Dunedin Florida; Dunedin Causeway; Sailing In Hurricane Pass

More fun in the sun. This was picture was taken less than a week ago! It was a beautiful, warm day and people were out enjoying every bit of it. These two sailboats make a good picture to give you an idea of how it felt to be out on the Dunedin Causeway, or sailing in Hurricane Pass, between Caladesi Island and Honeymoon Island. Even standing still in the shade, to take my photographs, was a very hot endeavor!

The nearer, blue, sailboat is a trimaran, but I don't know the make. The further boat, with the multicolored sail, is a Hobie Cat. Hobie is a very popular brand of catamaran. They are light, and easy to sail. And LOTS of fun. Trimarans can be a lot of fun too. This trimaran was not exactly screaming along, but if you want to see an incredible trimaran video on YouTube, click here. It gets more incredible as you get a little further into the video.

Oh, and did I mention... The City Of Dunedin Holiday Street Parade, aka Christmas Parade, is tomorrow! Yup, tomorrow starting at 11AM! And also, they are having the Candy Cane Lane Holiday Craft Fair Extraordinaire! The craft fair will be at the Dunedin Community Center. The parade will be on Douglas Ave. Also on Sunday, the Holiday Chorus Concert, also at the Community Center. Lots of fun stuff this weekend!

Winter Water Activities in Dunedin, Florida

My last several posts, featuring scenes of Christmas Celebrations in Downtown Dunedin have met with delight at the realization that many people are wearing shorts in those photos. I am sensing a lot of desire for warm weather and sunshine. So, because this is why people relocate to, or vacation in, Florida and the Dunedin area, I am starting a series today of sunny winter fun.

The photo above was taken from side street just a few blocks north of Downtown Dunedin, just north of the Dunedin Marina. I have never seen this spinnaker before. But it is a pretty little craft, and certainly speaks to the spirit of Florida Living. It looks like fun, doesn't it?

The body of water they are sailing upon is called St. Joseph Sound by some people, or Clearwater Harbor by others, and makes up part of the Intracoastal Waterway . The trees in the background are on Caladesi Island, which is also Caladesi Island State Park. To get to the Gulf Of Mexico from here, you either go a little further south to Clearwater Pass, or you go a little north to Hurricane Pass. In fact, over the next several days, I will bring you more images of sunny winter water fun along the Dunedin Causeway, including boating activity in Hurricane Pass.

If you would like to see more photos of the area, check out Clearwater Daily Photo and Clearwater Beach Daily Photo too!

Dunedin Florida - Old Fashioned Christmas Fun & Food

Did I mention all the fun for the kids? They had a children's craft booth, a place they could make their own s'mores. There were old fashioned toys like the hoop, and the walking cans and even stilts! As if all that were not cool enough, they had a train running up and down Main Street, just for the kids! Way cool!

Of course, you may be asking yourself "But what about Santa Claus, Wayne, where was he?" Well, he was there alright. The top left picture in the table below shows one of his helper Elves. If you look closely just left of the Elf's hat, in about the middle of the picture (click on it to enlarge it), you will see his face peeking through the mob. That's right, he was there, but if you were not a determined parent with a child in tow, you were NOT getting near him! :D

I am wrapping up the series on the Old Fashioned Christmas in Downtown Dunedin, Florida, with the table of pictures below. Click on them for large, easy to enjoy, images. There is one on the bottom left of the horse and carriage ride that was available. The other four give you an idea of the variety of edibles that were available. Just getting this post ready is making me hungry all over again. The booths included Funnel Cakes, Chick-Fil-A, Papa John's Pizza, and Kettle Korn, just to name a few. This was a great event for anyone here on a Florida vacation, scouting relocation to Dunedin, or even just out for a nice evening with the family. An excellent event for locals and visitors alike.

Dunedin Florida - Old Fashioned Christmas Live Entertainment

There was no lack of live entertainment at the Old Fashioned Christmas event! Dunedin, Florida did it again, with a wide variety of live entertainment, sprinkled all up and down the street. Everyone enjoyed the music, each of us having a favorite of the evening. Mine was the duo above, The Moon Glow Duo they are called. Excellent, mellow music. Wonderful Christmas cheer. So I bought one of their CD's, and have enjoyed it very much indeed. So, you want to know more, eh? Click here to see their MySpace page, and listen to some of their music.

But I also enjoyed the accordion player at Bellini's too. He was playing Christmas music, but of course, with an accordion, it sounds so delightfully Italian! There was a man playing a keyboard near the Children's Area, but there was so much noise there I could not even hear him. Poor guy. And there was a Scotsman playing bagpipe near Cafe Alfresco. You could not miss the sound of those pipes! Wow. It was neat stuff. I listened for a while, and then decided I needed to share his picture with you. One last note... to all my fellow bloggers that I normally visit every day. The hours are killing me. Have not seen bed before 1:30am for weeks (up before 6am). So although I will visit each day, I will only be able to comment every 2nd or 3rd day. Thanks for understanding.

Dunedin Florida Downtown - Christmas Celebration

First, I must say, if any of you would like to see a daytime shot of the bridge I featured on Bridge day, click here.

The Old Fashioned Christmas Celebration was a big hit. Lots and lots of people having a good time. There were all sorts of food choices, and plenty of live entertainment. You cannot forget the children at Christmas time, and there was plenty for them too.

Santa was sitting with the little ones to have their pictures taken with him. There was a whole section for kids where they played old fashioned games, made crafts and so much more. In fact, down the side street where Erika's and The Enchanted Branch are, they had a whole second street festival setup for kids, where they played with 'old fashioned' toys like hoops, and walking on cans, and walking on stilts. It seemed to be a great time.

There was a concert in the Pioneer Park band shell. Very nice, with different 'acts' from a variety of groups throughout this area. Most merchants were open, providing everything from free drinks to information about their products.

Oh, and let's not forget the carriage and hay wagon rides!! Yes, and even a little train for the kiddies to ride! And believe me, there was more that I cannot remember at the moment, but as I review the pictures for posting, you will hear about anything I forgot. In the meantime, the pictures below include a boy getting a test drive on an old High Wheel bicycle; happy people getting a ride on a hay wagon; and happy dog owners enjoying their happy dogs! There were quite a few dogs enjoying the festivities, and all seemed very well behaved.