As we were later into breakfast it was much busier. It was cheese omelette day as opposed to the scrambled eggs from the day before. We remembered to take our tea bags with us so we could have hot drinks with our food. It is strange that we must do that, just why they think people would only want a choice of fruit or perfumed teas rather than good old English breakfast I will never understand.
By 9.30am we were in the car with wheels rolling. Our first destination courtesy of a Groupon purchase was to be the Sunken Gardens in St Petersburg. Our expectations were low though as we had never heard of them and the fact, they were selling discounted tickets.
Probably because our expectations were so low, we were very pleasantly surprised. The Gardens are set in a 4-acre site and are one of Florida’s oldest roadside attractions. The gardens are lushly planted with tropical trees and plans intertwined with winding paths. It was quite lovely and we enjoyed our time there. The only downside is that I suffered a bout of sciatica in my left leg whilst there and I needed to sit a while until it passed. I have been told that it is caused through walking differently when my right knee hurts (which it did as a reaction to walking on the uneven sand yesterday).
Our next destination was a follow up from yesterday’s mystery regarding the Buccaneer Motel. Although the motel had been demolished, the 20ft pirate that had adjourned the top of the entrance had been saved and was now in the Treasure Island community park. We felt it only right that we should go and pay our respects to him. It was a short visit and disappointingly he did not remember us, but it was still nice to see that he was still going strong and is known as a piece of Roadside Americana.
Then it was time to head back to John’s Pass where we had booked an afternoon Dolphin Cruise. Unlike yesterday when nowhere was open, today when we arrived the place was buzzing with people everywhere. I also knew that I had no alternative other than to accept that I would have to pay for parking and this time we pulled into a multi-story car park at Hubbard’s Marina.
We checked in and 20 minutes later we were aboard the flat-bottomed boat as it pulled away from the dock. I knew the trip only went into the inter coastal waterway and was confident that I would not feel seasick.
Actually the 1 ½ cruise was very pleasant in the sunshine. There was a gentle breeze as we went along with a Jimmy Buffet soundtrack playing over the speakers. The highlights included watching for a baby dolphin play with a stick whilst its Mum watched from a distance and a manatee that came up a couple of times close to the boat. The crew provided an educational commentary and answered the many questions from the other American passengers. We kept our own counsel.
At 5.45pm we headed out again. Karen wanted a look round a Target so we drove to one that was less than 2 miles away. We were in there for a short while and bought a couple of things. There was another Dollar Tree door so we popped in as there had been a few things that Karen hadn’t been able to get previously.
I was now very full and regretting having eaten so late. We drove the 200 yards back to the Hotel where we chilled for a while watching a now working TV before retiring.