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• Pinellas County Beaches

  Written by Connie Langhorst No Comments
  Last Updated: July 19, 2010

  

  Pinellas County Beaches

  An unspoiled, beautiful part of life . . .
  . . . in Paradise Found!

  Pinellas County maintains three major parks along the Gulf Coast. Fort De Soto Park, located in Tierra Verde, at the south end of the county, is one of the largest county parks in the State of Florida, with over seven miles of shoreline.

  Sand Key Park, located in central Pinellas County, has almost a half mile of beachfront. Howard Park is a gem located on the Gulf of Mexico in the northern reaches of the county in Tarpon Springs. These parks offer a list of amenities that include picnicking facilities, fishing opportunities and other items of interest to residents and tourists alike.

  In addition to these major beach park facilities, Pinellas County has six beach access parks, including Indian Rocks, Tiki Gardens/Indian Shores, Redington Shores, Madeira Beach, Treasure Island, and St. Pete Beach. These beach access parks expand public access, and include restroom and shower facilities. Pinellas County beach access parks are used by almost eight million visitors each year.

  There are several fabulous links on the official Fort De Soto Park website, including virtual tour views, a beach access guide and beach finder, a beach and shell guide, a birding checklist for Fort De Soto Park, a Google Earth tour of Pinellas County Beaches, and a water quality guide. This information is also available from the Pinellas County and Visitor’s Bureau websites, too.  Helpful links provided below. 

  Two state parks in Pinellas County, Caladesi Island and Honeymoon Island, provide almost five miles of direct access to the Gulf of Mexico. Honeymoon Island State Park is accessible by car, while pristine Caladesi Island State Park is easily reached by modestly priced public ferry that departs several times per day from Honeymoon Island State Park.  Amenities and ample public parking is available within the grounds of Honeymoon Island State Park for both facilities.

  In addition to the parks mentioned above, several important municipal parks provide direct beach access, amenities and public parking as well. St. Pete Beach’s Pass-A-Grille and Upham Beaches, Treasure Island’s four city-operated beach access parks, Madeira Beach’s Archibald Park and Clearwater’s North and South Beach Parks are examples of municipally operated beach access facilities.

  In Pinellas County, beach access is provided at 31 parks and 135 public easements providing well over 12,000 parking spaces available to the public.

  Pinellas County continues to recognize the need for expanding the publicly available beach access points and the desirability of providing properly designed and aesthetically pleasing walkovers. The joint efforts on the part of Pinellas County, the State of Florida, our local beach municipalities and the tremendous citizen volunteer efforts employed in our dune replanting, continue to make our beach access expansion and enhancement program a resounding success.

  About Pinellas County Beaches

  Occupying a peninsula along the Gulf Coast in the heart of west central Florida, Pinellas County is the second smallest county in the state, containing less than 281 square miles. While small in total area, Pinellas enjoys a long coastline along the Gulf Coast, providing over 35 miles of fine white sandy beaches stretching from Tarpon Springs to Fort De Soto.

  With over 3,150 people per square mile, Pinellas County today is by far the most densely populated county in the State of Florida and is second only to Atlanta Georgia’s Fulton County, in the southeastern United States. Large numbers of residents are attracted to the county’s mild sub-tropical climate and strong economy. In 1996, over 4.1 million overnight visitors came to Pinellas County from around the state, the nation and throughout the world. To support the growing needs of our expanding residential population and the large number of visitors drawn to our area, enhancing our beaches, the county’s greatest asset, is vitally important to our overall economy and quality of life in our community.

  Spotlight — Fort De Soto named America’s Top Beach – 2008
  Pristine Area Favorite Lauded as “Portrait of Tranquility”

   Fort De Soto Park was named America’s Top Beach by TripAdvisor, the world’s largest online travel community.

  Citing a “spectacular combination of soft white sand, calm, clear water and a laid-back atmosphere,” the popular online travel network put the park’s North Beach at the top of its annual best-of list, based on TripAdvisor’s Popularity Index.

  This marks the second time in three years the pristine Pinellas County beach has received top honors on an annual “best-of” list. In 2005, Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman, a.k.a. “Dr. Beach,” named Fort De Soto the nation’s #1 Beach. 

  http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/05_ft_desoto.htm

  http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/beaches.htm

  http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/virtual_tour_beach_menu.htm

  http://www.pinellascounty.org/PDF/BeachGuide.pdf

  http://www.visitstpeteclearwater.com/?type=beach

  http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/pdf/beach-shells.pdf

  http://www.pinellascounty.org/resident/recreation.htm

  

  CREDITS:  Information courtesy of www.PinellasCounty.org. Photography provided courtesy of my personal photo collection, my friend Brian Greene, and the beach panoramic scene photo provided courtesy of Pinellas County Communications Department

• Rescued Pelicans Released at Fort De Soto

  Written by Connie Langhorst No Comments
  Last Updated: July 16, 2010

  Wednesday, July 2, 2010, was a bright, sunny day in the south Gulf beaches area of Pinellas County, FL.

  There was excitement in the air!

  The pelicans were coming! 

  Officials from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service were about to release 32 brown pelicans along the beach at Fort De Soto Park in Tierra Verde, FL, as a final step in the bird’s rescue and release process. 

  Rehabilitated at Fort Jackson Wildlife Center in Buras, LA, the pelicans were flown by the U.S. Coast Guard in New Orleans to the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Coast Guard Station.  From there, they were just a few short miles from freedom and a new life along an unspoiled beach–one of the most beautiful beaches in the continental USA (voted #1 Beach by Dr. Beach on numerous occasions and voted #1 by TripAdvisor two years running, in 2008 and 2009).

  Pinellas County showed its beauty–and its pride–that day.  It was a bright spot in an otherwise sad and frustrating situation.  As a Tierra Verde resident and wildlife lover, not a day goes by that I do not agonize over the impact to the Gulf region, especially our neighbors to the north and west, from the BP oil disaster.  Thankfully, and with blessings, Pinellas County remains unspoiled and 32 brown pelicans have joined our extended family.

  Fort De Soto Park is one of the County’s gems!  The Park is home to lush nesting areas and more than 300 species of birds, including migratory wildlife.  The sand on the beaches remains sugar white and the water is crystal clear.  There is not a building in sight, unless you count the Visitor Center.  It is Old Florida and we treasure it!

  The release of the pelicans on July 7 was not the first  to occur in the Tampa Bay area.  Oiled birds from Louisana have been flown to our area since the spill began in April.  Other releases took place at Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge, an island preserve not far from Fort De Soto Park.

  Many photos and videos of the release of the pelicans appear online on various location websites, including www.TampaBay.com and www.Bradenton.com.  The St. Petersburg Times and the Bradenton Herald, as well as other media outlets, joined Park staffers, residents, and other onlookers on that special day.  It was a sight to behold.  I am including links to a few sites below.

  Those of us who live and work along the south Gulf beaches, especially those along the Sun Coast in Pinellas County, are grateful that our beaches have remained clean and unspoiled throughout this disaster.  Our hearts go out to those less fortunate, to our brothers and sisters who live and work along the northern Gulf  coast of Florida and in other states that have been impacted by this tragedy.  It is obligation and civic duty to do all that we can to make this area whole again.  We must work together to insure that this frayed piece of the fabric of America, one that needs mending because it is unique and represents a generations-old lifestyle, heals and becomes vibrant and alive again. 

  Here in the south Gulf beaches, along the Sun Coast in Pinellas County, we welcome our new friends, the brown pelicans, and each evening, when they sprend their wings and soar into the golden sunset over the sparkling waters of our beaches, we will remember you and say a prayer. 

  We are here for you and thank you for the gift of your feathery friends.  They are in good hands.   

  From a loving friend . . . in Paradise Found. 

  Pelicans rescued from BP oil disaster are released at Fort De Soto park

  
  Rescued pelicans released at Fort DeSoto (with video)

  
  Read more: Fort De Soto new home for once-oiled pelicans

  

  CREDITS:  Photos courtesy of my husband, Thomas Gerwe, and Scott Keller, St. Petersburg Times.

• 3rd Annual Summer Jazz Series

  Written by Connie Langhorst No Comments
  Last Updated: July 6, 2010

  

  Jazz: the Art of Music will feature some of the best local jazz in the Tampa Bay area every Friday from 6-9 p.m.  from June 4th
  through August 28th, 2010.

  Admission is $10 for members and $15 for non-members and will include admission to galleries in the Hazel Hough wing of the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, FL.

  This is an ideal way to celebrate the beginning of the weekend in one of the most spectacular settings in the area!

  Groups will perform in the glass Conservatory and listeners can mingle on the terrace overlooking the Bay.

  For the Friday, July 10th, performance:

  O Som Do Jazz recaptures the lively spirit of 1960s Brazilian Bossa Nova, samba-jazz and MPB. Based in St. Petersburg, the band features Rio de Janeiro singer Andrea Moraes Manson. 

Andrea moved to the Tampa Bay area from Rio in 2000. Trained as an architect, she began performing, with the encouragement of her jazz musician husband David, in 2004. Andrea has a natural understanding of Brazilian music and a full voice in the style of Elis Regina. In her debut recording (Infinita Bossa), Andrea has caught the attention of bossa nova lovers worldwide. 

The group also includes members from São Paulo, Brasil and Columbia. O Som Do Jazz has performed at the Pensacola JazzFest, Jazz Brasil, the Historic Asolo Theatre, Dali Fest, First Night, Brasil Arts Fest, Lights On Tampa, First Night, Safety Harbor Wine Festival and more.

  The art of music, indeed . . . in Paradise Found!

  EVENTS PARTICULARS:
  

  Reservations are recommended.  The cost of admission is $10 per person for MFA members/$15 for non-members.  Ticket price includes:

  • Admission to the Hazel Hough wing galleries
  • MFA Café will be open with an evening menu
  • Beer and wine cash bar

  For more information about the event, contact Ellen Rivera, (727) 896-2667 ext. 221.

  ABOUT THE MUSEUM:

  Located at 255 Beach Dr. N.E. in St. Petersburg, FL 33701, the Museum of Fine Arts has the only comprehensive art collection, extending from antiquity to the present, on the Florida west coast. See outstanding works of art in galleries designed for leisurely reflection.

  The Museum of Fine Arts is one of the most beautiful museums in the Southeast. The collection has over 14,000 objects extending from antiquity to the present day and features stellar French Impressionist paintings. Galleries of Steuben glass, decorative arts, and pre-Columbian objects are especially dramatic. Two interior gardens, one devoted to sculpture, encourage reflection. An intimate second-floor gallery, in the new wing, displays works on paper and photographs. The Museum’s photography collection of over 10,000 images is one of Florida’s most respected. The MFA has been repeatedly named the best art museum in the Tampa Bay area by regional media.

  Additional features include music, education and family events, movies, lectures and gallery talks.  For more information about the Museum of Fine Arts, please contact their Visitor Services Department at (727) 896-2667.

  CREDITS: The event logo and information contained in this post are provided courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, Florida.  www.fine-arts.org.
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