Jim and I are like migratory birds when it involves St. Pete Beach Florida. We are drawn back to our favorite hangouts each October. Why October? Well……. Don’t tell anyone, but all the summer vacationers are gone and the Canadian and British tourists are just beginning to arrive, so the beaches (and more importantly, the beach bars) are beautifully empty, the hotels are less expensive and not overcrowded, the weather is just beginning to cool from the summer highs and the occasional squall blows over to add drama to the sunny days.
That being said, as we contemplated bringing family to our favorite beach, we cringed at the thought of spending hours at one of the many theme parks in Florida and finally decided that we would find alternatives that were fun for both a small child and our adult tastes and what we found made for a fun and educational vacation for all of us!
So here they are……
Our top five recommendations for entertaining kids and adults alike while never entering a theme park.
That being said, as we contemplated bringing family to our favorite beach, we cringed at the thought of spending hours at one of the many theme parks in Florida and finally decided that we would find alternatives that were fun for both a small child and our adult tastes and what we found made for a fun and educational vacation for all of us!
So here they are……
Our top five recommendations for entertaining kids and adults alike while never entering a theme park.
1. Visit “Winter” the Dolphin from the movie, Dolphin Tale at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and watch the staff play with Winter and all the other dolphins. Just watching the staff attach the fake tail to Winter is an amazing learning experience I found fascinating. Explore the other amazing sea creatures at the aquarium many of which you can touch and hold, while museum-staff tell you all about the creatures and their habitats.
2. Learn all about the Circus at the Ringling Museum of Art. Don’t the name fool you! While the entire museum and gardens are absolutely fabulous, and its prestigious art museum well worth visiting, we headed straight to the stunning home of the Ringlings, Ca’ d’Zan, built in the style of a Venetian Ducal Palace and then the part kids absolutely love, the Circus Museum.
To be perfectly honest, we loved The Circus Museum as much as any kid would! The museum presents the history and behind the scenes story of the Ringling Brothers Circus and includes the most amazingly detailed diorama of an entire circus town. It is filled with tiny surprises as you carefully look at all the miniature people, tents and animals. You will want to spend hours just looking at all the authentic circus artifacts.
3. Walk around the small sponging/fishing village that is the heart of Tarpon Springs. The town, was named after the jumping Tarpon (fish) that were spotted from shores. When Greek immigrants arrived in the 1880’s to harvest sponges, they developed Tarpon Springs into one of the finest Sponge Industries in the world but the industry almost disappeared in 1947 from a devastating algae infestation. It was not until 2007 that with great effort, the sponges were brought back to a point where they could be successfully harvested again.
The dock area is filled with restaurants, shops and museums, and let me tell you, you can find the some of the most delicious authentic Greek cuisine at Tarpon Springs including my personal weakness, Baklava. The usual assortment of shops line the streets, filled with fun tourist stuff, but my favorite shops are the ones filled with sponges of every size and shape imaginable.
There is also a small aquarium where you can see a living reef, live sponges, coral, interesting fish, and sharks which you can feed, and even an alligator. You can also catch sightseeing, fishing and dolphin viewing, boat tours from the docks.
The dock area is filled with restaurants, shops and museums, and let me tell you, you can find the some of the most delicious authentic Greek cuisine at Tarpon Springs including my personal weakness, Baklava. The usual assortment of shops line the streets, filled with fun tourist stuff, but my favorite shops are the ones filled with sponges of every size and shape imaginable.
There is also a small aquarium where you can see a living reef, live sponges, coral, interesting fish, and sharks which you can feed, and even an alligator. You can also catch sightseeing, fishing and dolphin viewing, boat tours from the docks.
4. Visit Snooty at the South Florida Museum. The museum’s Parker Manatee Aquarium has been home to this venerable manatee all its life. An exhibit area within the facility helps to educate the public about manatee anatomy and offers above and below water viewing. It is really interesting to hear all about the habitat, nutrition and physiology, while watching the staff interact with this amazingly prehistoric looking animal as they feed him and play with him.
The aquarium’s mission is commendable “Working closely with US Fish and Wildlife and critical care hospitals for manatees, the Museum's Parker Manatee Aquarium is a second stage rehabilitation facility. A second stage facility provides a temporary home for manatees that will be released back into the wild after having received treatment from an acute care hospital. The Aquarium has housed 27 manatees as part of the rehabilitation program.”
The museum is actually a conglomerate of three museums, the aquarium, a natural history and archeology museum, and a planetarium. The history museum tells the story of the natural history and culture of the gulf coast of Florida, and the planetarium has a fun children’s show, but you should check the musuem’s calendar for particular, demonstrations, tours, and planetarium show times and dates.
The aquarium’s mission is commendable “Working closely with US Fish and Wildlife and critical care hospitals for manatees, the Museum's Parker Manatee Aquarium is a second stage rehabilitation facility. A second stage facility provides a temporary home for manatees that will be released back into the wild after having received treatment from an acute care hospital. The Aquarium has housed 27 manatees as part of the rehabilitation program.”
The museum is actually a conglomerate of three museums, the aquarium, a natural history and archeology museum, and a planetarium. The history museum tells the story of the natural history and culture of the gulf coast of Florida, and the planetarium has a fun children’s show, but you should check the musuem’s calendar for particular, demonstrations, tours, and planetarium show times and dates.
5. Explore Fort Desoto Park. This park, is made up from five offshore keys (islands) lying to the city's south-southwest: Madelaine Key, St. Jean Key, St. Christopher Key, Bonne Fortune Key and the main island, Mullet Key.
We never miss an opportunity to drive out to Fort Desoto park to walk the pier and watch the fishermen (and women) throw out their lures to catch small silver fish which they put into buckets. I still don’t know if these fish are for eating or bait! But I must say, it’s fun to watch them and kids are tempted to chase the small flopping fish as they are released from the hook and left free for a minute on the deck. There are also dozens of egrets, pelicans and cormorants busy diving for the same silver fish.
The pier is also a fantastic place to watch for dolphin. Depending upon the season, they often come right up to the pier to feast upon the schools of fish that swarm there and we love watching them leap and play and shoot like torpedoes through the water.
We never miss an opportunity to drive out to Fort Desoto park to walk the pier and watch the fishermen (and women) throw out their lures to catch small silver fish which they put into buckets. I still don’t know if these fish are for eating or bait! But I must say, it’s fun to watch them and kids are tempted to chase the small flopping fish as they are released from the hook and left free for a minute on the deck. There are also dozens of egrets, pelicans and cormorants busy diving for the same silver fish.
The pier is also a fantastic place to watch for dolphin. Depending upon the season, they often come right up to the pier to feast upon the schools of fish that swarm there and we love watching them leap and play and shoot like torpedoes through the water.
When you are tired of watching the action at the pier, you can rent a bike to ride around the lush tropical park or just hang out on the beach.
For those who love history, exploring Fort Desoto is a lot of fun. While the location on the west of Florida was used as an important defense location since the 16th century, the fort you see today was built in 1900 and used as a strategic stronghold during the Spanish American war and again during WWII. You can wander through intact room in the fort such as the Quarter Master Storerooms, Guard House, Bakery and even see the original Mortar Batteries with their huge cannons.
Fort Desoto Park is a place you can spend a whole day and even camp overnight at their secluded campground tucked in among the mangroves and palms.
Fort Desoto Park is a place you can spend a whole day and even camp overnight at their secluded campground tucked in among the mangroves and palms.
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