[cogitator]

Here's hoping and praying that the Charley recovery goes smoothly and quickly.

[cogitator]

** ping **

[Chani]

bttt

[Defend the Second]

As a boy I lived on Coquina Key (just south of the airport you mention - called Albert Whitted Airport) and spent many, many days on Egmont Key (shaped like a backwards apostrophe) and Mullet Key (shaped like a wishbone) to the left of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge which crosses the mouth of the bay.

Egmont Key has a nineteenth century lighthouse on it that was still in use in the 60's when I camped (and was eaten by mosquitoes) there. Whenever you built a fire on the beach the lighthouse keeper would walk down and tell ghost stories to kids like us. Mullet Key has old Fort DeSoto, an 1890's vintage harbour battery designed to protect Tampa Bay from the Spanish during the Spanish-American War. In the 60's you could crawl all over 3 giant, rusted howitzers that were still in the fort. Both these places are parks now.

Both islands were used for fighter gunnery practice during WWII and as a kid you could find .50 caliber shell casings all over those islands.

Thanks for the photo. It brought back many fond memories.

[dirtboy]

Man, talk about a bay aligned to maximize storm surge.