To pass some time between lunch and when we could check into our apartment, we stopped at Weedon Island Preserve and walked the boardwalks to a few overlooks. Didn’t see a lot of wildlife or birds but it was a nice leg stretcher with views of Old Tampa Bay.

Our place was situated a few minutes walk from downtown Gulfport so we took different routes each time, admiring the lawn decor, landscaping and customized house paintings. Clearly there is no HOA here!

A lot of the Gulfport beach area was roped off from hurricane damage but the sunsets were still lovely.

On Sunday we drove up Gulf Blvd, noticing a lot of hurricane damage along the barrier islands, to the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary in Indian Shores. This is small place, but there are a surprising number of non-caged birds too. The back entrance opens right onto the beach, so Eric got a silly photo of me in a huge chair as well!

On Monday morning before meeting Eric’s Aunt for lunch we walked to the Clam Bayou Nature Park. We enjoyed some Boca Ciega Bay views and even saw a large boat stranded in the mangroves!

In college, I lived in that pink building in the middle of this photo.

On the way back from Sarasota, we stopped at the Sunshine Skyway Bridge south fishing pier for the sunset.

Gulfport was a great area to base ourselves and on the last day, we explored the Tuesday Market on our way to the beach for for our annual E+L in the sand photo. Didn’t see much of interest to us, with a lot of crafty items, CBD products, specialty food, and jewelry for sale.