........Sonia had the idea of us all going to CLEARWATER, FL (where she & Claudio had been several times before), because they loved the white sandy beaches, wildlife , and restaurants there. They even own a small 16 foot boat they dragged all the way there to use!! But that was nothing to them, because they dragged their boat all the way TO FLORIDA FROM MILWAUKEE, WI, behind their car, a trip of approx. ONE THOUSAND miles! (22 hours of driving ). We drove behind them all the way in 2005, to make sure all went well. So anyway, off we headed for Clearwater (2 hours drive from Orlando) where we hoped we would find GREAT SHELLS like this!! (Sonia found these on one of her trips to the Coast).

WE ALSO HOPED WE WOULD FIND BEAUTIFUL BIRDS LIKE THIS......AND

MAYBE EVEN HAVE A DOLPHIN ENCOUNTER OF THE CLOSE KIND!!

OF COURSE WE HOPED TO EAT SOME SCRUMPTIOUS FOOD IN THE MANY FINE RESTAURANTS THERE.....

AND WE WEREN'T DISAPPOINTED !!! WE HAD LESS THAN 3 DAYS THERE, BUT WE FOUND ALL OF THIS AND MORE!! WE ALSO MADE A STOP AT TAMPA ON OUR WAY HOME, WHERE WE CHECKED OUT THE CUBAN COMMUNITY & SHOPS IN "LITTLE CUBA". THE FOOD WAS GREAT, AND SO WAS THE COMPANY! IT WAS NICE TO BE WITH PEOPLE WHO KNEW THEIR WAY AROUND FLORIDA SO WELL, FOR HAVING BEEN THERE ONLY 2 YEARS.