C.W. Young Reservoir, Florida
May, August-September, 2014
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The C.W. Bill Young Reservoir is actually located in Lithia, Florida, which is somewhat out in the middle of nowhere.....However, we had two great rental houses in Apollo Beach, which put us within driving distance to some great destinations!
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We could not pass
thru Punta Gorda,
Florida without a
visit to the
Navigator!
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| Honeymoon Island State Park, located near St. Petersburg, is at the extreme west end of S.R. 586. The beaches were absolutely covered with seashells, and very few people! Visit www.floridastateparks.org for more information.
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The Dali Museum, located in St. Petersburg, contains the world's largest collection of Salvador Dali's artwork outside of Spain. The building which houses Dali's surrealist works, is a work of art itself. Featuring a helical staircase, which is topped by a large geodesic glass roof.
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| The Balm-Boyette Scrub Nature Preserve was conveniently located in Lithia, very close to our job site. This means that many hours were spent mountain biking here! This 4,933-acre preserve has approximately 6 miles of easy double-track trails; 10 miles of intermediate single-track trails; and 2 miles of technical berm trails along some lakes. To plan your visit, see www.hillsboroughcounty.org/parks
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Everyday on-site provided us with a great opportunity to enjoy the wildlife -- be it all of the exotic tropical birds, alligators, frogs, fire ants(!), turtles, and birds of prey -- there was always something to watch...
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Including these giant apple snails,
which left goodies all over our
boats every night...
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We kept tying to charter a fishing trip, but that always fell through -- so one night found us at the
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A "must-do" if you are in this region of Florida, is a paleo canoe trip! The Canoe Outpost (www.CanoeOutpost.com) offers a variety of trips on the Peace River for fossil hunting. We did an 8 mile trip, and found an abundance of ancient sharks teeth and mastodon bones. This was so much fun -- definitely on the list to do again if we are back in this area!
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We did go to the Florida Aquarium in downtown Tampa, but honestly, there was nothing to write home about, other than the fact that 5 of us fit into that little photo booth!
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We enjoyed some good dining in Ybor City, which is a historic, multi-ethnic neighbrohood in Tampa, named for a cigar manufacturer.
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The Columbia, established in 1905, is known as Florida's oldest restaurant. 4th and 5th generation family members still run this award-winning business, which in addition to it's outstanding Spanish/Cuban cuisine, also features flameno dancers and live jazz (www.columbiarestaurant.com).
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Another Ybor city favorite was the James Joyce Irish Pub and eatery -- known for 50 craft beers, good pub food, and live music (www.jamesjoyceybor,com).
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| We usually bring our
lunches to work, but the
BBQ at Smokin' Joe's
drew us back a couple of times!
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| Closer to home, at Apollo Beach, the restaurant we frequented the most was Circles, where we could dine outside, and watch some amazing sunsets (www.circleswaterfront.com).
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Other Apollo beach food haunts were the Pita Kabob (for fresh Mediterranean/Greek food); Apollo's Bistro (for incredible hamburgers); the Asian Fusion Buffet (for some really great food and sushi); and Alpha's (for good Italian fare, and dare I say, an Elvis impersonator on Thursday nights!).
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Other outtings included a day at Siesta Key, and Long Boat Key; a day of riding roller coasters at Busch Gardens, Tampa; and a very interesting visit to the Ringling Museum of Art (www.ringling.org).
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Most evenings after work found us enjoying our homes, cooking, fishing, swimming in the pool, watching the sun set, or going out on the boat or jet skiis....
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