Whilst on our holiday to Orlando we tend to take a break away from the the hustle and bustle of the Orlando Parks and take a couple of days on the West Coast of Florida in New Port Richey.
This is not a bad drive taking about 2 hours or so but seems a world away from the theme parks of Orlando. We found New Port Richey through some of our distant relatives who moved there many years ago from Ireland. We tend to stay with them on Grand Boulevard, which is a lovely setting with their pool and dining room overlooking the estuary, which leads you out to the Gulf of Mexico. Many homes along here own their own boats and theirs is no exception.
For a different way to celebrate American Independence on July 4th we packed up a cool box and put on plenty of sunscreen and headed out on the motor cruiser motoring slowly out along the estuary. Manatees are known to come along so you need to take extra care whilst motoring along. Unfortunately it was not to be our lucky day and we did not spot any of these wondrous creatures.
Once we reached open water, passing some fabulous homes along the way, we opened up the engines, racing through the water it felt really cool with the water splashing as the boat hit rip tides. It wasn’t long before we were leaving land behind us and heading right out. There were some unusual houses on stilts in the sea, which we were told are holiday homes, but I’m sure I’ve not seen them advertised on Orlando Villas! !
Eventually in the distant we saw lots of boats bobbing in the sea and we began to slow down. There was a small island surrounded by anchored boats.
Obviously lots of people had had the same idea. We anchored and jumped into the sea. It was crystal clear and you could see the seabed below. It was like jumping into a warm bath. Just beautiful. We swam to the shore and the sand was perfect. So white. The shells were amazing. In UK we have to buy them to get the size and perfection. Here we came away with a big bag full. It was glorious.
We had a picnic lunch but boy was it hot and no shade! There was plenty of time for collecting more shells and having a swim and then it was time to get back for the family July 4th BBQ.
This is not a bad drive taking about 2 hours or so but seems a world away from the theme parks of Orlando. We found New Port Richey through some of our distant relatives who moved there many years ago from Ireland. We tend to stay with them on Grand Boulevard, which is a lovely setting with their pool and dining room overlooking the estuary, which leads you out to the Gulf of Mexico. Many homes along here own their own boats and theirs is no exception.
For a different way to celebrate American Independence on July 4th we packed up a cool box and put on plenty of sunscreen and headed out on the motor cruiser motoring slowly out along the estuary. Manatees are known to come along so you need to take extra care whilst motoring along. Unfortunately it was not to be our lucky day and we did not spot any of these wondrous creatures.
Once we reached open water, passing some fabulous homes along the way, we opened up the engines, racing through the water it felt really cool with the water splashing as the boat hit rip tides. It wasn’t long before we were leaving land behind us and heading right out. There were some unusual houses on stilts in the sea, which we were told are holiday homes, but I’m sure I’ve not seen them advertised on Orlando Villas! !
Eventually in the distant we saw lots of boats bobbing in the sea and we began to slow down. There was a small island surrounded by anchored boats.
Obviously lots of people had had the same idea. We anchored and jumped into the sea. It was crystal clear and you could see the seabed below. It was like jumping into a warm bath. Just beautiful. We swam to the shore and the sand was perfect. So white. The shells were amazing. In UK we have to buy them to get the size and perfection. Here we came away with a big bag full. It was glorious.
We had a picnic lunch but boy was it hot and no shade! There was plenty of time for collecting more shells and having a swim and then it was time to get back for the family July 4th BBQ.