Waking up in a New Day and a New Place: St. Petersburg, Florida

After a decent hotel breakfast at the Hyatt Place in Downtown St. Petersburg, it's time to go for a walk. We do a lot of walking on trips for two reasons: exercise and exploration.

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While our hotel in this Tampa Bay city is not on the waterfront, it's only a short block away. At the north end of the waterfront is the huge, pink, and old Vinoy Park Hotel. Tim repeatedly tells us that it has a haunted history.

The lobby reminds me of another historic hotel close to home, the Mission Inn in Riverside, California, and signs abound saying "no photos or autographs," which explains the lack of lobby photos in this post.

The Atlanta Braves are staying here while they're in town to play the Tampa Bay Rays. We see no one looking familiar or anyone else we'd even imagine asking for a signature.

Back outside, we continue along to a short peninsula jutting into the inlet here. This jay is brave enough to park next to my shoulder to pose for a picture.

We're now in Vinoy Park which has a pretty path along the water leading north to Vinoy Beach.

I hear a splash in the water below the wall where I'm standing. Could it be one of the state's manatees that I have yet to see? Naw, it's just a few dolphins cavorting a few feet below me in the bay.

Continuing on along the seawall, we come along the beach, just past a dead stingray in the water.

Beyond the view of death, the beach is very pretty and a few people are venturing out into the water on this quiet morning.

Tim and I find a storm drain leading into the bay that we can roll out on to get a better view.

Circling back, we come across the Gizella Kopsick Arboretum.

Wheelchair accessible paths let us wind through the hundreds of different species of palm trees on display here.

Easily getting our ten thousand steps in on this beautiful morning, we go back to downtown to get a light lunch. Now, we'll rest up a bit before going to our game here tonight.

Darryl Musick
Copyright 2018 - All Rights Reserved

Photos by Letty Musick
Copyright 2018 - All Rights Reserved