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Beach Equipment Rentals:
We have made arrangements with the beach equipment rental folks on Sand Key to pre-pay your discounted chairs and umbrella rentals. Pre-paying the equipment also insures that it will be available when we arrive. Given the depth of the beach, this is a great option at a reasonable price! You will need to indicate on your reservation form what you want to rent and you will need to include the payment with your trip fee/reservation form.
● Umbrella rental: $20 per day + 18% gratuity
● Lounge Chair: $15 per day + 18% gratuity
● 2 Lounge Chairs and Umbrella: $30 per day + 18% gratuity
Both the restroom and bathhouse are located on the beach, as well as a concession stand right in the park. There is a food truck on Sand Key beach that sells hot dogs, chicken strips, and ice cream. For beachgoers with more sophisticated palates, the Sheraton Sand Key Resort, which borders the south end of the park, has a Poolside Cafe open 11:30am-3:00pm, serving sandwiches, nachos, and veggie wraps; less than a 1/2 mile walk. In addition, the Sheraton Resort sports the Mainstay Tavern which opens at 12pm. with a gastropub type menu and local craft beers. No alcohol is allowed on the beach so this might be a place you want to visit.
After we have had our fill of sun and sand, we will board the bus at 5 pm to take in the sunset at Pier 60 on Clearwater Beach (a 15 minute ride). We will arrive at the Clearwater Beach area in plenty of time for you to take a short walk to one of the area restaurants, have dinner, even shop a bit and return to Pier 60 area for the sunset festivities.
2024 Beach Trips
We know you visit the beach to just relax, read a book, take in the beauty, or even sleep, and we know just the perfect beach for all of that and more. Sand Key, with its wide swath of powder-soft sand and gentle surf has often been voted one of the nation’s top beaches.
Hooters; 381 Mandalay Ave; https://originalhooters.com/locations/tampa-bay/clearwater-beach; a sports bar and grill chain famous for chicken wings.
Jimmy Crow’s Nest (10th floor of the Pier House 60 Hotel) 101 Coronado Drive. They have a spectacular view of the beach at sunset from their rooftop location. https://www.jimmyscrowsnest.com/menu.html a rooftop bar offering cocktails, American fare, and outstanding panoramic views.
Kilwin’s; 391 Mandalay Ave. https://kilwins.com; serving fresh home-made chocolates, fudge, and ice cream.
Summer heat on the beach:
During the last two beach trips, we've had THREE heat related health incidents. They have ranged from disorientation and fainting to seizures and unresponsiveness. Just in case your mirror is being kind and you haven't noticed, we are ALL getting older and heat/dehydration affect us more, as in MUCH more, than it ever did before. And the heat this summer is more oppressive - more humidity with higher temperatures. There are heat advisories/warnings nearly every day in The Villages.
We've been extremely fortunate so far.....with EMTs just around the corner and other first responders helping out. But we are unwilling to continue to rely on our procedures and plain luck to get us through the August trip.
Before you sign up for this trip, you must commit to staying hydrated while on the beach, seeking shade or air conditioning when you begin to feel too warm and realizing that what you could do last summer might be different than what you can do this summer, in this heat. This trip, since it departs later, will expose you to more of the summer heat.
Barefoot Beachcombers Club (‘BBC’ will also suffice)
333 Colony Blvd. #110 *
The Villages, FL 32162
* Be sure to include the mailbox number #110 because there are two BBC's at this Safe Ship Location.
You could instead hand your addressed envelope to a person at the counter at Safe Ship in Colony Plaza, saving you the stamp and ensure its timely arrival.
Bar Tiki (above Marina Cantina) with panoramic views. 25 Causeway Blvd. https://www.Bartiki.com serving nachos, flatbreads and more.
Crabby’s Dockside; 37 Causeway Blvd. https://crabbysdocksideclearwater.com; serving American favorites plus seafood and a full bar.
Frenchy’s Rockaway Grill; 7 Rockaway St. http://rockawaymenu.com/. Grouper Sandwiches are our specialty.
To print a copy of this invitation, click on the Blue Button.
Photo Credit: BeachCatcher
The Sunset Festival at Pier 60 is a hidden gem to the locals. At 8:05 pm on Monday, if you stand out over the Gulf on any spot of their 609 foot Pier you will see a white-capped ocean, and a signature sunset. The Festival begins two hours prior to sunset (8:05 pm) which would make it around 6 pm and runs for 2 hours after sunset…or 6-10pm. (No, we’ll be long gone by the time they close up on the Pier!)
We will have the opportunity to observe a daring live performance, (men walking on stilts or swallowing fire). Plus, the vendors only sell handcrafted artwork. You will have plenty of time to have dinner before sunset happens. A few restaurants are listed below for your convenience
| Aug 19 | Sand Key Beach & Sunset at Pier 60 |
Sand Key Beach & Sunset at Pier 60
on Monday, August 19 th, 11:00am until 11:00pm
To get in on the fun, print the reservation form by clicking on the green button above. On August 5th, we will conduct our lottery and you will be notified shortly thereafter of your seat confirmation or waitlist status. (This means your reservation & check must be at SafeShip by 2pm on August 3rd) Mail or drop the reservation form, along with your check (made out to the BBC) for $30.00 per person to:
I/we would like to go to Sand Key/Clearwater with the BBC on Monday, August 19th. Enclosed is my $30 check (pp).
Print your name(s): __________________________________________________
I/we wish to be on the bus with these friends (name up to four)
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
I/we still have a credit with the BBC and I would like to use that credit. _______
Please provide a phone number that the Club could use in the event we needed to
reach you during the beach outing: ______________________________
Please provide the name of the Village where you live _____________________
I want to rent two chairs with one umbrella and have added $35.40 to my check.
I want to rent one chair with one umbrella and have added $41.30 to my check.
I want to rent one chair and have added $17.70 to my check.
I want to rent one umbrella and have added $23.60 to my check.
We had so much fun last summer with our ‘late departure’ trip and so many of the folks on last year’s trip wanted to do it again, that we decided to offer it again this summer while the days are long. We will still end up in the town of Clearwater Beach, but only for Sunset at Pier 60. We will spend our beach time at the more serene (and significantly less crowded) Sand Key Beach, just across Clearwater Harbor.
DINNER RESTAURANTS:
We'll send a map with your Trip Details for your convenience so you can readily find them all. These are all pretty high quality restaurants, probably because there is so much competition. We’ve not have a bad meal in Clearwater Beach yet.
Badfins; 215 S Gulfview Blvd. https://badfins.com; outdoor patio & beer garden serving beer on tap, tacos, classic pub fare plus live entertainment.
Adventures:
Clearwater Beach also has adventures unlike most of the beaches we visit. If you want a sea adventure, the selection at Clearwater is comprehensive. There is the Calypso Queen, Sea Screamer, Waverunner Rentals & Tours, Encounter with Dolphins, and Captain Memo’s Pirate Cruise. Captain Memo’s offers a sunset cruise that leaves the dock at 7 pm with a discounted price for seniors. We can tell you that Captain Memo’s cruise was a big hit with our members last year. If several of you decide to take the sunset cruise, we will delay our departure for home by a few minutes to allow you to disembark from the 2-hour tour and cross the street to board your waiting bus. Reservations for the pirate sunset tour are suggested. You can make those by checking their website and following the instructions. http://captainmemo.com/. Be sure to select the senior rate!
We recommend that you be back at the pier by 7:30pm. (unless you have been whisked away on the pirate ship) at the latest so you can enjoy the entertainment, browse artisan vendor items and find a perch on the pier to gaze out at the beautiful sunset, that is, if you are not perched on a rooftop bar! At 9pm, we will reluctantly board our buses to head back to The Villages, arriving around 11pm.
Fishing:
Pier 60 has a full-feature fishing pier at its end. If you just want to walk to the end and gaze off into the Gulf, there is a $1 fee, payable in the shop situated on the pier. They also rent fishing poles, sell bait and issue fishing permits, and are run by the City of Clearwater. Daily fishing fees for Seniors is $8; rod rental is $10, but you can bring your own as well. We heard that the night fishing is terrific.
Marina Cantina (above Salt Cracker) 25 Causeway Blvd. https://marinacantina.com; On the roof serving Mexican fare with a Tequila bar.
While at the beach everyone should stay for at least one sunset in their life!
If this is your FIRST EVER BBC trip: The BBC has a Liability Waiver specific to our club. Please follow the link: http://www.bbc32162.com/liability-waiver-1.html; click on the Blue Button to print the Liability Waiver and submit it with your reservation form. If this is not your first trip, please skip this step.
It is a serenely quiet beach where you can transport yourself from the craziness of The Villages to a slice of tropical paradise designed for sunning, swimming, and relaxation. But sunset on the beach is an experience on a different level.
Plan on sleeping- in because we do not depart until 11 am in order to still be on the beach at 8:05 pm to view the awesome sunset on Clearwater Pier 60.
We will arrive on Sand Key Beach around 1 pm. This is a pretty wide beach, so if you are not up to walking a fair distance, this trip is not for you. There are a couple of beach wheelchairs available in the park that we could try to secure if needed, but we would not be guaranteed their usage.
Salt Cracker Fish Camp; 25 Causeway Blvd. https://saltcrackerfishcamp.com/menus/; a casual environment serving American, fish, seafood, and cocktails on the terrace.
Salty Island Bar (located in the Pelican Pointe Hotel) 437 S. Gulfview Blvd. https://saltyisland.com; features classic seafood dishes, frozen cocktails on a deck with amazing views.
We, the Pizza; 301 S. Gulfview Blvd. https://wethepizza.com/locations/clearwater-fl; NYC style pizza by the pie or slice & homemade sodas.