Weedon Island Preserve

I dragged Linda kicking and screaming to buy a canoe. (It’s OK to go out alone occasionally, but I wanted someone to go out with me, especially to places further away from home.) I explained to her a canoe would be good to have when family comes to visit. I know my Mom and nephew would want to go to some of the places I’ve mentioned, and Bruce and Rose would be game to paddle through the parks in Pinellas County.

This morning we awoke at 6:30 am to prepare for our trip to Weedon Island in St. Petersburg. Got to Mayra’s around 7:30, and off we went with Linda as the navigator.

I thought we were lost half way there and pulled over on a side street. Linda kept telling me we were on course After she reminded me that she had navigated from Bellingham, WA to Seminole, FL on our move down here in ‘99, we had no problems finding the place.

Weedon Island Preserve has over 1,000 acres, and 4 miles of canoe trails. (And thank goodness those trails are marked through the mangroves.) The shot I have of the launch site was taken when we were coming back in. Linda wouldn’t let me take a launch shot. She was still in her “I really don’t want to do this. It’s going to be hot, I want to go swimming in a pool, I’m hungry, and ...” mood.

We didn’t see the markers until we had grounded ourselves on the oyster beds. Once we say the signs with the numbers, we were smooth rowing. We’ll sort of. Turning a 14’ canoe around some of the bends wasn’t easy. Most of the time we found ourselves heading into the mangroves.


Some of the trail is so narrow you have to stop to let someone pass. That how I got the picture of the man in the kayak, going the opposite direction.

After we had made it out into the bay, Linda had had enough. She was hungry. We switched places, and she took the oar and the bow. I finally seen a Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron, but as you can see I didn’t get a great shot. Linda was determined to turn the canoe into a cigar boat. I swear we had a wake, with her rowing.

I did get a shot of an immature Yellow-Crowned Night Heron, because we had stopped to let some kayakers pass.

The preserve is next to a power plant.

Before I turned the bow over to Linda, I got a picture of a Tri-colored Heron in a dead tree.

Linda is a convert. She is ready to go out next weekend. "It's so relaxing." That's what I have been trying to tell her.

After the trip, Mayra treated us to lunch (Thank you Mayra) at The Pub on Indian Rocks Beach. I had no problem sitting there watching the boats come in and out, and the dolphins swimming.

By the way, if you are wondering obout the semi circles. I bought an adapter for my Kodak Z612 that allows me to use a filter. When I'm out on the water, my lens was getting wet. With the filter, it is now protected. Wide angle shots are affected.