sunrise AND sunset!

I’ve waxed poetic many times about life in ‘the Burg’ — St. Petersburg, that is.  Besides being a crazy fun place to live, it really is an idyllic paradise.  It’s unique.  It’s a peninsula within a peninsular state.  When they were visiting, I told our great relatives and friends (Diane, Joe, Tina and Jenna), that it’s a place where you can easily see both the sunrise and the sunset over the water on any given day.  Think about it — how many people (not on a cruise ship) have that?  In fact because we’re 12 stories high in a highrise, we actually can watch the sun rise over Tampa Bay in the morning, then could just turn around at 7:pm and watch the sun set over the Gulf of Mexico.  OK — yes, we have to kind of lean over the balcony in the evening, but it IS do-able!

Chalk that up to the fact that we are on a WEST coast of the EAST coast of the U.S.  See what I did there?  And I think Florida is the only state that can boast that phenomenon.  Please respond back if I got that wrong, but I’ve stared at National Geographic maps for many years!  I think the first time this dawned on me was when a young man at a marina fuel dock tried to orient me, geographically.  Our boat is called ‘East Coast Xpress’ (there’s a story behind it – around commuting north and south on the east coast of the U.S.).  We were fueling up, and the attendant looked at the boat name, looked at me, and then said “Hey  lady, you realize you’re on the WEST coast, right?”.  So there you have it — a WEST coast on the EAST coast.  (I know – – – enough – – – you DO get it).

I’m going out on a limb here, but other than all those restaurant meals that get posted on Facebook, I’d bet sunrise / sunsets are the most-posted pictures that don’t have people’s faces in them.  And what a nice relief to view nature instead of selfies — right?  So that’s why I’ve advised visitors to St. Pete that they can sit at the downtown waterfront in the early morning and see a gorgeous sunrise, then 10 hours later, make the leisurely 7-mile drive to St. Pete Beach, sit on the sand and watch a serene sunset.  I’m not even getting into the green flash . . .  Go for it!