17th May 2019
I was awake earlier than Asa on Day 2 – this almost NEVER happens – I even tried to wait him out but nope, not going to happen. After putting the kettle on I opened the curtains to a beautiful clear and sunny morning.
A walk along the beach with tea and coffee in hand was a pretty great wake up. We were joined by three plovers running up and down the shoreline looking for food, these are fast becoming my favourite bird in the US. They also were down on Gulf Islands National Seashore when Asa and I got married a month ago so I have a bit of a soft spot for them.
Here we come St. Petersburg! We drove down US 98 and 19. While it started out beautiful, it became more built up the further South we went. Compared to England, towns and cities sprawl so much here it feels like a different world! The day before, Asa was so happy with the roads we were going down and I could tell that this day was far from that feeling. Note to selves: when in no rush to get somewhere, choose the smaller, scenic, rural route EVERY TIME.
At least this road took us to friends, air conditioning and a real toilet. Now there’s the silver lining!
We parked in a large church parking lot close to Connor and Rebeca’s house which was perfect. Their apartment is compact and cute (and cold!) it was so nice to relax after a long days driving. It turns out they live walking and biking distance from the downtown area so, after some prosecco, we jumped on our bikes and headed a mile or two down to the bay. I really like St. Pete. It reminds me of some European cities - bricked streets, bars, restaurants and open park areas – and cycle friendly!
Bar hopping on bikes was super fun; one even had our favourite game – giant jenga! After a local pizza and a few more beers, we were ready for bed! Ready to go again tomorrow.
