Lenny's, Jill, and Bright House Field

As I have said before, one of the best things about our RV lifestyle is catching up with friends in various parts of the country. Friday, we met, Jill, a colleague and then a friend, from my last job. She was vacationing at Anne Maria Island, FL, with friends, and drove north to Clearwater to see the Phillies' lineup at Bright House Field (www.milb.com) Friday morning. We made plans to meet at Lenny's Restaurant on Rte 19, not far from the stadium.

Lenny's is a breakfast/lunch venue (www.lennyfood.com) that is not only very popular with the locals, but also to those who come to Clearwater for Spring Training every year. As I walked around snapping photos, I struck up a conversation with a couple of women (Susie and Donna) sitting at a nearby booth. They told me that on weekends, the line to get into Lenny's is all the way around the building! It has great food and service. We chatted about our RV lifestyle, too. Lovely ladies. 

Philadelphia Phillies memorabilia can be seen on the walls of the restaurant. This is a signed Mike Schmitt shirt. The Phanatic, and other Phillies' images, are painted on the windows, too. We arrived first and were seated at a booth after a couple of minutes.. Jill joined us shortly thereafter.

It was fantastic catching up with Jill, as our last visit was about 1.5 years ago when we last visited the Philadelphia area. We keep in touch via Facebook and Words with Friends (I finally won a game against her yesterday!) After a long lunch (and a lot of catching up), Jill came to our car to say hi to our sweet doggie, Sadie. 

Jill headed back to Anna Maria, and we drove the short distance to Bright House Field. These Spring Training stadiums are just beautiful. 

Some patrons were purchasing tickets for Phillies Spring Training and others were at the stadium for a college baseball game being played at 2 pm. 

We went into Diamond Outfitters, where you can find a fully array of Phillies-themed apparel and many other items for sale. We were able to see the field from the store (as the gates were closed until the 2 pm game). 

Here is the Spring Training schedule for the Phillies. 

We are going to the the Yankees vs. Phillies game Friday, 2/24/2017, at Steinbrenner Stadium in Tampa (much closer to us than Bright House Field). We are really looking forward to it.

What fun we had seeing Jill and getting tuned into the Spring Training scene!

Anclote River Park, 2/16/2017

After a couple days of chilly (for this area) and rainy days, we were anxious to spend some time enjoying the outdoors in the sunshine. Anclote River Park is about 25 miles west from where we are staying in Lutz, FL. 

It is a 23-acre park with a public fishing pier, playground, picnic shelters with grills, and nice horseshoe pits. 

The swimming area is roped off with a sandy beach along the Anclote River. 

This little lighthouse is situated where the channel meets the Anclote River. Sailboats are moored near here (although one sunk!) and there is a dock for non-motorized boats. The red-rope barrier that can be seen in the distance is to protect the West Indian Manatees that sometimes come to the area when the water in the Gulf is to cold for them (below 68 degrees). 

I loved seeing all of the pelicans in the area! Also shown is a large osprey nest where we saw a couple of chicks poking their heads out. 

One of the few remaining midden mounds built by the Timucuan people (considered the last mound builders) can be seen in the park. The following artifacts have been found in other mounds excavated in the area: skeletons, tools, weapons, flint, rock crystal and stone-like jade, spear and arrow points, knives, and club stones. It is illegal to dig in this area. 

The Timucuan lived in the area when the Spanish and other settlers arrived from 1500 to 1750, but had disappeared by 1800. They were killed by early explorers, other tribes, and the diseases brought to America from Europe. 

As we were leaving this part of Anclote River Park, we saw this cute tiny library where the concept is "take a book, return a book." We have seen these elsewhere in our travels and I always think it's a great idea!

We drove about 1.2 miles north to the part of the park where there is a large, fenced-in, dog park. There are three separate areas; one for small dogs and one for large. At the opposite end of both, is a gate to a larger area for all dogs, that has canine agility playsets and lots of room to run. Sadie would only go up the ramp if John did also. And forget the rings, she just kept going under them. 

The rest of this part of the park is not dog-friendly. Another playground and picnic pavilion are located here with a bench nearby providing a view of the river.

We drove a short distance north to the Key Vista Nature Park to do some hiking on the Great Florida Birding Trail. First we followed the Rocky Creek Loop trail. 

Boardwalks have been built along portions of the trail. We continued along the banks of Rocky Creek until it emptied into the Gulf of Mexico, enjoying this peaceful setting. 

The trail continued along the shores of the Gulf where Sadie enjoyed a short swim. 

We climbed to the top of the Observation Tower to enjoy the beautiful views of the area. You can see the large fishing pier in the distance in the photo below. 

Many osprey were flying above us in the area, looking for fish in the water. They were magnificant! What a picturesque setting. 

The trail continues along the Gulf coast for a short distance where we reached the long boardwalk. It continues through the preserve to an area near the dog park we had visited earlier. 

When we reached the end of the boardwalk, we saw a sign that said "No Dogs" on the boardwalk. Yikes! We had seen a half dozen other dogs on the boardwalk, too. It turns out there is no sign at the opposite end of the boardwalk (in Key Vista Nature Park) where we began. And we had spoken to a park ranger at Anclote River Park who had told us that leashed dogs were permitted in Key Vista. Oh well, we retraced our steps on the boardwalk.

We continued along the trail to the parking lot. And there was another tiny library, here, too!

There is a self-pay $2 parking fee, per vehicle, per day at each of the parks, but once paid at one of them it covers parking in all three. A receipt is issued at the self-pay kiosk that is displayed in your car window. 

We enjoyed the beauty of this area in Holiday, FL. For more information about the Anclote River Park, go to the following site:  www.pascocountyfl.net/index.aspx?NID=681. Information about Key Vista Nature Preserve can be found here: www.pascocountyfl.net/index.aspx?NID=683.