January, 2026
After Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas we left on New Year’s eve for four weeks in Indian Shores, Florida! We packed up our dog, some clothes, and left. We split the drive into two days. We stayed in Columbia, South Carolina at a pet friendly hotel.
We arrived in Indian Shores and our VRBO accommodations around dinner time. Our place was on the second floor and our balcony faced the Gulf of Mexico. After the car was unloaded we enjoyed our first sunset!
Our days were spent exploring the area, sitting and reading on the beach, and walks on the beach, and enjoying the sunshine. Matilda, our dog, enjoyed her walks along the sidewalks. Pets were not allowed on the beach! Matilda didn’t mind as long as she got at least 3 walks a day. We’ve included some of the highlights during our stay!
If we went out to dinner we tried to find restaurants with patios that allowed dogs. One restaurant was Caddy’s. Dave said the seafood was delicious.
It was another beautiful sunset!
Matilda was not interested! 🙂
Some of the area was still recovering from Hurricane Helene which hit this area in late September, 2025 as a category 4! Next to us the damage was visible. We saw homes and small hotels that are still uninhabitable, as well as empty lots where only the foundations were left and businesses that didn’t survive.
We took Matilda to a dog friendly park, Sand Key Park and walked along the paths. She enjoyed that adventure.
You can’t beat the sunsets!
On one of our walks we stopped and saw the monument that honored the indigenous residents, the Tocobaga Indians, of the town. The sculpture showed a Tocobaga Indian fisherman with two other family members and a baby.
When enjoying a day at the beach you never know what you might see. It was different seeing a floating billboard when we looked up from our reading! Another day wedding pictures being taken!
Many days the beach was ours with not another person around!
While we were enjoying a beautiful sunset during our last week in Florida, central Ohio was getting 12″ of snow!
