January 30, 31, 2013. St. Pete's Beach and Wind, Wind, Wind

Today's plan was to take the ferry to Egmont Key to hike and visit an historic site. We rode our bikes up to the pier and as we peddled against strong winds, I began to have doubts about the ferry. When we reached the dock, the first thing we noticed were big waves pounding on the beach. It was much windier here than at the campground. A sign indicated that the ferry would not be running today due to high winds. In spit of the winds it was hot, around 80 degrees.

Plan B was to drive into St. Pete's Beach to explore the town. Breaking camp is easy with the Westy: roll up the awning, put the top down and go! 

We found a great coffee shop where we enjoyed Internet access and a good cup of coffee. When we finished here it was time for lunch. I had surfed TripAdvisor for recommendations and fortunately one of the seafood restaurants recommended was a few doors down from the coffee shop. After a delicious shrimp lunch we drove to the beach and walked off some of those lunchtime calories. St. Pete's Beach is beautiful, with miles of white sand and warm water. 

We returned to the campground, feeling sunburned, windburned and weary. It was another great day. However, the night was another matter.

The winds were still fairly strong when we went to bed but since they were in a southerly direction we were sheltered. At about one am we were awakened by a crashing sound. The wind had shifted to the north and with the shift came rain and more wind. The awning took a direct hit and hence the crashing sound. We quickly got the awning rolled up, but not without damage to two poles. Back in bed, I wondered how the testers next to us we're doing as the rain poured down and the wind howled.

We woke up to a sunny, but very windy, cool Thursday. We will wait until the wind subsides later today before we attempt a repair to the awning. Lesson learned: when there are heavy winds and even if you feel protected, ROLL  UP THE AWNING! 

I was intrigued by the behavior of the birds this morning. Normally there are lots, but they are not all together. This morning I noticed a  swath of black on the water, moving ever so slowly and realized that it was about 500 birds huddled together, letting the wind bring them into the bay. Hard to believe that it is too windy for the birds to fly.

Tomorrow we return to Venice for the month of February. Have I mentioned lately how much I love retirement?