Day 8 - Thursday 6/12

Time to go home....

Our flight from Tampa to Atlanta was delayed so we had to run through the Atlanta airport to catch our connecting flight. We barely made it.

In the Tampa airport



But we did make it, had a good flight to KC and even landed 15 minutes early.

It was a wonderful vacation. It is definitely one of my favorite vacations we have ever been on. Although it is always nice to come home - I could have easily stayed there for another week!

Day 7 - Wednesday 6/11

Our last full day.

Today we went on Dolphin Racer cruise. The Dolphin Racer is a large speedboat that creates a wake that dolphins love to surf in. We saw 2 baby dolphins as well as several other adult dolphins. We saw 3 of them surf in the wake of the boat. It was fun and interesting. Unfortunately I couldn't get any good pictures of the dolphins. My camera is not fast enough.

The Dolphin Racer


The boys on the boat



There really are dolphins in there somewhere.



We had a nice dinner at the Hurricane. We went all out for our last night with drinks, an appetizer (gator bites), dinners and desserts all around.

The Hurricane



After dinner we went across the street to watch the sunset.

Brad and his souvenior glass


Alec


Jason


Hunter

Day 6 - Tuesday 6/10

More swimming



All you can eat crab legs R Bar



Another beautiful evening





With a few storm clouds thrown in

Day 5 - Monday 6/9

Today we decided to drive to Venice Beach. It is about 1 hour south of St. Pete.
When I had been to Venice Beach about 20 years ago - the entire beach was covered in shells. There was very little visible sand. You could search through the shells and find shark's teeth. I thought the boys might enjoy that.
Unfortunately, things can change a lot in 20 years. The beach was nothing like it used to be and had few shells. There wasn't even the possibility of finding shark's teeth.
We did pick up a few shells and then headed back to St. Pete. I was kind of disappointed but it was still a nice day. We ended up buying a couple of shark teeth necklaces back in St. Pete.

The guys on Venice Beach


It stormed on our way back from Venice but Monday evening turned out to be very nice. The boys went for an evening swim in the pool and Brad an I went for sunset walk on the beach. There was a nice cool breeze and it was just a nice, peaceful evening with a beautiful sunset. And rainbow too! No stress, no rush, no worries - just peaceful. I don't know what other word to use to describe the feeling.

The sunset


The rainbow


Just a cool sand castle we saw on our walk

Day 4 - Sunday 6/8

Lazy Sunday just sunning, swimming and relaxing.

We had a late dinner at the Middle Grounds Grille. Jason and Hunter said they liked it the best of all the restaurants we had been to.

Day 3 - Saturday 6/7

On Saturday we decided to take the shuttle to 'The Don". While staying at the Beach House Suites - you have full privileges at the Don Cesar Beach Resort which is a 1/2 mile or so down the road. There are more amenities at 'The Don" including 2 pools with complementary sunscreen and ice cold water to drink, fitness center, spa, shops, restaurants and a lobby with lots sitting areas in which you can relax.
Brad and boys went down awhile before I did to use the fitness center. Alec and Jason said they felt famous when they got out of the shuttle at the Don with so many people greeting them and opening doors for them.

The large pink hotel has been a landmark in St. Pete Beach for many years.

Day 2 Part 2 Still Friday

Later in the afternoon we went to the Pier in St. Petersburg. The outside was interesting to look at. It is shaped like an upside down pyramid. On the inside - we really didn't find much to do. We looked around the shops they have and bought 2 t-shirts and beach bag. Then we went to the top and looked at the view. There is a small aquarium on one of the floors but we opted to not go through it. I guess I am glad we went but it is not someplace I need to ever go back to.

The Pier


A hurricane simulator that the boys tried out.



View from the top of the Pier


For dinner we went to Silas' Steakhouse near our hotel. Brad and I got the Hurricane Eva which was really good. The boys got sirlion steaks. They were not so good - very fatty. The service was very slow. I would probably go back for the Hurricane Eva - which is a Filet Mignon topped with crab meat (or shrimp I can't remember which) and Bearnaise sauce.

It rained most every evening we were there.



But it made for beautiful sunsets!

Day 2 Part 1 - Friday 6/6

It rained pretty hard overnight but we awoke to a beautiful day on Friday.



We sat on the balcony for awhile, read the paper, drank coffee and just enjoyed the view.




Then it was time to go swimming. Which is what the boys did most of the day.





Unfortunately sunburns were involved. Sunscreen was applied but apparently not often enough.


Ouch!

Day 1 - Thursday 6/5

We left KC the morning of June 5. We had a short layover in Atlanta and then flew on to Tampa. We arrived around 4:00pm Eastern time. We rented a van and drove to St. Pete Beach. We went swimming shortly after we arrived. Both in the ocean and the pool. The water was a bit lukewarm in both.
After swimming for a bit we got dressed and went out to dinner at P.J's Seafood Restaurant. It was good - but not great.
We had a small kitchen in our room so we decided to do a little grocery shopping after dinner. We stocked up on breakfast, lunch and snack food, for the week, at the local Publix.
Everyone was pretty tired from the travel - so the rest of the evening we just hung out (I think - I can't remember completely).

Florida

We recently returned from a week's vacation in St. Pete Beach, Florida. It was wonderful!
We stayed at the Don CeSar Beachhouse Suites. It was a nice place. The staff were all very helpful and efficient. We were on the 4th floor overlooking the the Gulf Of Mexico. The view was beautiful.
The 'we' I am referring to in this trip includes - Me, Brad, Hunter, Jason and Alec.