The gorgeous view from our balcony.
Our first family vacation was fantastic!!!! We spent a full week in St. Petersburg, Florida at The Tradewinds Island Grand Resort. We shared what they call the penthouse with Jon, Misty & Evan. It was a perfect spot for families. Our room consisted of a living area, dining area, kitchenette, 2 bedrooms, & 3 full baths. The resort offered a lot of amenties (as you'll see in photos) that were great for us & so we actually wander too far from the site for most of the week.
Mya was anxious for our trip to begin & wasn't willing to sit in her stroller while we waited for our freinds to meet us at the airport. All together we had 6 pieces of luggage, 2 car seats, 2 strollers, & several carry-ons. It was a workout just getting through check-in, but SOOO worth it!
Click to see more views from our balcony.
Our room had 2 small balconies: one off of the living room & another off the dining area. The resort is set up in such a way that you tend to forget that you are only steps away from the road. So, it was odd to stand outside our room which was on the side of one of the buildings & see the full view. If you looked to your right you saw the main drag busy with businesses & cars. However, if you looked straight ahead you saw the pools, the lazy river, the tennis courts, etc....all surrounded by the other buildings making it very village-like. And if you looked to your left you saw the beach & the beautiful ocean stretching out for miles.
The kids didn't get to spend a lot of time on the balconies because the bars to the railing were spaced far enough apart that our little ones could squeeze right through & we were on the 7th floor. The adults spent quite a bit of time out there though relaxing or people watching or a little bit of both.
DAY 1 - Everyone took time to enjoy a slow, lazy morning getting ready & then we headed out to the beach. Mya wasn't very thrilled with the ocean at all. It was pretty chilly & she didn't care for the motion. It didn't matter much since we were only there a short time before her & Evan were both sleeping peacefully in our cabanas. That gave the adults time to swim in the ocean & lay in the sun before heading back to the room for lunch. We did a little shopping for supplies & then attempted to find a place for dinner, but most places were very busy & the kids were melting down fast so we settled for a quick bite at IHop.
Click for Day 1 pics.
Click for Day 2 pics
Day 2 - a full day by the pool. Early in the day Mommy & Misty laid by the pool while the kids napped & the Daddies spent some quiet time in the room. After Mya's lunch Daddy brought her down to see me with no intention of getting in the pool, but Mya had very different ideas. Next thing we knew she was down to her diaper & soaking wet in the baby pool. Normally, Mommy wouldn't let her go around without clothes, but hey...this was vacation! And as fate would have it we got some of the cutest pictures of her on that day.
Day 3 - In the morning we went for a ride in the paddleboats. Jon did a great job steering & we enjoyed the leisurely coast around the resort. Mya & Evan were very good & sat still & took in all the sights. Mya's favorite was the Mommy duck with her 6 baby ducklings. It was hard to take pictures while we were on the boat, but we took some pictures of our walk along the walkway afterwards.
Later that afternoon we tried out the beach again. Mya got very upset & couldn't be calmed so we packed up & headed back to the pool. Only then did Mommy realize that she had got a good deal of salt in her eye & it was red & swollen & probably burning badly. The sight of the baby pool made her forget her pain though.
Click for Day 3 pics.
Day 4 - This was a very quiet day. We just took some walks, took some naps, enjoyed a nice day close to the room with the kids. Mya & Evan played together a lot that day. That night Jon & Misty were nice enough to stay in with the kids & let Daddy & Mommy have a night out. We had a great dinner at a little seafood restaurant. It was nice just to take our time eating for a change. Afterwards we went for a drink in a bar that was supposed to rotate on top of a hotel, but instead it just seemed to tilt & made us nervous so we didn't stay very long. We finished the night with a nice walk on the beach back to our resort. It was a really nice night.
Click for Day 5 pics
Day 5 - THE ZOO! For Mya's very 1st trip to a zoo we drove into Tampa & went to the Lowry Park Zoo. I had read that it was voted the #1 children's zoo in the US & we were not disappointed. It had a wide variety of animals & was very interactive. We could have fed a giraffe, but they were out of crackers & we decided not to wait. Misty & Evan rode a camel. Mommy had a blast feeding the stingrays. We ate lunch there & also stopped for an ice cream break. It was a great day!!
Day 6 - On our final day there a tropical storm rolled in to our area. Misty, Evan & I managed a short time in the pool, but by the time Mya woke up from her morning nap it was already drizzling very steadily. We decided to take the kids to a little park on the beach & a walk in the surf, but were very wet by the time we got back as the rain got heavier. It kept us indoors most of the rest of the evening so we ordered in food & made the best of our last night of vacation.
Click for Day 6 pics.
It was an absolutely wonderful vacation. Just what we all needed. We all said that it must have been a good one because we kept losing track of time.
We want to thank Jon, Misty & Evan for helping us, for putting up with us, & for making great memories with us. We hope it's the first of many more to come.