a weekday there were a lot of people. There’s no way we’d have enough room to fly our Revolution kites there.
The other day somebody on Facebook said that there’s more to life than kite flying and I promptly unfriended them. I just don’t need that kind of negativity in my life.
The tide was on its way out and I managed to take a couple of pictures with my phone, but the sun was reflecting off the back screen and it wasn’t until we got home that I realized I had captured this seagull flying by.
Wanting a quicker route home than fighting all of the traffic on US 19 again, we crossed over to Interstate 75, which was faster but had even more traffic. It was about 6 o’clock when we got back to Wildwood and I didn’t think Miss Terry should have to cook after a busy day like that, so we went to Beef O’Brady’s for dinner. We have become a fan of this small restaurant chain, and have eaten at several of their locations in Florida and other places.
I think today will be another day out, doing some more exploring. Bike Week is going on in Daytona, which is just north of New Smyrna Beach, our favorite location so far. There are thousands of bikers over there and I know traffic is going to be terrible, so I don’t think we’ll go that far. But we may explore some of the communities a half hour or so East, like DeLand and Deltona. That’s about as far from the beaches as we’re willing to settle for.
The good news is that even when we strike out and cross another area off of our list, we still have a lot of fun just being together and seeing new places. It’s nice to be married to your best friend!
Thought For The Day – I’m working on earning my second million dollars. I finally gave up on the first one.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
Deland is a lovely college town. A good place to eat is De La Vega if you like Latin food. The downtown has all the shops needed to occupy an afternoon. We love Cedar Key but you really have to like being remote and planning your shopping!
Have you looked at the Sarasota/Bradenton area? Siesta Key Beach is very highly rated, but there are other beach access areas that are awesome. There’s great kayaking, including the mangrove tunnels. Sarasota County has a guide to kayaking routes. There are so many restaurants and entertainment venues of all types.
This area has a lot to offer. Feel free to contact me.
It is so refreshing to hear about your love for your wife. There is so much marital negativity in the news, etc. I hope you live a long, long time together.
It’s hard to find the right spot with all the “must-haves”. I have to admit I’m getting pretty discouraged. When you find the perfect spot, maybe I’ll love in next door! LOL
We have friends in Deland out in the country. Peaceful.
There aren’t too many places that have the wide beaches like you used up in Oregon. Don’t stop looking but its a hard thing to find. Last fall we spent several days at Pompano Beach and thought it was a wonderful beach. Were staying at an Encore park. The west coast of Florida is nice but we don’t have the waves that exist on the east coast. If you continue to cross things off the list your next choice just might be Sarasota to Fort Myers on the west coast and Fort Pierce to West Palm on the east coast. Good Luck.
Great suggestions others have been sending you – if we hadn’t already found what we think is ideal for us, we’d be checking out some of those other areas. Not sure if you’ve checked out Cocoa (inland from Cocoa Beach about 10 miles). I’d sent you an email about our area and what we found back about a month ago when you were having email issues so it may have gotten lost in cyberspace. If you want more info about this area, let us know. Being close to the VA in Viera is one of the many reasons we chose here. Good luck – it certainly is fun looking!
Lucille is righ about Cocoa Beach. Also check out St. Augustine and Conch Island. But I’m still partial to Sarasota County.