Dunedin, Florida - Home of the Toronto Blue Jays Spring Training Site

Torontonians love their sports teams. We love our Blue Jays, Toronto’s baseball team.

I still remember vividly the excitement and enthusiasm the Jays created in Toronto when they won the world’s series in the 1992-93 series.

They won back to back championship and we went crazy in Toronto.

I was absolutely delighted when I found out that while we were visiting Florida, we were actually very close to Dunedin, the Toronto Blue Jays annual spring training ground.

After our visit to Honeymoon Island, we drove to Dunedin.  With a population of around 35,000 people, it is not a big city at all.

Dunedin is a charming picturesque city with a quaint village feel to it.

There is a lot of green space in the downtown area.

Within the small Dunedin downtown area, we came across three beautiful parks.

Edge Water Park, Dunedin, Florida

Armston Park, Dunedin, Florida

    




Dunedin is different from the resort towns that we have visited on this trip. It has a more relaxed life style.



















We were surprised to see a gentleman driving in his golf cart in the downtown area. No one shouted at him in profanity. There was no road rage.

Colourful signs reminded me of playful children and adults nearby.

Everyone takes things easy in this pretty town.

There is an old train track turned into a beautiful bike trail running through the middle of downtown.  

There is also a beautiful 4 mile long waterfront.

Many yachts and service boats moored along the dock.      
                                                                              

It was well after lunchtime by the time we got there.

There was no lack of choices to get a bite to eat.

Since Dunedin has  a rich Scottish background, we wanted to try some Scottish food and  looked for a Scottish restaurant.

Irish Potato Salad

We did find the Flannigan Pub and tried some Irish pub food there.

                 

Irish Tacos

We had Irish potato salad, Irish Tacos, and Irish potato skins. They were all delicious!

Dunedin is a beautiful town with  many sidewalk cafes, unobstructed view of the waterfront,  many parks and green space.

No wonder the Toronto Blue Jays  has been coming  to this city every spring for their annual spring training since 1977.





















The Toronto Blue Jays has recently  signed with the city of Dunedin for another 25 year lease to continue using the Dunedin Stadium as their training site.

It is a good decision!

We were glad that we visited this charming city and saw where our beloved Blue Jays Baseball Team call home eves spring!





R.T.
Dunedin
Florida, USA

Curiosity Drove us to Visit Honey Moon Island, Florida

I am a curious person.

Reading our maps on the various attractions and famous places in and around where we were in Florida, we decided to visit Honey Moon Island since the name sounded so sweet.


















From where we were, it took us about an hour to Honey Moon Island, Florida.

We were surprised to find that within a short distance, there were two beach cafes on the island.

A boardwalk leading to the beach on the island

After parking our car, we went exploring the island.

The Honey Moon Island beach has been rated as the number 1 beach in the region.




















With its clear crystal blue water and baby powder sand, some locals told me that the beach on Honey Moon Island was even better than the Clear Water Beach.

Though we were there on a week day, there were quite a few visitors enjoying the sun on this quiet beach.


















Sipping our ice cold drinks and relaxing in the pavilion, we enjoyed the breezes and sunny weather in the shade while observing numerous birds and wild life.



















We learned about the native plants in Florida.

We visited the native plant garden.

How did Honey Moon Island get its name?

What makes this island so special that it earned a name like that?

I really wanted to find out.

We went to visit the Education Centre.

So I took care to read everything about the history and naming of this island.

The Tocobagan tribe people were the first visitors to the island. By 1530, the Spanish had noticed the island. For the next two hundred year, pirates, traders, fishermen came and went and the Tocobagan tribe was wiped out by foreign diseases.

In the 1940's a wealthy business man purchased the island and began  marketing it to the newly weds.

New cottages were built, advertisements were placed in magazines and contests were put on to select the lucky newly weds to go on their dream vacations.

The tropical warm weather and palm leaves covered huts seemed to be a perfect place for the newly weds.

Honey Moon Island was born! 


















When you are in love, you would be happy no matter where you are with your true love!

Honey Moon Island is another successful marketing story!



R.T.
Honey Moon Island
Florida
Thursday, Week of Feb 19, 2018

Relaxing on the Beach in Fred Howard State Park, Florida

Florida is famous for its sunny warm weather and its beaches.

 During the President’s weekend, we could not rent a car as none was available at the location where we were. A car became available on Sunday  and a lady from the car rental company came to our hotel and drove us to get the vehicle.

As soon as we got wheels,  we drove along the Florida coast and explored the many state parks this state has to offer. 

The first one we visited was the Fred Howard State Park, not far from us.

After we entered the park, we drove on the causeway surrounded by ocean water on both sides.

It was incredible to see cars driving right up to the edge of the water and parking there. We saw a few sun lovers simply sat by their cars and sunbath on the pavement without bothering going to the beach.

It was a warm, bright sunny day. Many people were on the beach enjoying the holiday weekend.

People were doing stand up pedaling. 

Kids were having fun casting their nets in shallow water catching clams and other water creatures.  

Water bikes and boats were available for rent for people to enjoy.

Others were parctising their gymnastic move. Some were just relaxing taking in the sight and enjoying the white sand under their feet.











Others were snoozing under the cover of an umbrella.

Life can be simple and enjoyable. We enjoyed  walking on the beach and just hanging out with friends!

R.T.
Fred Howard Park
Around Port Richey
Florida

Lending a Helping Hand to Our Friends in Florida

Florida is a sunny warm place.

We have been in Port Richey, Florida for over a week. 

Every morning , we woke up to sunny warm weather with temperature always hovering at around high 70 to 80 degrees F. It has not rain a day during our 9 days visit here. 

This precisely why we have Snow Birds, Canadians who come down to Florida and spend their winter months here.

Many of these Snow Birds buy vacation homes here and if they are retired, they spend their winter in Florida from around December to March/ April.

Our friends own  a home here but have not traveled and stayed in their vacation home for a period of time. 

We came down to give the family a hand to fix up the house and do whatever that needed to be done in order to beautify their place.

We were busy for a few days, removing grown branches around doors, scrubbing and painting.

We worked hard starting after breakfast, taking a break for lunch and resuming work again. 

It was a work party and not too bad except when the sun beat down on us in the afternoon when it got really hot.

We set our goals of what we needed to do.

We painted the front and most part of the house.

We gave the house a face lift and

were proud that we achieved what we have set out to do.

All work no play makes Jack a dull boy.  After we did our work, it was time to play and see Florida!

R.T.

Port Richey

Florida, USA
Week of 19, Feb. 2018