We started our day Friday by venturing to Honeymoon Island, a barrier island off the Dunedin mainland. Honeymoon Island state park offers a mix of activities including standard florida beach swimming, however we were there to hike the Osprey Trail in the more Floridian ecosystem zone of the island.
On our hike we saw multiple Osprey nest perched high in dead trees as well slash pines, a tropical pine tree (after I said there are no pines in Florida...idiot...). The highlight of the hike occured when we heard something sizable rustling in the brush and saw two other hikers paused ahead of us on the trail. On closer inspection it was an actual wild armadillo searching for insects on the forest floor. We patiently waited while the unqiue animal made his way into a clearing before snapping these pictures (kind of like Pokemon Snap?).
After a quick visit to the beach, we made our way through Dunedin in search of Checkers for a cheap heinously unhealthy lunch before the old ballgame. The game itself was a stark contrast to the offensive explosion we saw in Clearwater. Roy Halladay and Justin Verlander took the hill and set a pitching precedent that lent itself to a quick 3-1 Tigers victory.
The Blue Jays sent out a largely regular lineup consisting of David Eckstein, Alex Rios, Vernon Wells, Frank Thomas, Scott Rolen, Lyle Overbay (who drove in the lone Blue Jays run and played most of the game), Matt Stairs, Aaron Hill, and Gregg Zaun. The Tigers countered with a few regulars like Curtis Granderson who homered for the second straight day. Blue Jay relief pitchers included Scott Downs, Jeremy Accardo, Brian Tallet, Brandon League, Brian Wolfe (who struck out all three batters he faced), Jamie Vermilyea (pictured), and Kane Davis. Toronto's second string (Syracuse starters?) was made up of Russ Adams (3B), Ryan Patterson (RF), Joe Inglett (SS), Buck Coats (CF), Pedro Lopez (2B), Matt Watson and Scranton native Wayne Lydon (LF), Sal Fasano and Brian Jeroloman (C), Chip Cannon (1B), and 2006 first rounder Travis Snider (DH).
On our hike we saw multiple Osprey nest perched high in dead trees as well slash pines, a tropical pine tree (after I said there are no pines in Florida...idiot...). The highlight of the hike occured when we heard something sizable rustling in the brush and saw two other hikers paused ahead of us on the trail. On closer inspection it was an actual wild armadillo searching for insects on the forest floor. We patiently waited while the unqiue animal made his way into a clearing before snapping these pictures (kind of like Pokemon Snap?).After a quick visit to the beach, we made our way through Dunedin in search of Checkers for a cheap heinously unhealthy lunch before the old ballgame. The game itself was a stark contrast to the offensive explosion we saw in Clearwater. Roy Halladay and Justin Verlander took the hill and set a pitching precedent that lent itself to a quick 3-1 Tigers victory.
The Blue Jays sent out a largely regular lineup consisting of David Eckstein, Alex Rios, Vernon Wells, Frank Thomas, Scott Rolen, Lyle Overbay (who drove in the lone Blue Jays run and played most of the game), Matt Stairs, Aaron Hill, and Gregg Zaun. The Tigers countered with a few regulars like Curtis Granderson who homered for the second straight day. Blue Jay relief pitchers included Scott Downs, Jeremy Accardo, Brian Tallet, Brandon League, Brian Wolfe (who struck out all three batters he faced), Jamie Vermilyea (pictured), and Kane Davis. Toronto's second string (Syracuse starters?) was made up of Russ Adams (3B), Ryan Patterson (RF), Joe Inglett (SS), Buck Coats (CF), Pedro Lopez (2B), Matt Watson and Scranton native Wayne Lydon (LF), Sal Fasano and Brian Jeroloman (C), Chip Cannon (1B), and 2006 first rounder Travis Snider (DH).
Since we had parked for free close to the center of town a few blocks from the stadium, we made our way back downtown at the conslusion of the game to do some Rochester-style bar hopping in delightfully different Dunedin. We had a quick drink at Flanigan's Irish Pub before hiking up Douglas Ave. to the Dunedin Brewery and Snug Pub where we shared an incredible beer and cheese dip. I'd highly recommend the brewery to anyone back home who likes Custom Brewcrafters or Rohrbach's. After a stroll out to the municipal pier, we ended up eating dinner at Casa Tina's, a semi-bourg mexican restaurant who serves up excellent beef quesadillas.We are running a little bit late today, but the plan is to hit the St. Petersburg Saturday Morning Market followed by the Rays taking on the Jays and Dustin McGowan at Al Lang Stadium before we journey back to the Northeast late tonight. Wrap ups are likely to be posted Sunday.
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