Indian Rocks Beach, Florida 2023
July 22, 2023 - Mom, Dad and I drove to meet Jen, Ava, and Legacy in Savanna, Georgia. Stacey flew into Florid early and was hanging out with David already. When the three of us got to Savanna, we stopped at a bar called Witt's. It was upstairs in a bar, but we were the only ones there because it was too early. When Jen and the rest of the gang got close, we met up and ate at a southern kitchen place. We walked around the harbor area. We found the Waving Girl statue and dad immediately posed for a photo. On our way out, we wanted ice cream, but ended up at Your Pie and some of us had gelato.
We found a hotel close by, we were all kind of tired from the driving and the heat.
The next day we finished our drive to Indian Rocks Beach. My cousin, David, moved nearby this area and we thought it would be fun to try out a new beach. We had a condo like place right on the beach. We had trouble parking but we made it work. Everyone met up at this point, Stacey and David included. Doug and Kelis didn't come for this vacation. The beach here was hot, but the sand wasn't really that bad. The water was actually a little rough when we arrived. Apparently, that almost never happens. It was still insanely warm. Like bath water. The water was clear, and you could see the bottom, but not so much on the first day.
On Sunday, we went to see the Tampa Bay Rays play the Baltimore Orioles. I was trying to get a coffee drink that had alcohol in it but I ended up getting a regular coffee and then a milkshake with alcohol. None of it was exactly what I wanted, but it was still fun. We tried to find the sting rays to pet but only Stacey found her way close enough to get a photo. They didn't let her pet them because she had a drink. Later on I got a plastic helmet full of popcorn as a souvenior.
I can't even remember who won, I think it was Baltimore. It's always fun to watch a live sporting event. After the game, we went back to the beach. Me, Stacey and mom went to the grocery store at some point, there was some rain every now and then. The water wasn't calm enough to be clear yet, I don't think.
One day, I went on a trip to the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary with myself. I stayed for a while, taking pictures of all the different birds. They had a lot of pelicans, and there were two different types, Brown and White pelicans. They did have seperate quarters for each group. It was a fairly small place, but birds kept coming and going. Not all of them were in cages. I stayed until the "feeding" which was unannounced and was just a guy feeding the pelicans. No information or anything like that, but it was neat to see. I got a light hoodie because I don't have a light hoodie. I went back to the condo and I think we ended up going to get more groceries.
Some of the photos are difficult to see correctly, I tried sorting them out, but oh well.
Most of the week was spent on the beach. I went snorkeling almost every day after it cleared up enough to see the bottom. We collected at least one hundred sand dollars. Stacey made us all dinner a few days and a few desserts as well. A lemor bar, something with apples, and muffins. I remembered something cool. There was one night when I stepped outside with some of the group and happened to be looking at the stars when a fireball appeared. It started out like a normal little shooting star but then it ended with a large fireball. Pretty wicked sight. Legacy was the only other one who saw it.
We watched all of the Jaws movies. We had Hershey's ice cream one day, and they had every flavor imaginable. I thought the wait would be long so i got moose tracks before it got busier. There was no wait, I could have tried anything, We went out to eat once for dinner. We picked an Italian restaurant of some kind. It was fairly fancy but not too expensive. I think i had fried eggplant or something. Very satisfying crunch.
I got everyone tickets to see The Barbie movie at a Studio Movie Grill which is like an Alamo or a Cinema Cafe I guess. So we met up, everyone but dad, and got to enjoy the movie and be served food and drinks. Was a fun time. I had a drink called Green With Envy. Delightful. The movie was funny and then it was serious and almost too heavy.
As you can see, it was a cozy theatre. We all got photos in the barbie box but David said he wasn't dressed for that.
By the last day, we had played Clue, Scattergories, Telestrations, the other one that is like scattergories, some trivia and finished a puzzle. We even got to hear a new song by Paul Simon that Stacey loved...lol, no it was a sharing of a nightmare of hers. Wristband, my man, you gotta have a wristband. You gotta listen to it on repeat for an hour to get the most out of it.
Being able to see the sunset on the ocean was really neat. Don't look at the sun but look at the sun. It's a confusing battle for your eyes and brain.
We went our separate ways on the 29th, such a sad thing to do. We drove all the way home in one trip. Me and my parents stopped at a cracker barrel in Savanna for some food. I wanted an apple cider, but I guess that's not a thing anymore. They did have veggie sausage, which was just one of those frozen patties. I bought a stuffed squid from the gift shop.
Overall, the trip was a lot of fun. The drive was a pain, but it came and went. Getting to enjoy a completely different beach from the Outer Banks area was cool. Not literally, of course. I'm going to miss being able to snorkel and see the little sea creatures living their lives on the sea floor.
I can't wait to see what next year brings.
Pjyama Shark I outlined and colored in Photoshop one day