Tag: dolphin tour

🎵 “A 3 hour tour” 🎵

On By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights7 Comments

My sister and her husband were coming to visit for the Grand Prix race (in St. Pete) in late February. They came a few days early so we could do some tourist stuff. Our first fun thing was a dolphin/sunset tour out of Dunedin. We left at 4:30 and boated down the intercoastal waterway passing by Clearwater.

I think that dog was having more fun on the water than anyone else as we passed close by the Sound Amphitheater.

Colors were popping as we got farther down the waterway and passed sailboats and kite surfers. We could see the pirate ship tour boat farther back on the left.

Passing underneath the Sand Key bridge.

We made our way into the gulf and passed by Clearwater Beach and the long Pier 60 as we headed north.

We got all the way to the tip of Caladesi Island before turning around to head back to Clearwater. The sun still had a ways to go before setting so we took our time coming back.

The sun was shining on the new hotels that sit on the south end of Clearwater Beach. When I was growing up and coming here to visit my grandparents this beach was all 2 story motels.

The boat stopped at the end of the beach and we watched the sun go down with a few other boats. It was a busy night on the water.

The Little Toot boat was following us as we made our way back into the intercoastal waterway. It was a beautiful night and got chilly quick when the sun went down. Luckily we were prepared and brought jackets with us.

Passing the pirate ship.

The sky was turning orange and the birds were flying around before going to bed as we made our way past Clearwater and back to the Dunedin marina.

The 2 1/2 hour trip turned into a 3 hour trip when we docked. It was a perfect night. We saw lots of dolphins but the boat was full and I didn’t bring my camera and longer lens so I hung back and let the tourists watch them. It’s always fun seeing the reactions when people don’t get to see them often or see them for the first time.

SkyWatch Friday

Sunsetting on dolphins

On By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals, Vacation13 Comments

While on our “No power” road trip we booked a sunset/dolphin cruise in Vero Beach. We booked the tour through the Environmental Learning Center on the causeway and headed out at 4:30 pm with only a few other people on the boat since it was a little chilly.

We saw a few stranded boats along the way.

I was hoping thick clouds didn’t move in and hide the sun but the ones there made for an interesting sky.

We first saw a few dolphins chasing after fish and I barely caught a fish trying to get away.

We saw several more dolphins before the sun starting setting.

We ended the tour with a beautiful sunset. And, as the sun was setting I got a text from my neighbor that our electricity had just come back on after 7 days of being off. Luckily we were planning to go home the next day.


The sun was really putting on a show as we came back under the bridge and back to the dock.

Grinning ear to ear knowing we would have power when we got home the next day. We were very fortunate that we could pack up and leave and take a mini-vacation while the electricity was out back home. Some of my neighbors were able to go stay with friends in the area but since the power outage was so widespread there wasn’t many that had power the first few days.

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A morning out on water

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals, Tampa bay sights2 Comments

My sister and I were out at Sand Key beach early in the morning to look for shells since we had a 10am dolphin tour booked nearby.  We didn’t find a lot of shells at this beach compared to Honeymoon Island but I did find some interesting clam shells. The 1st one looks like it had the insides coming out. I couldn’t tell if it was alive but the tide was coming in and would wash it back out.  The next two are front and back of another shell I picked up. It had a lot of things living on it. The barnacles were still alive so I tossed it back in the water.

At the Clearwater marina, waiting for our boat tour to leave.

We went by the new Clearwater Sound. It’s an outdoor music venue that sits next to the big public library.

A view of the intercoastal waterway.

A view from the small spoil island we stopped at.

An empty urchin that Debbie found on the little beach. This came home with us.

Heading back into the marina. We saw lots of dolphins and I realized I didn’t take any pictures of them. I just had my phone with me and stayed in the back so everyone else could see the dolphins up close. It’s fun seeing the reactions when the kids see them.

Lunch was at an open air restaurant at the marina. Above is the view from our table.

We walked around a bit and saw some of the early half day fishing boats coming in after lunch. You can buy fresh fish right off the boat if they have a big catch. The pelicans hang around hoping for a hand out.

If you are ever in the Clearwater area I highly recommend taking the Encounters With Dolphins tour out of Clearwater Beach. We have taken several and always had a great time.

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A wildlife boat tour

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals, Vacation2 Comments

While Brett and I were on our staycation on Manasota Key we took a boat ride/dolphin tour one morning. The boat wasn’t full since it was a little chilly so it was nice to have room to move around. We went down the intercoastal and out to Stump Pass to get out in the open water.

We passed several boats that were still stranded from Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Idalia. Ian (in 2022) did a lot of damage in the area. They still hadn’t fully recovered and Idalia came by (in 2023).

We passed an adult and a juvenile bald eagle that were sitting on a spit in the middle of the water. Looks like Junior followed Dad down to see how to get a drink of water (or catch a fish?). A little farther down we passed the nest. One adult was sitting in the tree. Thinking this is Mom.

As we made our way out of Stump Pass we could see dolphins swimming around nearby and lots of pelicans diving for fish.

This one had a big fish in his pouch.

We saw so many dolphins. Some were swimming right up against the boat and I couldn’t fit them all in and some were far out. It was a fun morning just floating around watching them come up for air.

On our way back we saw a handful of white pelicans napping on a spit.

We went in a few channels and this was a common sight. Many of the docks were still waiting to be fixed. The cormorants were taking advantage of the dock pilings not being used. Eighteen months after Hurricane Ian hit there were still a lot of roofs still covered and a lot of construction going on. One of the restaurants we ate at on the water had just recently opened back up after being closed for over a year. The waitress said everything in the restaurant was brand new.

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