Lucy and Ethel take a trip.

What a whirlwind of a week this has been!

My friend, Gisele, had a trip to Clearwater beach planned and invited me to come along.

Jim and I usually vacation on Sanibel Island, but our plans were cancelled this year.

This is my first visit to Clearwater. I had no idea what to expect.

We are staying on the fifth floor of the Marriott Hotel, and the view is fantastic!

This has been a total change compared to what I am used to.

We are right in the "heart" of it all!!!

We take a trolley whenever we want to go shopping, or out to eat, or just to see the sites.

By the way....the food here is delicious!!!

There are bridges everywhere!!! going back and forth over the bay to the Gulf.

Grand hotels, restaurants, stores, etc. are all along the coast....and white sandy beaches filled with people!!

We did some shelling, and found lots of coral pieces, sponges, and some nice shells to add to our collections.

The night life here is active.....we took the trolley downtown for supper last night, and it was very busy!

People out and about as if it was in the middle of the day!!!

Even dinner boats out on the bay for adventurous souls wanting to make the most of their stay!

Parties always going on around the pool here at the hotel in the evenings.

We would come back to our room after supper, or after a walk to enjoy the balcony and the moon over the water.

I am glad I came here with my friend. The weather has been perfect. Even though the pace here is much more hustled....you can slow it down if you choose to do so. Just being in the sunshine and warmth has been a blessing, and spending time with my friend has been a real fun experience....finding our way around and navigating through all the traffic and places we've never been before! I feel like we've both accomplished things in our lives that we would never have done if we hadn't taken this trip. Personal triumphs....overcome some fears, doubts, and dumped some of the things that have hindered us from stepping out of our comfort zones...enabling us to experience some spiritual growth in the process. 

You are never too old to do something out of the ordinary...like take a trip to Florida with a girlfriend. Spend a week on a beach and collect shells. Visit a place you've never been with that friend, and ride the trolley to dinner and shopping.  

We might act like Lucy and Ethel at times....but we did this!!!!

I will let you all know when we get home....THAT might be a whole new story...…

xo