Walk in the park - Circle B Bar Ranch

No alarm for the first time in a few days.

We can only eat so much food in a day so we skip the hotel breakfast so we are hungry enough to eat lunch at 11 AM. We drive to Lakeland ... Florida.

1st stop was the Cozy Oaks restaurant for food. They had about 20 tables crammed in their little shop. When we got there, there was a line but they said the wait would be about 15 minutes. Counting the people ahead of us, that would mean that over half the people eating would be done and gone. And they were.

Good food, we both had breakfast.

2nd stop was the Circle B Bar Ranch. A repeat for us. Too cool today. 50 <> degrees with a wind. Not too cool for us, we were dressed for it. To cool for the crocodiles. We did not see any today. Did see lots of birds. Huge flocks of them in places.

The hike we did today was about 2 miles based on map-my-walk. There likely is not three feet elevation change. Everything is just above water level. The first few feet are paved, but after that it is mud or dirt.

Today was the first day we have seen crocodile signs ... warning of crocodiles ... on the path so maybe they have been out recently.

Parking was the most crowded we've ever seen it but we still did not meet vary many groups of people.

No fee for parking, no fee for admission.

It had started to rain by the time we left the reserve and was raining harder once we were traveling. Shortly after we got on the freeway I saw flashing lights coming. And then they stopped before they got to us. It was the first rescue vehicle on the scene of a roll over. By the time we got near, I could see the crew by the car but no one that looked like they had been in the car so I'm guessing they were still in there.

From the park we headed to our next hotel. We have finally had to decide where it will be.

Clearwater. We have stayed at another one in Clearwater a couple of times but we had to pay for parking.

3rd stop was the Comfort Inn in Clearwater. No rooms on the bottom floor, that is where some parking is. The first room they gave us had to single beds. So we didn't even set foot in the room. We had requested a king bed.

Once we were checked in, we went across the street to the Edgewater Drive Park. A narrow strip of land between the street and the water ... and a path. Another mile plus walk, the second in one day. This one is all paved and with no elevation change. There is a place to park for free at the south end of the park or park on any city street and cross the road to get to it. The park is a little over a mile long.

At the end of the day we drove about a mile and a half to a place called Fish Camp. They did have one burger but everything else was fish. So a burger is what I had ... and key lime pie to go.

On the way back to the hotel, the sun was just setting so BB got a few pictures out the car window. There are buildings on an island to our west so not really sun setting over the ocean/gulf pictures.

We've decided not to spend the day in the car tomorrow so we will be doing something close by, depending on who much it rains. Forecast is for rain all day ... an hour to the north of us and an hour to the south of us. No planning on leaving yet so for work it would have to be the perfect trip for us to leave on Tuesday.