Saturday Sunset at Howard Park

We met friends for dinner at Rusty Bellies on the Sponge Docks last night.  It was a very warm evening but we were able to stand and wait inside.  I had called ahead as we left the house and gotten us on the wait list so our wait was not as long as others.  Dinner was great.  I had "Carly Sue's Cheesy Shrimp and Grits" and it was just a delicious as ever.

After we left the restaurant, we noticed color in the clouds and decided to drive through Howard Park on the way home.  As we hit the east end of the causeway, we could see a hint of what was to come.

Sunsets are pretty as they sink into the water, but some of the prettiest sunsets are the ones with lots of clouds along the horizon.

As we approached the first bridge, the gold started to spread along the shoreline even though the sun was partially block.  This is my cell phone photography.  I wish I had had my Z740 with me.

But I didn't so these will have to do.  I think you can tell how pretty it was, anyway.  The sun set and the golden rays started stretching toward Heaven and gilded the cloud tops as they did.

The skies in the east had storm clouds building and these mounds of clouds were topped with white fluffies that started picking up the reflected light.  And they, in turn, were casting a reflection across St. John's Sound.

As we rounded the end of the parking lot on the island, I was able to catch a few "palms against the sunset" shots -- typical of a Gulf of Mexico sunset.  This one...

And this....

I am snapping as fast as I can at this point...  We have rounded the southern end of the island and are headed back toward the causeway.  The clouds in the east are really picking up the colors now.

And then, I was just overwhelmed as we headed back down the causeway.  This view was the prettiest of the night, I think.

I'll leave you with this one.  Another lovely evening in Tarpon Springs coming to a close.  I was pleasantly stuffed and totally relaxed by the time we pulled into the driveway five minutes later.  I can't help but think about the years we spent making all night drives to get down here to watch a few magnificent sunsets while we were here. And it was worth every mile.

We have gotten awfully spoiled now.  But we still don't take it for granted.