The SUNSHINE SKYWAY... A Bridge Over Time

Today is a good day to think about the gulf coast...

Why? You ask? 

Simply because it makes me happy to do so!

One of my earliest memories is driving to the beach... and driving over the
Sunshine Skyway!

The Sunshine Skyway is a tall expansive bridge that rests over the gulf waters
entering into Tampa Bay! 

The old Skyway Bridge was long and expansive and when...
you got to the top... 

there was a steep, steep incline and decline... 

and at the top there was a grated-grill floor,
and folks could look through to the ocean below. 

Tires made a grating sound... really loud... as they drove across the top... 

and cars shook with a little buzz... 

which was exhilarating and scary much like a theme park ride!  

This picture does not even express the height of this bridge!

My family went over the Skyway every year as we headed to the beach for vacation. 

When I was a teenager, I actually drove across this bridge many times on the way to the beach... 

a little nervous... in my tiny grey Volkswagen... it was scary to say the least... 

heart thumping loudly... hands clenched to the steering wheel... 

breathing a little shallow... what a moment!

But, the old bridge is no longer there.

A long, long time ago, in 1980, my beloved gulf coast (just off the island of Anna Maria)

 experienced a terrible accident.

The Sunshine Skyway was struck by a large vessel

and the double-lane southbound side dramatically fell into the ocean.

Many cars and a bus went into the bay...35 people lost their lives

with only one remaining survivor.

I remember that day very well. 

It is etched in my memory.

Tragic.

Here is a picture of the old bridge with a portion of the middle missing.

Eventually, the bridge was replaced by a new Sunshine Skyway 

and a stretch of the old one was developed into fishing piers that are vastly used today.

Here is a pic of the bridge today!

It's just as tall, but not as steep... yet, it has a certain grandeur 

just sitting there above that vast sea!

Isn't it beautiful!!!?

Whenever I head to the beach, I always feel a little nostalgia as I approach the
Sunshine Skyway.  

Memories of fishing just off the bridge with my dad and other relatives.... 

picnics on the bay just off the bridge... 

getting a shell stuck in my foot while searching for sand dollars in the bay...

(I still can sort of feel that raw spot on my foot!)

I vividly remember the music that was popular then...

of course, I was carrying around a transistor radio listening to the pop songs of the 60's...70's...

"It's My Party" - "The Leader of the Pack" 

"The Dock of the Bay"

Music has always been a life link from my past to my now...

The Beautiful Sunshine Skyway gives expansive views of Anna Maria Island.

It's a great feeling to climb that bridge and take in the 

beauty of the island from afar!

Here is the Skyway at night... really cool, huh?!!

I love Florida.

I love the Gulf Coast.

I love these momentous milestone memories!

La - Ti - Do!

Jeanne