My Trip Report (Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater: rental, condo, how much)

[Jammie]

I wanted to do more then just the usual vacation report so we took the time to pay close attention to EVERYTHING and talk to as many people as we possibly could. After making a mental note of it all, I decided the title should be "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

This post is only the good about the area so I hope you'll all enjoy it.

We left Sioux Falls airport and flew to Miinneapolis then to Memphis then to Tampa. Our vacation package had our flights booked very close. For instance, at Memphis our boarding began four minutes before our scheduled landing. We ran and caught all our planes in time.

When we landed at Tampa, we were surprised to see the airport wasn't huge or confusing. It was laid out well. It was so nice and clean and FRIENDLY. We hadn't been there five minutes when one of the traffic guards started talking to us. He lives in Clearwater and also has a condo in St. Pete where his son goes to school. What a sense of humor that guy had.

We then went to get our rental and found a very nice gal who helped us. Our package included a full sized car, but we asked if we could downgrade and get a red Grand Am for the same price. (Just personal preference) None were available, but she asked if she could upgrade us at no extra charge. That was very nice of her even though we prefer the mid-sized vehicles. The car was in good shape and fairly elegant even.

She kindly gave us directions and we were on our way to our motel in St. Petersburg. We loved the bushes with the beautiful flowers that are planted in the median between the two towns. We surprisingly found out that the Howard Franklin was a beautiful, seemingly well-built bridge that didn't scare me at all. (Not a bridge person here) Her directions made it so easy and since it wasn't rush hour, we had no problem getting to St. Pete.

The town itself is fairly nice. The very best part of it is that the people are very friendly. We knew that the people in the tourism industry would more then likely be friendly so we decided we'd talk to people at bus stops, the few who were out walking around or riding bicycles, etc. They were all so nice and helpful and chatty. We learned a lot about their likes and dislikes about the area and they were so open. Very nice people in the area.

We did a few different things and our second favorite thing was Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg. It's a very beautiful, peaceful Eden and I'd highly recommend seeing it.

The very best part of our trip was the St. Pete Beach/Passe-a-Grille (sp?)/ Tierra Verde area. It's absolutely beautiful there. We were there a few times. We travelled down 19 and as soon as we went right at 54th (?) St., everything turned so beautiful and alive.

We were surprised that many people on the beach even started conversations with us and we didn't even have to approach all of them and initiate chat. There were a couple of gals from Ohio would walked by and told us how they were going home, packing up, and moving to the Beach before winter sets in. They had so much enthusiasm and love for the place.

Another nice gent was talking to us about a football game he was listening to. We couldn't contribute much since we aren't sports fans, but he was a nice guy anyway.

We went out for our usual morning walks and got lost and found a very helpful gas station attendant who pointed us in the right direction. Our walk turned into a 6 mile walk versus the normal 4 miles.

When we were driving and made a wrong turn, we stopped to ask directions from a lady who was out walking her dog. She said she's always asked directions for that same spot. As we were talking, we learned that their vacation next summer will be spent right up here so I jotted down spots to see, our name and phone number and asked her to give us a call and we'd meet for a bit while they're in town. She seemed sincerely interested in taking her children to see Mt. Rushmore and the Black Hills. We got to hear her feelings about the area and all the things happening in the state. About a half hour later, we were on our way again.

Downtown St. Pete is a place I'd highly recommend if you're a shopper. If you're like me and have no interest in it, you'd still find the area with the cute shops interesting.

Baywalk was nice.

The Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo is nice if you like plants and historic buildings and things like that. We loved all the palms and the flowers there.

I'd highly recommend Fort DeSoto for people who live in cities and are trying to get away from the congestion and over populated areas. It was rated the number 2 beach in the country in 2005. If you already live in the wide-open spaces, it will probably be of little interest to you. There are campgrounds, picnic areas, a lot of food stands, etc.

We took Keeper's advice and went to the Hurricane in the St. Pete Beach/Passe-a-Grille area. (Not sure exactly which place it'd be considered to be a part of) Four of us were there and each one of us enjoyed our meal. If there are any vegetarians out there, I'd highly recommend their grilled veggie sandwich. But be careful how much you order. Their helpings are HUGE.


The weather was a bit cloudy, but fortunately the sun always found a way of peeking through for at least part of the day. It was a bit breezy, but we're used to wind so it was fine with us.

Anyway, these were the things we really enjoyed with the area.

[Keeper]

Glad you had a great time and enjoyed the beaches and the ppl.

[sheena]

Originally Posted by Jammie

I wanted to do more then just the usual vacation report so we took the time to pay close attention to EVERYTHING and talk to as many people as we possibly could. After making a mental note of it all, I decided the title should be "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

This post is only the good about the area so I hope you'll all enjoy it.

We left Sioux Falls airport and flew to Miinneapolis then to Memphis then to Tampa. Our vacation package had our flights booked very close. For instance, at Memphis our boarding began four minutes before our scheduled landing. We ran and caught all our planes in time.

When we landed at Tampa, we were surprised to see the airport wasn't huge or confusing. It was laid out well. It was so nice and clean and FRIENDLY. We hadn't been there five minutes when one of the traffic guards started talking to us. He lives in Clearwater and also has a condo in St. Pete where his son goes to school. What a sense of humor that guy had.

We then went to get our rental and found a very nice gal who helped us. Our package included a full sized car, but we asked if we could downgrade and get a red Grand Am for the same price. (Just personal preference) None were available, but she asked if she could upgrade us at no extra charge. That was very nice of her even though we prefer the mid-sized vehicles. The car was in good shape and fairly elegant even.

She kindly gave us directions and we were on our way to our motel in St. Petersburg. We loved the bushes with the beautiful flowers that are planted in the median between the two towns. We surprisingly found out that the Howard Franklin was a beautiful, seemingly well-built bridge that didn't scare me at all. (Not a bridge person here) Her directions made it so easy and since it wasn't rush hour, we had no problem getting to St. Pete.

The town itself is fairly nice. The very best part of it is that the people are very friendly. We knew that the people in the tourism industry would more then likely be friendly so we decided we'd talk to people at bus stops, the few who were out walking around or riding bicycles, etc. They were all so nice and helpful and chatty. We learned a lot about their likes and dislikes about the area and they were so open. Very nice people in the area.

We did a few different things and our second favorite thing was Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg. It's a very beautiful, peaceful Eden and I'd highly recommend seeing it.

The very best part of our trip was the St. Pete Beach/Passe-a-Grille (sp?)/ Tierra Verde area. It's absolutely beautiful there. We were there a few times. We travelled down 19 and as soon as we went right at 54th (?) St., everything turned so beautiful and alive.

We were surprised that many people on the beach even started conversations with us and we didn't even have to approach all of them and initiate chat. There were a couple of gals from Ohio would walked by and told us how they were going home, packing up, and moving to the Beach before winter sets in. They had so much enthusiasm and love for the place.

Another nice gent was talking to us about a football game he was listening to. We couldn't contribute much since we aren't sports fans, but he was a nice guy anyway.

We went out for our usual morning walks and got lost and found a very helpful gas station attendant who pointed us in the right direction. Our walk turned into a 6 mile walk versus the normal 4 miles.

When we were driving and made a wrong turn, we stopped to ask directions from a lady who was out walking her dog. She said she's always asked directions for that same spot. As we were talking, we learned that their vacation next summer will be spent right up here so I jotted down spots to see, our name and phone number and asked her to give us a call and we'd meet for a bit while they're in town. She seemed sincerely interested in taking her children to see Mt. Rushmore and the Black Hills. We got to hear her feelings about the area and all the things happening in the state. About a half hour later, we were on our way again.

Downtown St. Pete is a place I'd highly recommend if you're a shopper. If you're like me and have no interest in it, you'd still find the area with the cute shops interesting.

Baywalk was nice.

The Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo is nice if you like plants and historic buildings and things like that. We loved all the palms and the flowers there.

I'd highly recommend Fort DeSoto for people who live in cities and are trying to get away from the congestion and over populated areas. It was rated the number 2 beach in the country in 2005. If you already live in the wide-open spaces, it will probably be of little interest to you. There are campgrounds, picnic areas, a lot of food stands, etc.

We took Keeper's advice and went to the Hurricane in the St. Pete Beach/Passe-a-Grille area. (Not sure exactly which place it'd be considered to be a part of) Four of us were there and each one of us enjoyed our meal. If there are any vegetarians out there, I'd highly recommend their grilled veggie sandwich. But be careful how much you order. Their helpings are HUGE.


The weather was a bit cloudy, but fortunately the sun always found a way of peeking through for at least part of the day. It was a bit breezy, but we're used to wind so it was fine with us.

Anyway, these were the things we really enjoyed with the area.

Are you thinking about moving there?

[Jammie]

Keeper, thank you.

Sheena, at one point in our lives, we had considered a move to that area. But it's no longer on our list of "things to do."