A visit to Lantana, Florida and the Atlantic Ocean!

After we spent some time in the Tampa area, and at the Homosassa Springs area,

we went to the east coast to visit a dear friend in Lantana, Florida

and an Aunt in West Palm Beach.

As much as I love the Gulf waters, the Atlantic ocean was wonderful, too...

and the water was warmer.

So today, I am posting some random pictures of Lantana and the ocean there.

There is a lovely pier there and the pelicans like to land on the pier awnings:

I spied this little one playing on the beach..so focused! His mom was sitting up to the left keeping her eye on him, but he looked so cute, I had to use my long lens to capture him:

People and birds walking by the pier:

Chairs waiting for you and me!:

A hungry bird eating on the pier!:

We went here for breakfast..a wonderful place!:

Sun, sand, birds, ocean and people walking the beach...a lovely day!:

His big sister joined him in playing in the sand...

All kinds of these black capped seagulls on the shore:

Ocean waves!:

The Pier!:

If we would have had more time, I would have wanted to have a go

at that fishing pole!:

Can you hear the waves and the seagulls?:

We took a lovely stroll all the way down the pier, talked to some fisherman and visited the pelicans on the arched covers!:

I ADORE this picture of my friend Maureen picking seashells along the shore...

her hat was so cute:

Hello, Cutie Pie!:

What a wonderful face!:

Wonder what kind of sea vessels hooked up to this old chain pole. If only it could talk:

Under the pier:

(Look again at the top right of the picture, right under the pier floor..is that a man's ghost?)

This sunset picture is a trick picture.

Do you know why?:

Because the sun does not set on the ocean in Lantana..it is on the EAST coast of Florida...it gets sunRISES on the ocean...
this photo is actually a sunset on the GULF.

(Just wanted to mess with your head to see if you were paying attention!)

Have a great day everyone!!



Florida Vacation Photos: Part THREE

If you haven't read Part One and Part Two of

our Florida VA-Kay photos,

just drop down to the two previous bloposts

and enjoy.

For the rest of us, let's continue, shall we?

We wanted to book in a small hotel, with a kitchenette.

I had gone on line and spotted a 60's feel, quaint little hotel

right on the beach.

St. Pete Beach.

Which is really close to Madeira Beach, where my daughter lives.

I had read all of the reviews that former guests had made regarding the little gem called Plaza Beach Hotel.

They said it was quaint, and clean, and reasonable.

They were right!

Smack in the middle of all the high rises on Gulf Boulevard on St. Pete Beach, we pulled into this little hotel:

Isn't it adorable?

And it was clean!

The room had a full-sized refrigerator, a kitchenette, a nice big room and cute bathroom.

And we could be on the beach in less than 60 seconds!

So we threw our suitcases in the corner, changed clothes and ran straight out to see the view.

Here is looking left down the beach from the hotel:

And, here is looking right from the front of the hotel:

To this northern girl, it was all I needed! Wonderful, bright sand and ocean as far as I could see!



Notice, there wasn't many people?

It is because it was COLD by Florida standards.

The first day, we hit 70F degrees.

It was downhill from there for a few days (which I will talk about later), but still,

it WAS the ocean!

And it was a heck of a lot warmer than Upper Michigan.

We did not mind an empty beach at all. We took many long walks on the beach, admiring the scenary:

And these Cuties:

Don't you just love their black crew-cut hairdo?





And they had THESE.....
Just ready for relaxation and a good book....





Until you spied one of THESE:

An Anole.
They are everywhere.
But don't worry.
The picture makes them look HUGE.
Actually, they are very tiny and very fast.
And more scared of YOU than you are of THEM.
I thought they were kind of cute.



We saw lots of fun flowers and plants to look at and photograph while we were there too.
Like this one, growing wild.
I used to have a houseplant like it:



And one of the FAVORITE things I like about Florida
is its BIRDS.
(There are many blogposts coming with photos of the birds).
(Because I just can't help myself!)

When we took ocean walks, we saw a lot of different kinds of seagulls:

They would chase the waves.

So would I, if I was a bird.

Wait.

Come to think of it,

I DID chase the waves...



And did I mention the Anoles????

Stay tuned for more photos........................

I hope it makes your cold winter day seem warmer.

It is really cold here with minus zero temps. at night this week.

So these can be an escape for a few minutes....

Now, excuse me while I tighten up the Snuggie around me, and go back to my book...