Florida Guide > Miscellaneous
John's Pass
Based on Madeira Beach between Clearwater and St Petersburg, John’s Pass is named after freed slave John Le Veque who went on to be a pirate captain who was all heart and treated his captives with dignity always allowing them their lives and their freedom, After a hurricane split the small thin island in two, John Le Veque could not work out where he had left his buried treasure –there was no x marking the spot –after sailing up and down the inlet for several years he realised his treasure was lost forever and thus it became known as John’s Pass.
His lost treasure is our gain. It’s a delightful little spot today with dolphins and turtles swimming close by and sea birds tempted by the abundant fishing. The area was developed in the late 1970’s by Wilson Hubbard who added the lovely little boardwalk as well as his already popular restaurant and marina. On the day we went it was a beautiful Floridian day, hot with those lovely azure blue skies and we were just enchanted with the marina. I must admit I can stand for hours just watching those magnificent pelicans who look so comical when on land but once they take to the air they are streamlined and graceful, particularly when they are diving for fish. In a small area I counted over 40 perched anywhere they could get a good vantage point. It was very amusing to see the boats go by each with its own resident pelican perched atop like some feathery, eagle eyed lookout in the crow’s nest.
As well as the restaurants, café’s and bars and watching the world go by there are over a 100 little shops selling everything from angels, curios and art and crafts to everything you will need for a beach holiday, sunglasses, lotion, swimsuits and so on. Lovely to have a little browse around and just get out of the glare of the sun when it gets too hot.
There is also the chance to take part in your favourite watersport whether it be fishing, parasailing, jet skiing and so on. In fact so enchanted will you be with this little bit of paradise you may be tempted to stay overnight and there are plenty of hotels nearby to suit everyone’s taste and purse. You can always combine it with a trip to St Petersburg, Busch Gardens or Clearwater to mention just a few ides and if you want to leave the car while you explore you can use the beach trolley to get you from beach to beach.
Although John’s Pass is wheelchair accessible you may struggle with the beach trolley bus. They do have the odd one-so you might find you are having to wait a long time for the accessible one to come along.
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