Sanibel to St. Pete

April 23, 2021

Sanibel to St. Pete

It was just over a year ago, the day I was scheduled to board a plane and fly to St. Petersburg to attend the annual season opening Indy Car race when the word came at the very last minute that the race was canceled due to then then fresh Covid-19 Pandemic and I canceled the trip and pretty much everything else since then. Now, though the pandemic is still actually still going fairly strong, things have begun to reopen and this year’s St. Pete race was to go on as scheduled, with restrictions on crowd size and other Covid protocols in place such as masks required in the grounds and the Indy Car paddock and pits off limits to visitors.

This year, rather than fly, I opted to rent a car and drive over via Alligator Alley so that I could make a couple of stops along the way, including a visit to Sanibel Island, a place I had not been in some twenty years. Both Kathy and I are now fully vaccinated along with about 30 percent of all adults in the United States so we are feeling pretty good about slowly resuming a more regular life even though the pandemic still rages. There have been 32,477,368 confirmed cases in the United States with 577,671 deaths. Here in Monroe County, Florida there have been 6,931 cases with 3,239 of those being here in Key West and 49 deaths.

I must say it felt great cruising across the state with the top down on my Chevy Camaro rental car, I drove the slow route across US 41 to take in the ambiance of the Everglades and Big Cypress Preserve stopping for the evening in Ft. Myers just across the causeway from Sanibel. I was up early the next morning as I wanted to get over to Sanibel and do some exploring but even early there was a huge snarl of traffic both going into and on the island. I guess Key West is not the only island in Florida overrun with tourists.

This time though, I was among the tourists and my first stop was at the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. I had been here once before long ago when I worked at Reef Relief and had loved the place, it was teeming with all manner of wildlife and it really made a mark on me and I have vowed to return ever since. Well I was back and this time I slowly drove the wildlife loop road stopping to observe the many birds, alligators and other creatures that inhabit the refuge.

Perhaps it is a seasonal thing, but there were not nearly as many birds either variety or individuals as had been here when I last visited. Still there was plenty to see and I just had an amazing time driving around, stopping to look and taking in the beautiful location. Though the island was packed, the refuge was just that a refuge from the throngs as very few other visitors were there while I was visiting.

After a visit to a cool wildlife rescue center called CROW, my next stop was at the amazing beach and famous Sanibel Lighthouse. Located on the Eastern tip of the island, the Lighthouse Beach and Park is a beautiful spot, highlighted by the 120 year-old lighthouse. Built in 1884 the lighthouse is a cool backdrop to the incredible beach and fishing pier that always draws a crowd. Renowned for the incredible seashells that wash ashore, people flock to the beach at sunrise and after high tides to scour the area for seashells.

I spent the better part of the morning and afternoon on Sanibel before hitting the road north across the Sunshine Skyway bridge and into St. Pete where I had the evening to myself to explore an area of town that I had previously missed out on, The Grand Central area that is packed with cool restaurants, bars and my favorite, breweries.

I stopped first at a cool dog bar, much like the one I visited last month in Winston-Salem this place was packed with frolicking dogs and their owners. I sure wish there was a place like that here in Key West. I explored next the collection of Breweries all within a short distance of each other including the Grand Central Brewery, Cage Brewing, Pinellas Ale Works and my favorite a tiny brewery called If I Brewed the World Brewery.

The small batch brewery had the best tasting beer of the bunch and a resident friendly cat named Nettie that took an instant fancy to me which was awesome. Overall it was just an awesome day and the main attraction, the race had not even begun their first practice. 

https://www.fws.gov/refuge/JN_Ding_Darling/

https://www.ifibrewedtheworld.com/