Many of us, when we think of the beach, think of the weekend. After all, that's when those of us who live in Florida usually have the time to go to the beach. We drive to the beach and have to contend with heavy weekend beach traffic and crowds at the public beach. Visitors who are here on vacation often don't experience the same weekend crowds because all they have to do is walk out of their beachfront resort hotel or condo and they are on the beach.

Some beach towns seem to be fairly busy all the time, but others are very quiet during the week. If you prefer a quiet beach vacation or just a quiet evening at the beach, there are plenty of places where you can find exactly what you are looking for, especially during the week.

A few days ago I had spent the entire day inside, working at my computer, and needed to unwind and get some fresh air. Pass-A-Grille beach is only 15 minutes from my house so I decided to drive out and take a brisk walk. I invited my fiance and assistant beachhunter, Sue, to enjoy the walk with me. We arrived about 8pm and had our pick of parking spaces.

Pass-A-Grille Beach is a normally quiet beach town located on the south end of St. Pete Beach. Pass-A-Grille Way follows the shoreline along the bay, then curves around the southern tip of the island, and Gulf Way follows the Gulf shore along the beach. Small, vegetation-covered dunes and a wide sidewalk separate the beach from the street. The sidewalk runs nearly the entire length of Pass-A-Grille, 22 blocks in all.

We parked the car and walked briskly toward the south, with the idea of walking out onto the rock jetty at the pass. It was a warm and breezy late November evening and we could hear the constant, soothing sound of the small surf just on the other side of the dunes. The entire town was still. A car passed by slowly once every three or four minutes. Two or three other couples were out walking, and a few people stood engrossed in conversation outside a bar on Historic 8th Avenue. The normally bustling Hurricane Restaurant was open, but looked nearly empty.

At the end of the sidewalk we turned toward the Gulf and walked out on the sand path to the jetty. There were a few fishermen and some herons in the dark on the end of the jetty. The lights of the homes and businesses along Gulf Way cast their glow out onto the beach and across the water. We stood quietly on the jetty and enjoyed the warm breeze, which helped us relax from our hectic Wednesday.

The walk back to the car was more of the same. Warm breeze, few people, few cars, just calm and quiet. We even stopped to sit in some chairs on the beach at the Seaside Grill, the beach concession. We saw only two other people on the beach in the dark.

A few homes had Christmas lights and decorations out. One was a particularly mesmerizing arrangement of CDs glued together, shiny side out, and hung from the trees with string. The lights reflected brightly from the CDs which were twisting and turning in the breeze.

Sometimes we just need to get away. We don't always have to go far. Pass-A-Grille on a Wednesday night was just the ticket.

Google Map of Pass-A-Grille, Florida

More photos of Pass-A-Grille Beach