After reviewing our itinerary, we have determined we need the Hepatitis A, Typhoid and possibly the Japanese encephalitis vaccines for the first year of travel. We may have the yellow fever vaccine since it lasts a lifetime and we know we’ll be visiting some of the infected areas in South America such as Brazil at some point in the next few years.
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| Hotels along the shore enroute to Clearwater Beach |
There’s also Malaria and the Zika virus, both spread by mosquito’s. (and as mentioned before, mosquitos love me) And neither have vaccines for prevention. Malaria does have an antibiotic that you can take before, during and after your stay but there is a lot of information out there about how it can do more harm than good so we’ll talk more about it before deciding. Otherwise, we’ll be diligent about using good protection, having our clothes treated, wearing long sleeves/long pants and having a mosquito net around our bed at night in the more vulnerable zones.
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| Clearwater Pass Bridge – traffic was horrific. Ferry much better! |
In our quest for getting information on what vaccines were needed we started out on the phone at the Florida health dept. (this was after we tried to visit in person but was directed to the call center) The person on the phone barely spoke English much less understood it. It was very frustrating.
We were finally transferred to a supervisor who spoke very good English but didn’t want to hear our frustrations on the now 30 minute phone call. We have an appointment for next Friday to discuss what vaccines we may need and have injected that day, possibly. Each vaccine is $80-$150 each plus a $50 consultation fee. If we have 3 vaccines each plus a titer test, we are looking at the maximum of $1200. Unbelievable, but a necessity.
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| A shrink wrapped yacht being delivered from the British Virgin Islands on a barge. Hope it was nice one. |
We had been working on this since 10 am, driving and calling to different health departments only to be turned away and given the number to call and make an appointment. It was now 4 pm and they said we can walk in to any clinic between 8-5 and get the titer test started since it takes a week to 10 days. We decide to go to the one closest to us but once again bombed out because the blood “pickup” has already been done for the day. Nothing accomplished but making an appointment all day. Guess it wasn’t meant to be. Today, anyway.
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| The pirate ship attraction. Lots of fun for kids |
Sometimes I wonder if all of this is worth it but I quickly answer the question. YES! To be able to travel the world and explore areas that I only dreamed of is unimaginable. We are so blessed to be able to have this opportunity at this time in our lives. These are just a necessity to keep us healthy and I’ll gladly take the shot to be able to travel and explore the world.
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| Sea Screamer. Another attraction/boat ride with too much speed. Not sure how safe that can be! |
We decided to explore some other fun things about our area so we hopped on the ferry in Dunedin to Clearwater. A delightful trip…going… coming back, not so much.
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| Fish caught by some of the many fishing charters available. |
It ended up storming as usual about 20 minutes before the ferry was to arrive. I really think we moved to Seattle and not Florida. So we waited under a small overhang trying not to get wet but with the wind, we got soaked. I was so thankful it was warm. Nothing worse than being cold and wet and nowhere to go.
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| These dolphins are all over the island. Some are cutely painted |
When the ferry was to arrive, we waited along with 10 other people. Still no ferry. We called only to be told by the girl on the other end that she was just a temp and didn’t know anything. OK, then why answer the phone? After about 20-30 minutes, us and two other couples decided to call Uber. Still pouring buckets and getting even more soaked, the Uber drivers were stuck in traffic and we waited, all the while wondering if they would let us in the car with us all dripping wet.
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| The Beach Walk – follow the signs to the beach |
In the meantime, a ferry showed up but turned us away saying the weather was too bad. OK. we still have the Uber. Then, our ferry showed up.
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| More Dolphin figurines |
YES! We were able to get on. By this time, the rain had slowed down and we were able to get back to Dunedin from Clearwater, safe and sound.
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| I think this is a type of “bird of paradise” flower. |
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| Bird of Paradise |
The captains of the boat were great and apologetic but the company itself did a poor job in communication. They are new at this and I hope they have learned something from this experience.
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| One of the many resort hotels on the beach. the Mandalay Beach Club |
We, as boaters understand bad weather. What we don’t understand is the lack of communication. We made it home, safe and sound and enjoyed our day nonetheless. It was a beautiful Sunday morning until the rain started.
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| Beautiful white sandy beach |
We don’t like to complain but with both of us being from the service industry in one form or another, its frustrating to see customer service so poor.
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| Palm trees everywhere. Didn’t realize there were so many different types |
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| This area led to the beach and playground for children. such beauty |
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| Theodorus Greigo – the first greek in America in 1528. He arrived in Clearwater on a Spanish expedition. |
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| People watching is one of our favorite past times. |
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| We love watching the boats. |
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| There are plenty of shops along the strip along with with many choices of food. |
Hope your Labor Day is nice and peaceful. May God bless you all.
Chuck & Lea Ann
WorldTravelReynolds 