As I mentioned in a previous post, once we found out that our cruise had been cancelled, we began looking for something interesting to do for a few days. We originally looked into a beach resort, but the temperature forecast – while warmer than North Carolina and a lot warmer than places farther north – did not seem to us to be warm enough for beach time. Maybe it was just a letdown from not being able to go to Cozumel? 😉
We settled on St. Petersburg for a number of reasons. We had never been there, it is on the water (Tampa Bay), has a number of interesting museums and looked to have some interesting restaurants. We found a Hampton Inn right downtown near the waterfront for a reasonable price, and headed that way after our time in Lake Wales.
We found St. Petersburg to be a youngish town, and in a lot of ways it reminds me of Fort Collins, but with water instead of mountains, sandals instead of hiking boots. There is a vibrant arts scene there, plenty of public space, a good selection of restaurants of all kinds, and a pretty open and accepting mindset toward people of all kinds, ages and preferences. We really felt welcome there.
After visiting a town, Kathy & I often wonder aloud about how it would be to live there. The downtown area has plenty of condos and apartments, and there were at least two grocery stores within easy walking distance of our motel. With the restaurants, shops, waterfront and museums, there would be plenty to keep anyone occupied. Of course we aren’t looking to relocate, but the hypothetical is still interesting. It looks like it would be pretty expensive, and one of the things we love about where we are is that it is not expensive, which allows us to do the travel we do. So we visit!
I’ll write separately about the museums, but wanted to share a few of the photos I made while wandering around the town on our various outings. We had lovely weather which helped a lot. There is nothing like a blue sky and sunshine to provide a feeling of warmth, especially when it is 25 degrees with snow on the ground as I write this!
You caused me to snicker with “water instead of mountains, sandals instead of hiking boots” in comparing to Fort Collins. We do share the blue skies. I made a business trip years ago to St. Petersburg but did not get to visit much. I do remember driving across the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, impressive.
We drove over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge but I didn’t take any pictures while I was driving and my camera was hanging on the back seat! I did stop at one of the parks on the other side and got a few shots looking back at it. We’ve also sailed under the bridge on cruise ships twice – not quite like sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge but it was very cool!
One thing I remember from my visit is that the newspaper was free on any day it rained. And, a big attraction, for some bizarre reason, was Doc Webbs, a pharmacy/convenience/everything store. Seems St. Pete has grown up.
That’s a great story about the newspaper – I hadn’t heard that. Sadly, there no longer appears to be a Doc Webbs. Casualty of progress, I guess. 🙁