A Pier with a past! The St. Pete Pier

The Railroad Pier was built in 1889 by the Orange Belt Railway. It was the first privately owned and was an attraction for locals and tourists. The elaborately designed Electric Pier, which was located on Second Avenue North, was erected in 1906. This pier was well known for it's delightful night lights, from about 1914. 



The first Municipal Pier was constructed in 1914 as well, with a $40,000 bond approved by voters. This pier was built on Second Avenue North only about 10 feet from the north side of the Electric Pier.



In 1921, a hurricane destroyed all standing piers and the then 8 year old Municipal Pier was severely crippled, that is when the "Million Dollar Pier" dream was realized. (1925) This would be the first city owned pier.  



The "Dream Pier" or the Million Dollar Pier was opened/Dedicated on Thanksgiving Day in 1926 and over 10,000 people came to watch the dedication ceremonies! 



The landmark of the inverted pyramid pier that stands today is owned by the City of St.Petersburg, which opened in Jan. 1973.  There are still some shops, food, ice-cream and a center floor aquarium, with an over look balcony from the second floor.  (You may want to watch those pesky teenagers from above)
The Pier is opened most of the year, rain or shine!

Dade Battlefield State Park, Bushnell, Florida

Being an avid State Park lover, we decided on our journey to Jacksonville to see Dark Castle, that we would stop at as many State Parks as time would allow us as.  We left a little later than we had inticipated but we were happy to be on the road nonetheless.  Our journey started at approximatley 1130am on Sunday, the 28th.  We started off on the back roads of Florida. We started on US301 NORTH toward Jax.  We adventured off the path to Dade Battlefield State Park, which is exit 314 off of I75 just west of 301. 

2:21pm  Arrived at Dade Battlefield State Park. First thing I notice was there is a lot of Spanish moss on the trees. It made me immediately think of Kristin, who loves the moss.  We had a mission in mind, PASSPORT STAMP!!! So, we parked in the 10 car parking lot and adventured to the visitor center.  We stopped and of course, got the stamp as well as picture of the moment.  We took a short journey through the center and then ventured out to the trail.  It is a very small park, it does have some trails through the flats, I think a 20 mile trail.  We were pressed for time, so we just walked through the historic battle site.
Here is a little bit of history for you. 

On December 28th, 1835, Indian Warriors ambushed 108 soldiers at this site.  Only three soldiers survived.  This site is 80 acres of protected historical site.  The trees are beautiful and the moss is lovely.  Certainly a lot smaller than we had expected, but is still a nice park for a picnic.  ne more stamp in the State Park passport!