Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #21 - 2/16

 An alternate title for this very nice day could well be "enjoying nature in the big city".  It was our last "outing" day of this year's visit.  Since we were not taking a picnic lunch we made an early start, by Emery standards, and using freeways almost all the way went to downtown St. Petersburg.  There we started by visiting Sunken Gardens, an almost overwhelming time with nature.

Over 100 years ago a plumber/avid gardener drained a small lake, exposing very rich soil, and started creating his own paradise.  It became so popular with his neighbors, friends and other that he started charging admission.  In 1999 the city bought it from his descendents and continues to maintain it along with a large children's museum/indoor playground.  The gardens are truly lovely in a grand scale kind of way and Jean and I took an absurd number of pictures.

By the time we had followed every wandering pathway and seen our fill we were all hungry so I suggested I treat to a lunch at Appleby's, which turned out to be very tasty and very well served by a charming and attentive waitress.

On leaving the gardens we had inquired as to other attractions in the area and were recommended to visit the Boyd Hill Nature Preserve, still in the suburbs, alongside Lake Maggiore, which we found with just a little trouble.  From several spots alongside the lakeshore one can simultaneously see large water birds, an alligator and downtown St. Petersburg.  Everything here is natural and preserved, equally interesting but quite different to the gardens.  We walked a number of the trails, most of which are shaded from the sun, taking more pictures of course.  Finally we headed home, this time taking the tall bridge and not one of the causeway crossings over the bay.

I called Rita Stevens, confirmed they were back in Alabama (although Bob was somewhat sick yet again) and have made arrangements to make the switch on Saturday.  Despite her fears that hotels might be full for local Mardi Gras activities I had no problem making reservations, initially for two nights but I might extend my stay depending on weather, health, and enthusiasm for making outings.

I have whittled down our pictures to a manageable few and added them to Flickr, which may be seen in my winter set available here.