A perfect beach day . . .

. . . at Honeymoon Island, Dunedin, Florida.


Stormy skies and the fact that it was a weekday provided us with a nearly deserted beach.
Here's a blurb from the state park website:

Welcome to Honeymoon Island State Park
The pioneers called it Hog Island, but it became Honeymoon Isle in 1939 when a New York developer built 50 palm - thatched bungalows for honeymooners. Today, visitors can drive across Dunedin Causeway to enjoy the sun - drenched Gulf beaches, mangrove swamps, and tidal flats. Nature lovers will find osprey nests, a wide variety of shorebirds, and one of the few remaining virgin slash pine forests in South Florida. The park boasts several nature trails and bird observation areas. Visitors can swim, fish, and snorkel in the warm waters of the Gulf or picnic while they enjoy the beautiful scenery. Shelling is particularly good here, as the Gulf currents deposit an incredible variety of seashells on the shore.

In 1948 a hurricane split the island. The southern half was renamed Caladesi Island and is one of the few natural barrier islands of Florida. It is reachable only by boat and to this day remains undeveloped. We had never been to this area before and decided to take our visitors there, in particular to check out the only beach we've found so far where dogs are allowed.




The sky was mostly dark and there were periods of rain but, thankfully, no thunder or lightning to deter us from our outing. Blake and Taylor were awesome, playing together for the better part of seven hours; shelling, building sand structures and just hanging out enjoying their water adventures.

Perhaps the highlight of the day was the appearance of a pod of dolphins. At first glance Blake and Taylor thought they were sharks, as I did the first time I saw them, but it quickly becomes obvious that they are dolphins. They came back several times during the day but alas, our digital camera was just too slow to catch the diving act.

Peanut, a.k.a. "Digger," also enjoyed her day alternately excavating (for what?) and lounging.

We have so many nice photos from this trip, too many to post here. See them all at http://www.palmcoastart.com/beach.htm. Although our friends are growing by leaps and bounds, we're hoping this day will be one of their many happy memories for years to come.