John's Pass at Madeira Beach

We drove out of Clearwater as fast as we could! The city seems overbuilt, overpopulated and unevenly resourced. Back down the coast to have lunch at Bubba Gump's in Madeira Beach. We didn't know that the John's Pass area is a village full of shops, restaurants, activities on the water and lots of wildlife in the ... wild.

For a chain restaurant, Bubba Gump's does a great job with food, food presentation, beverages and services. Bob and I shared a shrimp cocktail (delicious) and a plate of fish & chips (pretty good). Bob had a margarita (great) and I let myself be persuaded into ordering a "Corona margarita", a concoction that combines a conventional margarita with a short Corona beer that drains into the margarita, such that the first sip is pure margarita and the last is pretty much all beer. Interesting and good. I was given a margarita shaker as a parting gift for ordering that drink, which was OK but not something I would order again.

We were happy to dine inside the cool restaurant. After lunch we walked the Boardwalk, very alive and full of people (tourists?) of all ages. A family of dolphins frolicked in the bay in the wake of a boat just as my camera battery fizzled out. The spare in the car did me no good, but I did enjoy watching these healthy looking dolphins after the downer I experienced at the Clearwater Aquarium.

We stopped at Publix for a few victuals on the way home and dragged ourselves back to our little casa. An interesting day.

I'm watching night fall and listening to the kids in the swimming pool. I'll hit the pool myself in 30 minutes or so - always a good end to a warm Florida day.