Clearwater Beach

Clearwater Beach is about a 15 minute drive from us, so we've been enjoying having a beach close (not as close as Puerto Rico), but still close.

On the weekends the beach is usually PACKED, and we're not even in tourist season yet.  It takes a while to find parking (you might even end up in a 30 minute parking spot and feed it a few quarters thinking it'll give you more time- it doesn't- rookie mistake!).

Once you find a place to park, it's worth it!  There a neat places to eat (Pearly's Beach Eats reminded us of Puerto Rico, and Crabby Bill's is always fun), shops in the area, and of course the beach! :)

Pier 60

On evenings the beach is a lot less crowded.  We went Friday night after work to walk the beach, catch the sunset, and then grab dinner.

Tampa Bay Water Ski Show

In Minnesota, we enjoyed watching the River Rats perform their waterski show on the Mississippi River.  So, we decided to check out the Tampa Bay Water Ski Show in Oldsmar.   

There were a lot of people gathered, and we found a spot and sat down to eat our picnic dinner.  The show started, and we saw water-skiers of different ages and abilities.  Their show was about aliens and protecting the planet (they have a few different shows they run during their season). 

We were most impressed by the children who were part of the show- they were able to pull off a lot of stunts!  

This operation was a little smaller, and less impressive than the River Rats- but made for a fun free evening activity- with a great sunset!