Liz and Ben do St Petersburg Florida 2023

catfish It was Ben's last chance to go fishing today so we set off at about 10.30 am as the weather forecast was for the wind speed to increase in the afternoon. It was quite windy when we arrived at the pier but Ben managed to find a spot which he thought would allow him to get lots of bites. I  set off for a walk along the shore line. The wind was blowing off the sea and the waterline was much further up the beach than when I had previously been there. The temperature was very pleasant with the sun and breeze. I walked for a couple of hours and on my return found Ben chatting to a Geordie couple who were also on holiday. Ben said the wind direction had changed and was getting less strong. I read for a while and Ben caught a few fish (8 in all, he said) but they were too small to keep so were passed on to someone who would eat them. I then went for another walk along the beach in the other direction. When I got around the corner it was completely sheltered with no wind at all. I c

ball heading for the water! Today was a golf day. We played at Seminole Lake Country Club which was probably the most expensive course we have played at on this holiday. It was in very good condition so worth the money. As fitting to the course name, there was a lot of water to avoid.  One par 3 had a 190 yard carry over water.  We saw a couple of small alligators. alligator alert We were partnered with a family of 3, Kenny, Amber and their son, Carter. Until we started it wasn't obvious which 2 of the three were actually playing. They were all 3 in one buggy and it transpired that Amber was the driver of the buggy and Kenny and Carter were playing. Kenny was a good golfer and Carter was one of 80 children nationally who represents the under 9s in their Drive, Chip and Putt scheme for children. He has played at Augusta, Pebble Beach, Pinehurst and Torrey Pines in under 9s competitions. I was completely out of my depth but I hit the ball better towards the end of the round when it w

It has been very windy today but sunny and warm. We went to Walmart to do some shopping this morning. I wanted to look at the clothes and shoes, but when you see the people shopping it puts you off altogether! a windy sunset This afternoon we walked down to the beach and met 3 widows who are holidaying together from New Hampshire. Two of them had been to England and they all wanted to know about our "english" way of life. The main topic was the royal family with the coronation coming up and the peripheral royals. We decided to walk back via the other swimming pool which was more sheltered than the one by the beach. On the way we noticed an osprey's nest at the top of a tree. We could see a head looking over the side of the nest and by the noise coming from the nest we thought it must be a baby. we had the more sheltered pool to ourselves! a young osprey screeching for food. We walked back to the beach to see the sunset this evening and if we had stayed longer I would have

We have had a quiet day today. Despite the temperatures being in the 80s, it has been cloudy with lightning and thunder in the distance and the odd spot of rain. The forecast is for one more cloudy, possibly wet day tomorrow and then we should be back to sunny days. After lunch we eventually walked to our beach which at first was deserted but gradually more people appeared.  Osprey We sat and admired the view out to sea of the lightning, boats bobbing on the water and the seabirds for a couple of hours. Ben got a good photo on his mobile phone of an Osprey perched on a house roof close to our beach.  Eventually the rain drops got bigger and more frequent so we walked back to our apartment. Supper was New York Strip Steak, which was excellent!

Mangrove Lake There was heavy overnight rain yesterday but it had all dried up by this morning. It was cloudy, though, and we weren't sure if there was going to be more rain today. There were eventually some patches of blue sky so we decided to book golf for the afternoon at Mangrove Bay where we played on Wednesday. Today we were joined by 2 men, young compared to us, who were good golfers but as usual quite wayward, one more so than the other. They were good company and needed to be as the pace of play was very slow. Our tee time was 2.15pm and we finished at 6.55pm. There was nearly a bust up as there were a couple of young lads playing in front of us with music blaring from their buggy. The 2 men behind us were cross because of the slow play and there was an altercation between the 2 men behind and the 2 lads. It all ended amicably but the music continued for the rest of the round. Ben played well today, I don't think I have ever topped so many balls. Possibly I was intimid

First catch The weather seems to be changing. There are 2 or 3 rainy days forecast but still high temperatures. Today was a hot sunny start but the wind gradually increased on the coast and the skies clouded over-still with temperatures in the mid 80s. It turned out to be a fishing day. We went to the Fort de Soto park and Ben fished from the end of the pier. I went for a long walk along the shoreline to where the beach is closed to the public as it turns to a nature reserve. I was just turning round when a man asked me if I had seen the manatees. He said he and his friend had been swimming in the sea and a group of about 20 manatees had come and was swimming with them. He pointed them out to me and I could see their huge black bodies just below the surface of the water. I tried to film them but they were too far to show in a photograph. We returned to our apartment and had tea but it was too cloudy for a sunset this evening. any spare bait or fish!