A HOME IN HERNANDO BEACH, FLORIDA
Life in the Tampa Bay area of Florida

The area ... Hernando Beach is located on the Gulf of Mexico,
roughly 45 minutes north of the superb Tampa Airport and 1 hour,
45 minutes from the Orlando Airport.  Both have direct flights to
Europe.  The Central Florida area is the mecca for attractions.  
Everybody knows about Disney, Universal Studios, Cape Kennedy
Space Center, Sea World and Busch Gardens.  But look around and
you will see the Ringling Museum (Sarasota), the Tampa Aquarium,
The Salvador Dali (St. Pete) as well as countless others – we even have
a botanical garden and Weekie Wachie Springs State Park (think
mermaids), both within minutes from the house.  For trail hikes and
camping we have Chinsegut Hill Nature Center only 1/2 hour away.

The school system . . . If you have a child of school age,
click here - Hernando County School Board.  The school bus system
connects students living in this house to Westside Elementary, Fox
Chapel Middle and Central High Schools.  If you provide your own
transportation you have more choices, including our two magnet
schools, Challenger K-8 and Chocachatti Elementary.  We also have
charter, church,  private and special education schools.   Nature
Coast Technical is what people my age call a trade school.  Pasco-
Hernando Community College is a two year institution.   We do not
have a 4 year college in the county, however, we do have 3 universities
within daily driving distance,

Team sports . . . Tampa Bay is a major sports center, with the
Buccaneers, the Rays, the Lightening (2004 Stanley Cup), and the
Storm.   Down the road we have the Orlando Magic.  Given our
collegiate teams – Florida, Florida State and Miami, we always have
at least one in the collegiate top 10.  Watch the U of South Florida
(Tampa) team, they will be national champs inside of 3 years.  On the
local scene, we have high levels of team activity.  In mens softball
alone, we have two divisions with 26 teams.  

Social . . . We have a club for almost every activity one can
imagine, plus clubs for residents from overseas, Britain, Germany,
Philippines, etc.  Within Hernando Beach we have buildings for the
Hernando Beach Sailing Club, Coast Guard Auxiliary, Hernando
Beach Club and the VFW.  The last two have weekly suppers.  The
Hernando Beach Home Owners Association is not a obligatory
membership, but is only $15/yr.

Golf . . . The immediate Spring Hill area has 15 golf courses, only 4
of which are private.

Beaches/Parks . . . Despite the name, Hernando Beach does not
have a beach.  Our beaches are 15 minutes up the road at Pine Island
and Rogers Park.  Pine Island is a salt water beach.  Rogers Park is
on the Weeki Wachee River and is a fresh water park.   

The Weeki Wachee Preserve separates Hernando Beach from the
commercial activity on Hwy 19.  It is a undeveloped park with hiking
trails and is within walking distance of the house.  Pederson Park is a
developed section of the Preserve and has a childrens playground,
fishing piers and picknicking area.  One of Florida’s oldest tourist
attractions is Weeki Wachee, the mermaid park.  Now a state park,
the mermaid show remains, as well as the playground and boat rides.

If you like to canoe or kayak, we have numerous places to go, all
within a short distance.

Water recreation . . . Along the main boat channel to the Gulf is
a large shallow area with a gradually sloping bottom, which during
the summer months is filled with small anchored boats, picnickers,
kids flying kites, playing volleyball, water skiing, etc.  Occasionally, a
few of our local musicians load up a platform boat and serenade the
crowd.

Fishing/Diving . . . Hernando County has augmented their 4
natural reefs with 4 artificial reefs made from culverts, old concrete
bridge material, army tanks, a barge and concrete reef balls.  The
furthest out of these reefs is only 15 miles from my dock.  Closer in
we have reefs at different depths as well as miles of flats (think redfish
and snook).

We don’t fish from our dock and have a small school of sheepshead
in residence, along with pinfish, grunts and porgies.  The occasional
redfish and jack come by along with the ever present mullet.   

Gulf of Mexico access . . . The Gulf shoals gradually to the
shore, creating a large area known as the flats, through which a
channel has been dredged to allow access to deep water. This channel
is very well marked.  It is presently being redredged, and it is
anticipated that by the end of February, 2010 we will have a 60’ wide
channel, 6' deep  at MLLW.   See the last page for a picture of the
channel.

Theatre . . . Community and professional theater is a significant
fact of life in Spring Hill and several neighboring cities.  In
Clearwater we have the Ruth Eckerd Hall, Tampa has the Performing
Arts building, both of which have a continuous bill of big name
artists.  Closer, in Hudson, we have a semi-pro group which performs
in a dinner theatre.  Still closer, we have a very active community
theatre group producing 10-12 shows per year.

Medical facilities . . . In the immediate area we have 4 Hospitals
classified as Regional Medical Centers.  The two closest are also the
largest and are both within 15 minutes of the house.  Both of these
hospitals have Heart Institutes.  

Hurricanes . . . It is a curious fact that the Tampa Bay area has
not taken a direct hit from a hurricane since 1921.  Given the shape of
Florida, the peninsula dampens down the storms approaching from
the east, the dominant direction for hurricanes.  If they miss the
mainland, they curl around us and hit further west on the Gulf
Coast.