Reasonably than take one large trip this summer time, we opted as an alternative for a couple of quick journeys so we may expertise extra new locations. We kicked issues off with a 3-night journey to Charleston, SC, we met up my dad and mom within the Georgia mountains in July, after which capped off the summer time with a getaway to St. Petersburg, Florida. Sherry and I had solely been there very briefly throughout this 2008 seaside trip, so we have been excited to spend extra time there and discover it with our youngsters.

So right here’s a fast recap of what we did, the place we ate, and why we’re excited to return.

The place Did We Keep In St. Petersburg?

St. Petersburg is situated on Florida’s Gulf Coast, throughout the Tampa Bay from the town of Tampa. The realm has a lot of nice seashores, however we particularly selected St. Pete for the town and cultural elements of it (since we’ve got loads of nice seashores the place we dwell). It appeared to vow a number of the identical issues we liked about our former hometown of Richmond, Virginia (we love a mid-size metropolis with an artsy really feel and many good meals).

For these causes, we selected to remain nearer to Downtown St. Petersburg (fairly than close to the seashores). We stayed in an Airbnb simply outdoors of the Grand Central District, which promised to be a enjoyable business district. The home itself was good (clear, well-stocked, and dog-friendly!) however it turned out to be much less walkable to the place we spent most of our time than we’d hoped so I’m not linking it right here.

We’d in all probability select one thing slightly additional East subsequent time we go. I additionally assume if we have been to return for an extended journey, we would select a home nearer to the seaside – since there gave the impression to be extra choices on the market – then we’d simply drive downtown. It’s actually not a really large metropolis and we solely skilled very delicate visitors whereas we have been there.

What We Did In St. Petersburg: The Pier

The large attraction in downtown St. Petersburg is The St. Pete Pier, so we naturally headed there on our first morning. If you happen to’re picturing some rinky-dink wood fishing pier (like I used to be at one level) you couldn’t be extra incorrect. It’s MASSIVE and has tons to do. Had it been rather less sizzling out and we weren’t interrupted by a rainstorm, we nearly may’ve spent an entire day on the market.

That’s the view from the top of the pier, trying again towards downtown. It’s full of inexperienced areas, eating choices, artwork items, and extra. That is the 3-story construction (every with a special restaurant) from which I took the above photograph. See? Completely not rinky-dink.

Our two favourite spots on the pier have been the playground and the Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Middle. The latter is a small however enjoyable nature heart towards the center of the pier. It was surprisingly inexpensive ($18 whole for all 4 of us to get in) they usually’re even dog-friendly! Truthfully, we principally stopped in for the A/C, however ended up staying about 45 minutes trying on the numerous animals and interactive shows.

The playground was one other shock hit, since our youngsters are starting to age out of them. However this one was large, fashionable, and creatively completed, so they’d a good time. We adults even acquired to sit down within the shade!

The very last thing we did close to the Pier (earlier than some shock rain drove us inside) was to take a look at this large tree outdoors of the St. Petersburg Museum of Historical past. If you’ll find our youngsters within the image, you’ll get a way of the size.

Once more, we may’ve spent much more time at The Pier. We’d love to return on a weekend when the seller Market is happening, or at evening when the Bending Arc artwork set up is all lit up.

What We Did In St. Pete: The Salvador Dalí Museum

The next day, we ventured again downtown to go to The Salvador Dalí Museum. An artwork museum will not be each household’s thought of a kid-friendly exercise, however each of our youngsters love artwork so this was a must-see for us. The museum does a very good job of catering to younger guests too. There are a couple of interactive reveals (together with a VR expertise) and even some AI-generated movies of Dalí  “himself” speaking with you.

It was additionally simply spectacular to see so lots of his works up shut. His items are sometimes so intricate and, properly, surreal that the youngsters discovered them actually fascinating to have a look at. Sherry additionally had enjoyable breaking out a few of her faculty artwork historical past information.

The one bummer about our go to is that, as soon as once more, we acquired a shock rain storm so we couldn’t go to the “avant-garden” (har har). In addition they simply added an enormous dome that hosts the immersive Dalí  Alive 360° expertise, however we visited at some point – actually at some point! – earlier than it opened to the general public.

Talking of immersive artwork, we wished The Fairgrounds had been open whereas we have been there too. It’s solely open on weekends and our journey fell on a Monday evening – Thursday morning.

What We Did In St. Petersburg: Discover & Store

Other than the 2 locations above, we spent most of our journey simply sort of exploring. There are many retailers and eating places alongside (and proper off of) Central Avenue within the Grand Central District, so it was additionally enjoyable simply strolling round.

There usually gave the impression to be extra eating places than there have been shops to buy in, however we did discover this actually cute bookstore: Tombolo Books. We love an indie bookstore, and at any time when we go to a brand new metropolis we all the time look one up.

It additionally bears mentioning that St Pete was tremendous welcoming to everybody! It undoubtedly has an inclusive metropolis vibe that made us so completely happy – from the rainbow crosswalk within the Grand Central district to indicators displayed in store home windows and flags hanging outdoors.

If you happen to couldn’t inform from these photos: there are TONS of murals and colourful storefronts. So there’s loads of eye sweet, simply strolling round. This specific mural was on the facet of Pete’s Bagels, which was additionally our favourite breakfast of the journey.

I’m undecided if this graffitied bench counts as “public artwork,” however we undoubtedly loved the photograph op. You will have my permission to make use of this photograph at my funeral.

If murals aren’t the one sort of eye sweet you crave: we additionally discovered a number of the actual property selection. We did slightly little bit of driving round every afternoon simply to get our bearings in St. Pete. First, we stumbled upon some lovely neighborhoods between downtown and Snell Isle. Simply tons of cool homes (some large, some small) that felt like a cool mixture of tropical and historic. It nearly felt like a Florida model of Richmond to us. This home made Sherry scream and gasp a number of occasions.

We additionally heard of this different neighborhood known as Driftwood (due to @ilovetheburg on Instagram, which had tons of native suggestions). It was not possible to seize it on digital camera, however it was extremely jungly and funky. Simply put “Driftwood Street” in Google Maps to search out it. Critically. Go drive by. It felt like we entered Jurrasic Park.

Sherry and I may in all probability drive round exploring neighborhoods all day, so we’d undoubtedly love to try this once more in St Pete.

The place We Ate In St. Petersburg

As I stated in our Charleston publish, we’re under no circumstances foodies, and with children and a canine in tow, our priorities are sometimes straightforward, enjoyable, informal, and a menu that pleases everybody. So right here’s a fast run-down of the locations we loved most.

Pacific Counter was like a sushi & poke model of Chipotle. It’s undoubtedly a “quick informal” type place, so I really feel bizarre saying it was my favourite meal of the journey, however constructing our personal sushi burritos and poke bowls was superior and it was scrumptious. I acquired a Hawaiian sizzling canine too. The children acquired free pineapple whip (I suppose that’s a factor on Wednesdays?) and everybody left completely happy and full. It seems to be like Pacific Counter is a sequence within the Tampa Bay space, however may somebody fairly please open one close to us on the panhandle?

Ceviche was the restaurant we hunkered down in throughout our post-Pier rainstorm, and it was in all probability Sherry’s favourite of the journey. This undoubtedly stretched the youngsters’ palettes slightly bit (the meatballs, croquetas, and pesto hen have been the largest hits with them) however that was the great thing about sharing a bunch of small plates.

As a lot as this subsequent place seems to be prefer it’s known as “Beer Tacos,” it’s really Casita Taqueria. Tacos and quesadillas are all the time crowd-pleasers within the Petersik family, and this place had a superbly chill, dog-friendly environment, together with nice meals.

One other fool-proof crowd-pleaser with us is dessert. Probably the most memorable one on this journey was at La Diperie. You begin with a base like a soft-serve cone, a donut, cookie dough balls, and even an ice cream sandwich. Then you definately select from dozens of flavored dips that your base will get dunked in, after which toss on a topping or two. YUM.

And though we didn’t really eat right here (they have been one way or the other out of bread?) we have been glad we stopped into the 2D Cafe. The ’80s child in me felt like I had stepped into the Take On Me video!

And since Sherry and I’ve been on a espresso kick this 12 months, we loved trying out a few native espresso spots in St. Pete. Bandit was tremendous cool. I’m nonetheless eager about the summer-special Bouquet Latte I acquired and I remorse not getting a full breakfast there. We additionally checked this tremendous art-deco spot known as Paradeco, which was actually cool inside.

I solely want my mind would learn Paradeco as “Para-Deco” (a reference to paradise + artwork deco) as an alternative of “Parade-Co,” which appears like a enterprise that places on parades.

One Final Cease: The Seashore!

Okay, okay, so I stated we didn’t come to St. Petersburg for the seashores. However after we checked out of our Airbnb, we couldn’t resist a detour out to one of many seashores: particularly, an space known as Passe-A-Grille, which a buddy had advisable to us. The drive there was quick (perhaps 15-20 minutes?) and we acquired to absorb the well-known pink Don CeSar lodge on the way in which.

We additionally grabbed breakfast on the way in which out at Paradise Grille. It’s a completely unfussy, however superbly beachfront restaurant within the heart of Passe-A-Grill. We liked it!

Though we dwell close to the seaside, this was an unfamiliar expertise to us as a result of our seashores are surrounded (protected? blocked?) by very tall 3-story dunes. So most “Gulf entrance” eating choices provide nice views (trying down on them from above), however you’re fairly removed from touching precise sand and water. Not right here! You’re just about immediately on the seaside.

So it was an ideal enjoyable technique to finish the journey earlier than heading dwelling. We left eager to expertise extra of the realm – each downtown and by the seashores – so we’re excited to return!

Different Household Journeys We’ve Taken

If you happen to’re excited by our tackle different locations or are searching for family-friendly journeys, you would possibly get pleasure from a few of these posts too:

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