A Momentary Thaw in a St. Pete Winter

It was the kind of day where photographs needed no Photoshopping -- the rich blue hues of the afternoon light shown vibrantly through the camera display, though it might seem like the operator turned the blue setting all the way to 100%. The kind of sunny day that heats right through your skin, deep into your bones. The kind of day that makes people want to plop down in any available patch of thick Bermuda grass and turn their faces to the sky to let the sun envelop them like a warm blanket.

Yes, on this last day of February--and a Sunday, to boot--the wispy claws of the warm, 65-degree air reached through St. Pete's cracked-open windows and slightly-ajar doors to tease the frozen-toed homeowners out of their late-winter residential cocoons and pull them outside into the penetrating sunlight. St. Pete was unthawing.

The residents of St. Petersburg took full advantage of the warm spell, hitting the town's parks and beachfronts like they were freed from a cage.

On Spa Beach, French vacationers shoved mismatched beach chairs into the sand, cleared an area free of debris with a few swipes of their feet, and tossed shiny bocce balls into the sand for an impromptu match--all business about their play, even in the face of an opposing Speedo®. Further down the beach, two girls wrapped up in towels and windbreakers peeled off their layers of nylon and jersey and cast their blankets over a smooth area of sand, using the seawall as a backrest and a shield from the breeze. There they sat for three hours, joyfully exposing their feet and hands and faces to the warm sun, chatting about work and relationships and financial woes while hoping for a minimum of tan lines.

Near the water's edge, four boys tossed a Nerf© football around. Oblivious to the numbing 59-degree water of Tampa Bay, they splashed around barefoot like it was a balmy mid-summer day. The youngest boy ran for a touchdown and celebrated with a full belly-flop in the bay's low tide, soaking his clothing completely with a brave smile while his mother watched from the shoreline, not smiling.

Meanwhile, the St. Petersburg Pier towered above the bay in all its pyramidal glory, a perfect backdrop to the volleyball courts, each and every one filled with a team of spikers, passers, and blockers attempting to rally to a win while enjoying the gritty white sand beneath their bare feet. Observers perched on the seawall nearby, sipping pale yellow drinks and enjoying the show, while walkers, runners, bikers, and skateboarders rolled on by.

It was a "Chamber of Commerce Day," one that represented St. Petersburg at its best. And the St. Pete community answered the call, pushing aside their To-Do lists in lieu of a few moments of fun in the thawing sun. Just another example of everyday people doing everyday things in a town ripe for enjoyment.