Wow! What a summer it’s been.
For the past two years we returned from our summer break shortly after Labor Day to hurricane evacuations. This year, thankfully, Hurricane Florence took a different tack. While August set a record for rain, September broke a record set in 1958 for the most days with 90 degree high temperatures. For a while during the month it was hard to remember that we live in Paradise. While ‘Red Tide’ effects were noted by the early explorers to our area, this year’s bloom was long-lasting and persistent, especially for our neighbors to the south. The fragrance chased would-be beach-goers away for over a week in mid-month and dented a record tourism year.
While coastal cities worked diligently to keep the beaches clear of dead fish, strong winds from the west persisted all weekend. A bartender at Caddy’s in Treasure Island said the stench even chased away their dedicated drinkers, forcing them to close early on at least one occasion. We’ve never prayed so hard for winds from the east.
We are now celebrating the arrival of fall, the passage of our traditionally most active tropical storm months, and the beginning of some of the best weather of the year. With cooler morning and evening walks on the beach, and comfortable weather for dining al fresco, we can begin to remember why we call this Paradise.
There have been a number of changes in the dining scene on the barrier islands this summer. Selene is closed indefinitely, Salty Rim is now Shrimpy’s, Skidders is being renovated, St. Pete Beach Mediterranean Deli has eliminated most of the fresh produce not used in their kitchen and they added a hood and more indoor restaurant seating.
Our cover story this month features MadFish, where we introduced Chef Oliver and his family two years ago. We are thrilled to report that it’s success and popularity has persisted, with 4.5 out of 5 stars and a persistent top 10 position on Trip Advisor.
Flood insurance issues are again in the news as Congress only kicked the can down the road in July, and action has to be taken again to keep the program in force after November 30th. We are happy to hear that FEMA map changes are less scary for our area than we feared and that there are new alternatives in the private market.
Slightly cooler weather and the end of summer brings an uptick in outdoor events. For example, the Saturday Morning Market downtown and Sunday Markets on Corey Ave., free Thursday night Movies in the Park downtown and free October’s Friday night Waterfront Concerts in St. Pete Beach have resumed. Octoberfests are scheduled in St. Pete Beach and Tierra Verde, Halloween Events and Seafood Fest at John’s Pass, and in early November, there’s SPIFFS and RibFest and the Treasure Island Sand Sculpture and Music Festival, Sanding Ovations.
If you happen to do business with any of our advertisers, please make sure they know that you learned about them through Paradise NEWS, even if you go to their website before calling them! Enjoy your fall in Paradise and thanks for reading!
Renee & Peter Roos & All the Talented People that help create your Paradise News.