3:53 P.M.
When I think Honeymoon Island, I think of a lot of things but it�s not my first choice in beaches.
I used to go there as a kid. The beach is very small and it�s packed with sand, sand spurs, and dirt.
There are 2 lifeguards and there is only 1 bathroom. If you get hungry, there is a hot dog stand fully equipt with hot dogs that have been sitting on the grill for hours.
There's also a fair amount of rocks, bottle caps, broken shells, green water, sail boats, kayaks, angry families, loud children, and European tourists in Speedo�s. (The tourists always act like they have found a secret gem, like they are the first humans to inhabit a foreign planet.)
I think back to our trips to the beach as a kid. Amy's mom always took us to Honeymoon Island because she didn't feel like fighting the traffic to get onto Clearwater beach.
The summers were hot and consisted of the same ingredients every time. We�d cram everything into the car and drive with the windows down the whole way. It was hotter than hell and my legs stuck to the seat of the car.
The beach was pretty empty. There were no play grounds or awesome toys to play with. We would get there and want to go home right away.
We'd have a brown bag lunch with a warm bologna sandwich wrapped in tin foil, an ice-cold Capri sun, stale animal crackers, grapes, watermelon, and chips. It was only the highlight of the day if we could scarf down the lunch before the seagulls flew in for the kill. Those birds are fearless. They will fly right up and snatch the sandwich from your naive little fingers.
We would spend the entire day on the island and then when it was time to go home I was usually too tired to carry my things to the car. I would have much rather left my things there for the sea gulls to toss around.
It didn't matter how much sun screen I would cake on my body, I always managed to get burned to a crisp!
I used to hate that beach as a kid and I never really had the intent of going back to visit..
So today when I went to pick up Mike I had no intent to go to Honeymoon Island. We headed straight for Clearwater Beach. The clouds rolled in as soon as we got there. I offered to drive south to another beach and Mike mentioned Honeymoon Island.
�I used to work on Honeymoon for 2 years as a lifeguard, the showers always miss the island. Honeymoon is a safe bet.�
Ok, Ok� OKAY!
We went to Honeymoon.
He was right. The rain stayed south on Clearwater beach and we got a good hour of sun before the clouds rolled in.
We caught up on some stories, and sat there playing a silly game. We tried to determine where the tourists were from, based on their choice of beach attire.
Mike said, �This place is great. It's secluded. I actually think it�s better than Caladisi or Clearwater. There is so much to do. You can kayak, surf (when a good storm rolls in), swim, walk, or roller blade.
There is also a pet beach, and nature trails.
I had no clue they had nature trails. I knew they had trailer trash, but I figured nature, other than the birds, was pretty much extinct�
I hoestly wouldn't have gone down there with anyone else. Mike is fun to be around. It doesn't matter what you're doing, he's great for conversation.
The next time, If there is a next time, when I go down to that beach, I will have to bring the dog.
