Grandma Teresa was to board a flight in St. Louis early Monday morning, fly to Dallas and we all flew to Tampa. Luckily the flight there was uneventful, unlike our last experience with American Airlines. We arrived and had the beach on our Monday itinerary. My aunt Amy was in Sarasota visiting her mother Pat for the Mother's Day weekend so they drove up to visit with us. We've not seen them in three years and Amy lives in the Seattle area so that was about as close as we were going to be in some time. We all headed to Clearwater beach and enjoyed a bit of fun in the sand and sun before dinner. Loved the sugar sand and the shelling we were able to do!
Tuesday was devoted to Busch Gardens, not exactly what we were expecting but there were some fun parts. It was great to see the Clydesdales again (we had seen them in the St. Louis area at a park Anheuser Busch owns) and they had beautiful topiaries. Kierstin was adventurous and rode the Jungle Flyers. Basically, it's a swing seat on zip line four stories above the ground. Adrienne has issues with heights, especially if there's nothing directly below her! If you get to visit a Anheusher Busch park you must visit the hospitality center. They give away samples of AB beers and we were able to try something new, Sun Dog Wheat Ale, a good beer. All in all, a decent day but not a place we will bother visiting again.
Wednesday was Adventure Island water park day! Not a day Dad was looking forward to, but the girls couldn't wait for this day to arrive. Dad not a big fan of water parks because of the contact thing. Either they are in and probably washed out by the water or out and can't see your wife or kids! However this place was great!! Who can't like a place with basically no waiting for the big water features and plenty to keep every member of the party happy? Closed tube, open tube, steep slides, wave pools, waterfalls, and a lazy river all were enjoyed. Kierstin again showed her adventurous side by riding a very steep sloped ride that bottomed out to make you glide over the water. All in all, a GREAT time had by all even considering Teresa's occasional episodes of dizziness due to riding backwards.
Thursday was a trip to Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota. They are a research and rescue facility on the bay, along with the usual aquarium like items. They are home to four injured sea turtles, two manatees and two dolphins that can no longer live in the wild. We happened to time our visit just perfectly to see and hear the manatees eat their snack of romaine lettuce heads and dolphins be fed as well. It's very funny to hear manatees chomping down on lettuce as they had a hydrophone in the water. The dolphins did some wonderful tricks for their snacks and we were very close and were able to interact with their handlers and the doctor caring for them. We had lunch with Grandma Pat before heading back to the Tampa area. We even took the Sunshine Skyway Bridge back to beaches for the girls to enjoy. Didn't quite make it back into the water but looked for some souvenirs. If you ever get to the Tampa area please visit this place, it's amazing and the work they do is very important to sea life. We did get to enjoy a wonderful dinner at the Tampa Bay Brewing Company. David is a big fan of microbrewed beers and likes to partake whenever available. They make some strong beers at that place, he enjoyed both he tried.
Friday was The Florida Aquarium in Tampa before heading back to the airport. The girls really enjoy visiting aquariums. They have South African penguins that like to visit with the public. The handlers bring two out, talk about penguins and answer questions. It was funny to see these usual cold natured beings out playing with children's shoe laces and other small things. It's a family fascination with penguins, we've got to see them when and where we can. They have wonderful big aquariums from different regions and different sections of what you find along the gulf coast.
The flight home didn't go as scheduled but all five of us eventually ended up back where we started. Poor Teresa missing luggage and a lot later then planned though. We look forward to our next vacation to Florida but will probably stick with Disney or just the beaches. Enjoy the slideshow! -S
