On Sunday, March 18, 2007, Jen and I were done with our conference at 10 am, so we decided to head to the beach. We decided to head towards Clearwater (the Gulf Coast, near Tampa/St. Petersburg). While online previously, we decided upon Fort DeSoto County Park, which was rated as the #1 Beach in America a couple of years ago. I now know why.
It was sunny, and only about 68-70 degrees. The Park is located on an island at the mouth of Tampa Bay. I have not been to too many beaches, but this was impressive. Miles and miles of beach... and the white sand was like powder, at least in the area we were at. There were tons of shells, many of which I had never seen before, and the colors were much more varied than at other beaches I have been to.
We got there and ate Subway for lunch on the beach (the seagulls and other birds were quite enthralled with us). Then we walked to beach to a pier, and spent some time there. We decided to sun bathe... without sunscreen (oops!). By 4:30 pm, I was quite burned, and headed to the shade. Later, Jen joined me and we went to dinner (at IHOP, no less), and then made it just in time to see this.
And so it came about, that I saw my first sunset on the gulf. It was amazing. The orb seemed to melt into the water, seemingly just miles out in the ocean. It was incredible. We had read from Ephesians 5 earlier, and following this incredible display of beauty, sang parts of "I Will Call Upon The Lord." When I see something like this, what else can I do but call out to the Lord, proclaiming that he lives!
Universal Studios was great. The weather was warm, but not hot. I went with three fellow doctors (all family physicians... but that makes sense since it was a family practice conference). 
This is me on one of the main streets in Universal. It looks like a cityscape in the background, but it is all fascade. We saw the 3-D Shrek movie/ride, which was really awesome. I enjoyed it a lot.
The awesome view of the spinning Universal Sign on our way out. 
