Dunedin to Dunedin to Clearwater

OK...since our last installment, we haven't gone very far at all. The short version is that we left Marker 1 Marina, and drove all of about a mile and a half to the Dunedin Municipal Marina. This gave us access to downtown Dunedin, which is a really nice, quaint area for shopping, dining, and walking around. We stayed there one night, and then headed for Clearwater Beach Marina, which is where we have been parked for a few days, and will remain for a bit.

And now we're excited! Because, we've managed to arrange for our granddaughter to come for a visit before Christmas, and with the logistics involved, Clearwater Beach was the best choice for both proximity to airports and activities. So, we are here for at least another week, and looking forward to her visit this coming Saturday!

In the mean time, we've had some land based "adventures". Last Saturday, we figured out the Jolly Trolley (Clearwater area public bus system) and found our way from Clearwater back up to Dunedin...I guess our planning wasn't perfect on this one, for we could have just stayed where we were and avoided this little slice of adventure. Our reason for heading back up to Dunedin was to attend their Christmas Parade. And boy...was it ever a parade...much bigger than we had envisioned for this small town. There were thousands of people there!



Quite the crowd!

 

Nothing like a Coast Guard boat in a Christmas parade.

 

And where else in the world would you see a pink flamingo in a pink El Camino in a Christmas parade?!

 

And a minion in a monster truck?

 

Finally something that makes sense...Santa in a Fire Engine!

It really was quite a nice parade...lots of marching bands, and scout troops, and veterans, and kids dance groups, etc. It was a lot more fun than the time we spent trying to get there and back on the trolley. The parade lasted 2 hours or so, and we figure we spent 3 hours just trying to get there and back (and it is only about a 15 minute drive!). But it was all good!

And...we got back in time to see the Clearwater boat parade...right off the bow of our boat! No pictures worth sharing of this as the boats were moving too fast to get a clear picture of any of them at night. But there must have been 30 or 40 boats, and some of them were really elaborate...this was a real treat to see up close.

We've also spent some relaxing time cruising around the Clearwater Beach area...

Clearwater Beach on a clear calm day.

 


Just chillin' and having a Latte on the strip.

 

Sunrise over Clearwater