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Geico266

Geico266

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Geico
We are thinking of having a family vacation in the St. Petersburg area. Anyone stay there? Thoughts? Places you stayed? Family things to do?
 
Go all out and stay at the DonCeasar resort in st petes beach. Or the Atlantis down the beach. They have waterslides on the beach.
 
Geico266 said:
We are thinking of having a family vacation in the St. Petersburg area. Anyone stay there? Thoughts? Places you stayed? Family things to do?
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St Petersburg isn't South Florida. Is everyone in the family old?:D;) The Dali Museum is nice, lots of Blue Plate Special diners along side crack houses for dining and entertainment opportunities. There are nearby outlet malls. If my parents didn't live there I'd never go.
 
If you have school age kids, go to Orlando.

If your kids are college/adult age go to Key West. Sitting at the bar over looking the nude beach makes a great conversation piece when you get back.

If everyone is 50 or above, yeah St. Petes, anywhere from there on down the Gulf Coast is fine. We spend a chunk of the winter in the marina at Palm Island (Cape haze - south of Englewood)
 
Dr. O said:
If you have school age kids, go to Orlando.

If your kids are college/adult age go to Key West. Sitting at the bar over looking the nude beach makes a great conversation piece when you get back.

If everyone is 50 or above, yeah St. Petes, anywhere from there on down the Gulf Coast is fine. We spend a chunk of the winter in the marina at Palm Island (Cape haze - south of Englewood)
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If you're looking at the nude beach, you're drinking at a gay bar.:rofl:

Marco Island is nice for an adult crowd.
 
I have a condo on Siesta Key, south of Sarasota and about an hour south of St. Pete. Very, very nice spot. Fab beaches, great fishing and kayaking/paddleboarding. It just depends on what your family wants to do with their time.
 
Marco island is a nice place, St. Petersburg has a few restaurants in their shore area. I liked the Renaissance hotel out there.
 
Albert Whitted is a great little airport, and the views on approach/departure are fab.
 
I have stayed in the Hilton near Whited Airport. It is a pretty short walk from the airport to the Hilton.

The beach is a great family thing. Bush Gardens across the bay in Tampa is great, as is the Tampa Lowrey Park Zoo.
 
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Geico: I'm in Clearwater, 10 minutes north of St. Pete. This is west-central Florida. Not that it's not very pleasant here, but if your goal is THE Florida experience(s), there are better places. If you destination is set to St. Pete, I'll do a little write up for you.
 
asechrest said:
Geico: I'm in Clearwater, 10 minutes north of St. Pete. This is west-central Florida. Not that it's not very pleasant here, but if your goal is THE Florida experience(s), there are better places. If you destination is set to St. Pete, I'll do a little write up for you.
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We are booked for St. Pete! Give me the fun family stuff! ;)
 
Geico266 said:
We are booked for St. Pete! Give me the fun family stuff! ;)
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Nice! Coming in your plane or commercial? Will you rent a car while you're here? How many days? Already have a hotel booked? What age are the kids?
 
asechrest said:
Nice! Coming in your plane or commercial? Will you rent a car while you're here? How many days? Already have a hotel booked? What age are the kids?
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Commercial. We have a hotel booked.

Rented a couple vans.

Father in law, 3 daughters & 3 son in laws, 8 grand kids. Can we come over for lunch? :lol: ;)
 
Geico266 said:
Commercial. We have a hotel booked.

Rented a couple vans.

Father in law, 3 daughters & 3 son in laws, 8 grand kids. Can we come over for lunch? :lol: ;)
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Holy...haha. Alright, give me a bit to work on a list.
 
Alright, Geico. I've gotta' take back my attitude about this area. I guess you get a little jaded when you live in the area. But once I started working on a list, I remembered how much there is to do here. No, it's not Orlando or Miami, or the ritzy West Palm or parts of Sarasota. But it's pleasant, interesting, and with plenty to do.

So, without further ado, here are some lists.

Right in St. Petersburg, things not to miss:

  1. The Salvador Dali Museum. On the downtown waterfront, right next door to Albert Whitted Airport. It's truly a neat museum. Mostly art, but it's cool art. If young kids would like an art museum, this'd be the one.
  2. The Hanger Restaurant, in the terminal building at Albert Whitted, second floor. Two minute walk from the Dali Museum. Views of the runways and Tampa Bay. The best seating is outside on the balcony, but the area is not large, so your group may not fit. And the restaurant itself is not large. Perhaps call ahead to be safe.
  3. The Chihuly Collection of art glass produced by Dale Chihuly, located at 400 Beach Drive downtown, and the associated Glass Studio and Hot Shop, where glass blowers demonstrate their art, at the Morean Art Center about a mile away.
  4. Drinks on the front porch of the Vinoy Resort, a restored historic hotel on the downtown waterfront.
  5. The Florida Orchestra has some upcoming performances in the Mahaffey Theater in downtown St. Pete.
  6. Fort De Soto Park on the southern tip of Pinellas County -- beaches, picnic areas, wildlife, old fort to explore.
  7. St. Petersburg has a real downtown, with shops and lots of restaurants, and an active nightlife.
  8. Great Explorations Children's Museum.
  9. Boyd Hill Nature Preserve, a couple of hundred acres of preserve and lots of wildlife to observe, is a good place to get the kids outdoors to work off some energy.

In Clearwater, 10 - 20 minutes to the north:

  1. World-famous Clearwater Beach, considered the best tourist beach in Florida. Extremely wide, pure white-sand beaches. Plenty of shops, bars and restaurants. If you want a local famous seafood place right on the beach, try Frenchy's. The grouper sandwich is good. This is not an up-scale place, but it's locally famous for good seafood. There are multiple locations.
  2. The Clearwater Marine Aquarium, home of Winter, the dolphin with a prosthetic tail that starred in the movies Dolphin Tale and Dolphin Tale 2.

For more, see this website: http://www.visitstpeteclearwater.com/

Tampa, 20 - 30 minutes East and Northeast, and the largest metropolis in our area:

  1. Lowry Park Zoo
  2. Florida Aquarium (if you've been to a big-time aquarium before, this one's honestly not the best)
  3. Busch Gardens (Christmas Town (opens Nov. 28)) - This is a theme park; a slight step down from Disney et al, but still quite fun. Lots of animals.
  4. Food: I truly recommend the Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City (pronounced ee-bore). Spanish and Cuban fare in the oldest Spanish restaurant in Florida - founded in 1905. The building it's located in is really cool. Walk next door for hand-rolled cigars if that's your style. If you go, you MUST try the 1905 salad. Nothing like it. Also, they have live Spanish Flemenco dancing while you eat, Monday through Saturday. I recommend it. Two 45 minute shows a night. I really think you'll enjoy this. If you like steak, try the filet mignon Chacho; flambeed table-side with bourbon.

Tarpon Springs, a decent trip northward:

  1. Greek fishing village that is Pinellas County's oldest town. The Sponge Docks, where sponge divers brought in their sponges from the Gulf of Mexico, is still there, along with shops and Greek restaurants.
  2. Food: hit Hellas Restaurant and Bakery. Try the Greek pastries.

In Dunedin, 20 minutes or so North:

  1. Honeymoon Island State Park, accessible via a causeway over the Intracoastal Waterway, is the most-visited state park in Florida. It has beaches and walking paths. You can also catch a ferry here to travel to Caladesi Island, an undeveloped island with one of the most pristine beaches in Florida.
  2. Dunedin celebrates its Scottish heritage with the annual Celtic Festival, an outdoor event on Nov. 22.

In Largo, a hair to the north:

  1. Florida Botanical Gardens opens its annual Holiday Lights in the Gardens on Nov. 28. Great for kids. Nighttime only.

Orlando, two hours Northeast:

  1. This is theme park Mecca. Disney, Universal Studios, and much more. Be prepared to spend thousands just for the theme park experience for a group of your size.

--

And finally: POA helped me fix a jet ski. And because of that, any POA member gets use of it. I've only had it out once so far, but if you're interested in taking it out, let me know!

PM me and I'll give you my cell phone so you can call me once you're in the area in case you need advice, help, etc.

-Adam
 
Albert Whitted is a fun little airport. When we landed there, circa 2007, they were set up for a big Formula One race, and the airport had been recently saved from closure.

Otherwise, St. Petersburg is just another overbuilt, overpriced, plasticized tourist trap, indistinguishable from South Padre Island, Myrtle Beach, or any of a dozen other overbuilt beach communities. We paid way too much for an utterly forgettable McHotel, ate in over-priced, Applebees-clone restaurants, and got absolutely sand-blasted trying to sit on the beach.

That said, it's all about who you're traveling with. We had a great time with the folks we were with, and I suspect you will, too.
 
Jay Honeck said:
Albert Whitted is a fun little airport. When we landed there, circa 2007, they were set up for a big Formula One race, and the airport had been recently saved from closure.

Otherwise, St. Petersburg is just another overbuilt, overpriced, plasticized tourist trap, indistinguishable from South Padre Island, Myrtle Beach, or any of a dozen other overbuilt beach communities. We paid way too much for an utterly forgettable McHotel, ate in over-priced, Applebees-clone restaurants, and got absolutely sand-blasted trying to sit on the beach.

That said, it's all about who you're traveling with. We had a great time with the folks we were with, and I suspect you will, too.
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I do not consider St. Petersburg a tourist trap. It is one of the more dynamic cities in the Tampa Bay area, with a neat downtown, a vibrant arts scene, a cool music community, some decent nightlife, an awesome GA airport (the city residents voted in 2003 to keep Albert Whitted an airport "forever" vs. closing it down), its own Indycar Grand Prix, a scenic bayside waterfront, nice Gulf beaches, some neat history (the birthplace of scheduled airline flight), headquarters of Florida's largest newspaper, a population turning more youthful (rare for FL!), a pro baseball stadium, historic buildings, etc.

There are also some not-so-nice and downright rough areas of St. Petersburg (south side).

Yes, tourism is a big part of the entire area, but this is typical of any Florida coastal city. Pastel colors and pink flamingos abound, especially in the shops out on the beaches. But St. Petersburg has much more going for it than pure exploitation of tourists, which is how I'd define a tourist trap. All you have to do is step outside the heavy tourism area, where the 250k residents live, work, and play.
 
My definition of "beach community tourist trap" is a city of high-rise buildings crowded right up to the water's edge. The people who actually live there might never even know there was an ocean, unless they stayed in a hotel.

This is the reason we love our island so much. In the 80s, after a couple of those horrible things were built, the townsfolk banded together and banned construction of anything taller than 35'.

Had they not done so, Port Aransas' beach would be blighted like St. Petersburg/Myrtle Beach/South Padre is today. The wide open beachfront and small town, low rise atmosphere is what initially attracted us here, and is why hundreds of thousands of tourists flock here. :)
 
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Strange definition, but you're welcome to it. :) St. Pete is definitely not a small town feel, if that's what you're into. Old folks love them some condo high-rises. But neither is it Miami.

Here's the bay side:

121.jpg

And the beach side:

St.-Pete-beach.jpg

But Clearwater Beach is the better beach:

clearwater-beach.gif
 
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