A Very Active Day!

 I got up at 6:15 and got ready to go to play pickleball.  I forgot that they only start playing at 8.  So I packed my lunch and fruit for Ken and I.  Ken was up at 7 and we left to go for a walk around the CG.  From 8 to 9 I played pickleball and had a great time.  Ken has a sore heel, so he wants to give it a rest from pickleball.  While I was gone he did some clean-up and got things together for our trip to Gasparilla Island and the town of Boca Grande.    

Ernie and Noela picked us up at 10 and we put our bike rack and bikes on their truck and headed to Gasparilla.  It is such a beautiful, upscale area.  We parked at 9th Street and then rode bike into Boca Grande.  From there we headed to the end of the island to Gasparilla State Park, where we walked the beach and checked out the lighthouse.  By then it was lunchtime, so we rode back to the truck, got our lunches, and enjoyed them while sitting on the beach.  We found a few sharks teeth, but very few!!!

We checked out the beach as soon as we got to Gasparilla!

Standing on the wall at Gasparilla State Park!

From Gasparilla State Park you can see over to Cayo Costa!

The current day lighthouse!

Riding from the park towards the 1928 lighthouse!  It is fairly
rusty and in need of repair!

The Cuban Locust trees were beautiful and unique!  Look
like Banyon trees!

This is the old Railroad Station in Boca Grande!  There is a
Cafe and other shoppes!

The trails and roadways here are amazing!  We were on the
bike and golf cart trail, to the right is the walking trail, and
the roads for cars are on either side!

The beach had lots of shells and pretty white sand!
Lots of waves too, which is unusual for the Gulf!

Noela found a beautiful live starfish that she threw back
in the water!

This is a large Spanish type home right off the beach!

Back on the bikes to head back to Boca Grande to get some "Amish Ice Cream". Don't know what part of it was Amish, but so it goes!!!!  Then we rode to the other end of Gasparilla to the Harbor.  We were back to the truck by 4:30 after riding about 15 miles.  Made a stop at Wal-Mart for groceries and got back to the CG at 6, happy but tired.

Ken and I made large salads for dinner, showered, and relaxed.  All of this activity had us tired!!!  Maybe we need to slow down tomorrow!