(Avon Park, FL) Hi 73 Lo 62 – Today we went to see "Sanding Ovations," a sand sculpture competition held every year at Treasure Island, just west of St. Petersburg. I read about it last night on Karen and Al’s blog. It’s about a two hour trip, but being Sunday there was very little traffic. We had to go over the Sunshine Skyway, which connects Bradenton with St. Petersburg. I hate that bridge, it’s way too high and over water.
We found a parking spot about a block from the beach. Treasure Island is called the Sand Sculpture Capital of the World. Along with the beautiful sculptures, there were many food and craft vendors set up on the white sand beach. There was also a music stage, with live music throughout the day.
Here's some of the sculptures we liked the best. (Click on the photos to enlarge them.)
The sculptures have to be sprayed down periodically. If they get too dry they can crumble.
This one was very popular. The artist (in the dark shirt) was explaining how the shadow on the sundial will form a straight line right at noon. This photo was taken about 15 minutes before noon, so the shadow is almost straight.
This one is my favorite. This is the front...
...and this is the back side. It’s as if the girl is fighting demons in her head.
The vendor area.
A pirate ship.
We walked around an hour or so then left to find some lunch. (The prices on the beach were really high!) We found a local buffet restaurant with good food at a good price.
Rather than come straight home we checked out a few RV parks in the Tampa Bay area. We may want to try another park next year, so we plan to visit as many as we can this winter. Why change? Because we can, we have wheels. :) There are a lot of RV parks around, we just have to find one that’s right for us.
We got home just before dark. Jim recorded the last NASCAR race of the season, so we settled in to watch it. It’s great to just pick up and go when and where we want. We love Florida!
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13 comments:
Those sculptures are amazing! Such fun!
Those sand sculptures are just awesome! I'm always amazed at people's artistic ability and the mediums they use to express their creativity.
Those sand sculptures are awesome!
Just be careful not to sneeze around them...
The Skyway Bridge sure is pretty when you go under it on a cruise ship though. BTW, when we drive over it, I insist on the middle lane!
Awesome sand sculptures!
Very cool -- looks like a fun festival!
Wow, so cool to be able to experience that. It's amazing how detailed they can get.
What a great road trip. Your pictures are amazing.
you take great pics, how do you travel if you hate bridges. my brother does the same thing sort of he is a wood carver
Thank you so much for posting all the pictures. When we were there on Friday the incomplete sculptures were amazing, but so much better when they were finished! Wow!
If you think the new Sunshine Skyway is scary, you should have driven over the old one. It was really scary and high.
I don't know if you ever heard about the Skyway Disaster, but it was a big thing here when it happened. It was knocked down by a huge ship and many people died.
Here is a video if you're interested.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMjBGLxMdP4
The sand sculptures are so cool. They are very talented artists!
WOW! We will have to remember this...wonder if it's about the same time every year?
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