Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather. ~John Ruskin

The Sunshine Skyway connects St. Pete to Bradenton.
(Credit: roger4336's photostream @ flickr.com)

The Gulf of Mexico was still churning today from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee. As the hubbs & I were returning from an early morning doctor's appointment in St. Pete the wind & rain pretty much followed us south across the Sunshine Skyway. It's always a test of nerves to cross the very top of the Skyway as the wind shakes your vehicle & you glance down at the bay agitating like a heavy load in a washing machine. As we cruised the downside of the bridge & made our way south the waves were slapping up the sides of the seawall. I know this is the kind of weather that makes surfers & beachcombers happy....hey, that would be me.

Two hours later after getting the hubbs situated I donned my snazziest red rain poncho & made my way up the flooded streets to Manasota Key. As I pulled into Blind Pass Beach's parking lot there were only a few cars not the usual 40 or 50 (I can't imagine why). The wind was blowing from the SW & going right up my poncho making me look like a big red balloon. The beach was predictably deserted except for the jubilant surfers & a rain-soaked couple with a metal detector. I headed towards a part of the beach I know has shells when it storms. I really got my beachcomber on today. The wind blowing in my face & rain leaking down the inside of my poncho; it was awesome having the beach all to myself. I looked at every crab trap, coconut, & washed up hunk of wood. There were tons of cockle shells up on the wreck line. I also picked up coral & some big fragment shells. Sometimes life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to shell in the rain.