Peaceful End to a Beautiful Day
Clearwater Beach, Florida
There's nothing like visiting an old friend, and to me, Clearwater Beach is an old friend. Spending well over 40 vacations on this little island has made it a kind of second home - a familiar place with lots of friends. In this case, my friends were the motels and businesses (and a few people who would visit each year).
It was always interesting to see how things in Clearwater Beach changed from year to year, which hotels and restaurants changed names, remodeled, got new pools and paint jobs. Lately lots of the little motels have been bought out by developers who intend to build condos in their place. With all the construction and change, we decided to stay a few miles south where things are still at a slower pace.
It's still nice to stop by Clearwater Beach and walk along the shore where I first set foot in the Gulf of Mexico, built my first sand castle, casted my first fishing line, watched the fishing boats come in, collected brochures with my brother, found bags and bags of seashells, watched countless thunderstorms over the Gulf, enjoyed Howard Johnson's hot fudge sundaes, chased lizards, learned to swim..................
Anyway, it was great to walk along that beach again - even if it looks so much smaller now as compared to Treasure Island!
