Clearwater, FL and travel home - Nov 12-13, 2022 - Celebrity Constellation - Penthouse Experience - Western Caribbean Cruise

Our goal for today was to get to the beach but first we needed breakfast so we headed to the hotel lobby for the included breakfast which turned out to be one of the best breakfasts we have had in a hotel.  They brought in fresh donuts and even had gluten free and dairy free options (Udi's muffin) plus turkey sausage so I had more to eat than normal.  Then we headed to the coast to Sand Key Beach, just south of the touristy Clearwater Beach.

It was a beautiful morning with temperatures in the mid-70s.  The sun was shining although there were occasionally clouds that would give us breaks from the heat of the sun (with no wind and high humidity, the 70s felt like upper 80s with the sun).  We didn't swim - we were looking for birds and to just walk - but I did wade in the water a bit and the water was so nice and warm.  I'll let the photos speak for themselves. 

Sanderling

Ruddy Turnstones

Laughing Gull

Willet

Laughing Gull

Ruddy Turnstone

Brown Pelican

I'm not expert but I think water is required to make a wake.  😂
I imagine Hurricane/Tropical Storm Nicole likely pushed this on shore.

A group of mostly terns with a couple gulls in the middle

Royal Terns - The left may be a baby.

Forester's Tern

Sandwich Tern

Herring Gull (large one in the middle)

Semipalmated Plover

Ruddy Turnstone

Semipalmated Plover

Willet

American Oystercatcher

Semipalmated Plover

American Oystercatcher

Black Bellied Plover (non-breeding plumage)

Great Blue Heron

For lunch, we found some great Mexican food at Jake's Coastal Cantina.

After lunch, we headed to the Florida Botanical Gardens which turned out to be a highlight of our time.  Besides beautiful flowers, the gardens have wetlands and other areas that attract a large variety of birds.

Little Blue Heron

Alligator

Young Alligator

Maybe a Yellow-breasted Chat?

Anhinga

Green Heron

Turtle

Green Heron

After quite a few hours in the sun, we decided to head back to the hotel to relax a bit and clean up for dinner.  For dinner, we walked over to Joe's Crab Shack where we had a great seafood dinner with a colleague of Paul's.  And then we retired back to the hotel.  My Garmin says I walked over 19,000 steps today.  Paul's Apple Watch said we walked 7.7 miles.  

The next morning we were up early, loaded the car, and were waiting in the hotel lobby for breakfast to open at 6:30 a.m.  They had the donuts from a local bakery again as well as a variety of hot and cold foods.  We were on the road by 7:00 a.m. eastern time and home by about 3:30 p.m. central time.