Gulfport, FL to St. Petersburg, FL

Date             December 12, 2011
Day              167

Departure     Gulfport Municipal Marina, Gulfport, FL 9:30 am                              

Arrival          St. Petersburg Municipal Marina, St. Petersburg, FL 12:25 pm
Miles                14.3  
Cumulative   3894.4

Today we traveled to St. Petersburg, FL.

St. Petersburg skyline

Entering the St. Petersburg Municipal Marina

First order of business, find the post office and mail our Christmas packages.  The U.S. Post Office (also known as the Open Air Post Office) at 400 First Ave. North in St. Petersburg, FL is an historic building. On April 4, 1975, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

St. Pete Post office

The municipal marina is a short walk from the Pier.  The Pier has been a landmark of downtown St. Petersburg since 1899 when Peter Demens hooked up the Orange Belt Railroad to a half-mile wharf. D. F. Brantley started the first Pier Pavilion in 1895, but it is the 1926 Million Dollar Pier, torn down in 1973 to house today's inverted pyramid structure, that long-time residents remember.

The old, 1926 Million Dollar Pier

The Pier as it is today

As we walked through the park, we discovered this Christmas creche