For us, the sidewalk begins off 37th Street South, at 34th Avenue South, just behind Wal-Mart. The date is December 7, 2012, the sun is shining, the temperature is in the mid-70s, and, as we start out, the sky is a cloudless azure blue—a perfect day for a bike ride.

Phil had biked previously on this Clam Bayou portion of the longer City Trails, Skyway Trail, but this is my first trek there. The City of St. Petersburg and Southwest Florida Water Management District officially opened the Skyway Trail at Clam Bayou back in October 2012.  The trail is 1.6 miles running through Clam Bayou and marks the final step in a multi-agency effort to restore 64 acres of coastal habitats.

I have to admit to having mixed feelings about seeing funds spent on this very wide walkway/trail while other worthwhile projects cannot find the funds to proceed. But the trail is here now, literally right in our neighborhood, and so we have embraced its presence.

The photographs accompanying this article speak to the scenic beauty of one of the most interesting rides we have taken nearby over the years. While the wildlife of ospreys, egrets, blue heron, ibis, manatees, and the like, is not new to Broadwater residents, seeing them together in a natural habitat is quite different than the single visitor you will usually see in your backyard.

Trees, flowers, marshes, palms, waterways, grasses and bridges meet graceful trail curves, allowing solitude and quiet on our ride.

We talk with grandparents pulling a wagon full of "found" golf balls that had made their way over the net separating Twin Brooks driving range on 22nd Avenue South; we meet a teenage girl fishing from a bridge, proudly telling us of a bass she had caught the day before. We share the path with walkers and bicyclists of all ages. Yet we come away believing that we had just had a ride on a beautiful trail way built just for us.

Clam Bayou Trail connects to the Pinellas Trail in Childs Park to the North, and runs through Clam Bayou and along 37th St. South to the Bayway, where you can connect with the Pinellas Bayway bike route to Fort De Soto, or continue to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. With the opening of this new connection, it's now possible to cycle from the southern tip of Pinellas north to Tarpon Springs. A bike map titled City Trails 2012, is free for pick-up at the Maximo Resource Center two doors down from Beef O'Brady's.  Whether you are pro or con on the larger question of spending funds on a walkway/bike trail, I encourage you to take it in and give it a try by bike or foot. You won't be disappointed.