usvi-on-line
Saint Pete Beach: anyone?
I always wanted to go you Ybor City but the ILs are horrified at the mention. Our visits, for many reasons, are infrequent.....Chet wrote:
My ILs lived in Largo, moved to Bloomington, IN. My SIL and hubby live in Largo. Look for dining along the canal, go to the museum, and go to Ybor City.
We enjoy the Wharf.
We are back. We loved Tradewinds Island Grand and St. Pete Beach for a quick get away. The beach is amazing!! We missed the Caribbean waters and colorful reef and fish but we still found a lot to do and had a great trip. Thank you for your help!
We got there Saturday night. Our flights were delayed so we we a few hours behind schedule. By the time we checked in the front desk clerk told me they were at capacity. I was concerned. We normally are VRBO people and avoid crowds but I took a chance because I was told that it was a slow time (May).
After checking in we went to park and there wasn't any parking. We literally had to circle the parking lot to find a place. So, my concern grew to panic. The rooms were ok--not 5 star but the view was amazing!!
We freshened up and went out to one of the sports bars at Tradewinds. It was a little crowded and noisy. Not in a fun atmosphere kind of way but in a I want to get out of here kind of way. I went to bed wondering how we were going to salvage this trip. At that point I figured it was going to be a get up early to save-your-lounge chair-with-a-towel kind of trip.
The next morning I was pleasantly surprised. We slept in and there was plenty of seating at the beach and at the pools. We spent the day at the beach and it was a wonderful day. We simply tossed the football and did a little stand up paddle boarding and swimming.
We found an open air restaurant for lunch that we liked so much that we went every day. It had TV's for my family to watch the games. We planned our meals around the Heat and Pacer games. Most of our dinners were at Skidders across the street--again--we liked it so well and we kept going back. So, I have very little to report on restaurants.
On our second day we went to Busch Gardens. My oldest son told me that Universal was on his bucket list. I did some research and planned on going but when we got to St. Pete beach we all decided that we would rather not drive that far. We loved Busch Gardens. We are roller coaster people. I really think you have to like roller coasters to enjoy Busch Gardens because there isn't much else to do. But the roller coasters were THE BEST we have ever been on. We got the fast pass and didn't wait for any rides. We went to the cheetah run first and there was a 45 minute wait. We went to the express line and walked right to the front of the line. We rode every roller coaster 2 to 3 times. We went for the roller coasters and enjoyed them very much. The animals were a nice distraction but I don't think I would go there to see the animal exhibits.
The next day we planned a boat ride with Island Boat Adventures in St. Petersburg. It was ok (we are spoiled by St. John and Captain John). There were only about 20 of us and the captain said they usually have 48 when the season gets going. They took us snorkeling. The visibility was awful. I knew it would be bad but I didn't expect it to be so bad. We took off our snorkel gear and jumped off the rocks and swam. It was fun. We went to Egmont Beach. Most of the people on the boat were interested in shelling and finding sharks teeth. We weren't interested in that and decided to swim before we went to explore the island and fort. While we were playing football we found a few star fish. The shore of Egmont is very clear--not like St. John but pretty darn good.
On our way to Egmont we saw a school of tarpon fish. They looked like dolphins at first but the captain said it was tarpon season. While we were playing on the shore of Egmont they showed up again and there was a dolphin about 15-20 yards from my youngest. That was neat.
On our way back the dolphins were everywhere. They were pretty playful. They swam right up to the boat and I could have touched one if I wanted. We saw a few newborn dolphins. One was so new that the captain's wife thought the baby's mother was teaching it to come to the surface for air by pushing it with her nose.
That night right off our balcony there was a terrific fireworks display. It was put on by the group that was there for a conference. The fireworks were directly in front of us and we couldn't have picked a better room for viewing. We sat on the balcony with a drink for what felt like a private show.
Our last day we spent at the beach just hanging out and doing some of the games they had set up. We also spent a lot of time in the cabanas reading and listening to music. I want a cabana at every beach I go to for now on. Can I get it in my carry on??
Nothing was crowded. I don't know if it is because Tradewinds is so spread out or if it is because the conference group was kept busy doing other things (it was a very big group). The service we got everywhere was great. We had a great time and will recommend this area to someone looking for a more economical quick trip. It was beautiful and fun!
OH! I looked at Don Cesar--beautiful!
AND I saw "flying fish" while looking for dolphins on the boat. NO ONE saw them but me so my family has been teasing me for 3 days. Then on our last day I saw them twice. The captain said they do that when they are being chased by something. Ironically, I was the only one who saw them!! So, of course, this proves to my family that I am crazy.
We got there Saturday night. Our flights were delayed so we we a few hours behind schedule. By the time we checked in the front desk clerk told me they were at capacity. I was concerned. We normally are VRBO people and avoid crowds but I took a chance because I was told that it was a slow time (May).
After checking in we went to park and there wasn't any parking. We literally had to circle the parking lot to find a place. So, my concern grew to panic. The rooms were ok--not 5 star but the view was amazing!!
We freshened up and went out to one of the sports bars at Tradewinds. It was a little crowded and noisy. Not in a fun atmosphere kind of way but in a I want to get out of here kind of way. I went to bed wondering how we were going to salvage this trip. At that point I figured it was going to be a get up early to save-your-lounge chair-with-a-towel kind of trip.
The next morning I was pleasantly surprised. We slept in and there was plenty of seating at the beach and at the pools. We spent the day at the beach and it was a wonderful day. We simply tossed the football and did a little stand up paddle boarding and swimming.
We found an open air restaurant for lunch that we liked so much that we went every day. It had TV's for my family to watch the games. We planned our meals around the Heat and Pacer games. Most of our dinners were at Skidders across the street--again--we liked it so well and we kept going back. So, I have very little to report on restaurants.
On our second day we went to Busch Gardens. My oldest son told me that Universal was on his bucket list. I did some research and planned on going but when we got to St. Pete beach we all decided that we would rather not drive that far. We loved Busch Gardens. We are roller coaster people. I really think you have to like roller coasters to enjoy Busch Gardens because there isn't much else to do. But the roller coasters were THE BEST we have ever been on. We got the fast pass and didn't wait for any rides. We went to the cheetah run first and there was a 45 minute wait. We went to the express line and walked right to the front of the line. We rode every roller coaster 2 to 3 times. We went for the roller coasters and enjoyed them very much. The animals were a nice distraction but I don't think I would go there to see the animal exhibits.
The next day we planned a boat ride with Island Boat Adventures in St. Petersburg. It was ok (we are spoiled by St. John and Captain John). There were only about 20 of us and the captain said they usually have 48 when the season gets going. They took us snorkeling. The visibility was awful. I knew it would be bad but I didn't expect it to be so bad. We took off our snorkel gear and jumped off the rocks and swam. It was fun. We went to Egmont Beach. Most of the people on the boat were interested in shelling and finding sharks teeth. We weren't interested in that and decided to swim before we went to explore the island and fort. While we were playing football we found a few star fish. The shore of Egmont is very clear--not like St. John but pretty darn good.
On our way to Egmont we saw a school of tarpon fish. They looked like dolphins at first but the captain said it was tarpon season. While we were playing on the shore of Egmont they showed up again and there was a dolphin about 15-20 yards from my youngest. That was neat.
On our way back the dolphins were everywhere. They were pretty playful. They swam right up to the boat and I could have touched one if I wanted. We saw a few newborn dolphins. One was so new that the captain's wife thought the baby's mother was teaching it to come to the surface for air by pushing it with her nose.
That night right off our balcony there was a terrific fireworks display. It was put on by the group that was there for a conference. The fireworks were directly in front of us and we couldn't have picked a better room for viewing. We sat on the balcony with a drink for what felt like a private show.
Our last day we spent at the beach just hanging out and doing some of the games they had set up. We also spent a lot of time in the cabanas reading and listening to music. I want a cabana at every beach I go to for now on. Can I get it in my carry on??
Nothing was crowded. I don't know if it is because Tradewinds is so spread out or if it is because the conference group was kept busy doing other things (it was a very big group). The service we got everywhere was great. We had a great time and will recommend this area to someone looking for a more economical quick trip. It was beautiful and fun!
OH! I looked at Don Cesar--beautiful!
AND I saw "flying fish" while looking for dolphins on the boat. NO ONE saw them but me so my family has been teasing me for 3 days. Then on our last day I saw them twice. The captain said they do that when they are being chased by something. Ironically, I was the only one who saw them!! So, of course, this proves to my family that I am crazy.
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mindehankins
- Posts: 3014
- Joined: Fri Mar 06, 2009 8:21 am
- Location: Western NY State