Since my goal is to hit as many different beaches as I can this year, I wanted to try a new beach on Monday. Getting to Clearwater Beach and St. Pete Beach is pretty easy if you just follow the signs from the interstate. I figured that getting to the other beaches would be just as easy, so I set out without directions to get to Madeira Beach. Well, I got off the interstate where I saw the Madeira Beach sign and that was the last sign I saw. I drove and drove and drove, but never got to a beach. Frustrated and lost, I made up my mind to just head west because I knew I would eventually run into the gulf somehow. And that is how I mysteriously ended up at Treasure Island.
It was a cute little community of older hotels and gorgeous homes. It looked nothing like the more touristy areas of the suncoast. I have to say that I really liked it. We finally found a parking lot, and I was really disappointed that the parking kiosk only accepted cash. I never carry cash, but I was able to dig up enough coins to make enough money to park for the day.
The next obstacle was to find food for the kids and me. There were not many choices near the parking lot or beach. My only options were Waffle House or the gas station. Let's just say we settled on lunchables and a bag of chips from the gas station. There was a snack bar in the public restroom area, but that did not smell appetizing, and I don't think they served actual lunch food.
After parking and getting food it was time to go to the beach, yay! Once past the public restroom building I got my first view of Treasure Island Beach, and it was absolutely breathtaking. The water was blue, the sand was white, and the number of beach goers was small. There were a lot of the natural beach plants and palm trees.
The sand was not soft or powdery, though. It was a lot of broken shells. They were not uncomfortable to walk on, just not soft and relaxing like powdery sand is. My five year old said that there were so many shells on the beach so the treasure could stay hidden. The rough sand did not stop my kids from building sand castles and digging giant holes.
The water was really calm on Monday. Gulf tide is usually small, but it was non-existant on Monday. The water barely rolled onto the beach and seemed more like the bay than the Gulf. It made boogie boarding impossible, but that did not stop my 7 year old from trying. The water in March is still chilly, but it is gradually warming up every week. I call it "tourist water" because the northerners have no problem getting in up to their necks. I made it to mid-thigh on Monday...not too shabby.
The biggest complaint I have about the beach is that the restrooms are so far from the water. This is a problem when you have kids with little bladders. I had to pack up all three kids for the huge trek up to the restroom several times on Monday. It was about a 10 min walk up to the restroom (going 5 year old speed).
Still, it was a gorgeous beach, and I am glad I stumbled on it.
No comments:
Post a Comment