Harbor Oaks, Clearwater, Florida
Work is a little slow today, and right now I’m waiting to hear back on a client’s availability for the last two weeks of October…so I have a spare sliver of time. Eating a mid-afternoon snack: cottage cheese & blueberries parfait, and listening to Pandora Weekend Players radio.
Spent some time last night in Clearwater, serving as the “geek squad” for a client at his presentation to a community group on the beach. I didn’t enjoy work encroaching on my evening, however the long drive to and from Clearwater allowed me to reflect (as Pisces frequently do). Clearwater isn’t a city regularly termed as beautiful or exciting for those under 50, as it is in the northwestern area of Pinellas County, a 45 minute drive from Tampa and St. Petersburg, with few cultural/sports attractions and a bizarre Scientology colonization in the downtown area. But, credit should be given for a few of Clearwater’s strengths:
- Historic Harbor Oaks is like Old Northeast in St. Pete or Hyde Park in Tampa – very beautiful, full of foliage, and wonderfully preserved. Too bad it’s such a small area (from the waterfront to Fort Harrison Avenue and from Turner Street to Jeffords Street).
- Progressive urban development is seen along Fort Harrison, with multi-story townhouses and street-frontage shops.
- Extensive recreational facilities include green areas along the Clearwater Causeway, the Pinellas Trail (which runs through Downtown Clearwater), and along Clearwater Beach.
- Traffic engineers for the city had a wild hair to build a roundabout at Mandalay Avenue and Coronado Drive (entrance to the beach). Confusing for most drivers but ultimately brilliant, because delay is still less than if there was a massive stoplight, and drivers have to slow down considerably to proceed with caution (yield).
The weather since Saturday has been cooler and crisper, with less humidity – a nod to the coming Florida fall.The evening sunset was lovely along the Courtney Campbell, although I was heading away from it.
