Find a Tropical Paradise in Tampa BayBy Carol Muse Evans
TAMPA
CLEARWATER
Get out on the water with a Pirate Cruise or Dolphin Cruise. Captain Memo’s Pirate Cruise is great fun for children and involves an excursion lead by “friendly” pirates with games, music and lots of fun setting sail from the Clearwater Municipal Marina. Excursions leave several times daily. A short drive over to Dunedin, a community inspired by its Scottish heritage, offers a visit to the Dunedin Fine Art Center, a great museum which also features the David L. Mason Children’s Art Museum. See permanent and traveling exhibits for adults, as well as the ever-changing and hands-on section for children. ST. PETERSBURGVisitors to St. Petersburg may be intrigued to find the Florida Holocaust Museum here. This museum and education center, in downtown St. Petersburg, is the fourth largest Holocaust museum in the U.S. and offers both permanent and traveling exhibits. See a gripping, introductory film, and then see one of only three original boxcars in this country that were used in Poland to transport prisoners to their death. Another St. Petersburg surprise is the Salvador Dali Museum, one of St. Petersburg’s greatest cultural attraction and the largest, single collection of Dali works. The city, chosen by a couple that were friends of Dali and owned a number of his paintings, searched for a location to build a museum after his death. Ironically, St. Petersburg was one city that was most receptive to taking it. Thus, the museum here was born in 1982. The Pier in St. Pete offers great shopping, dining, site seeing, a small aquarium and children’s museum hands-on museum in this five-story complex renovated and reopened in 1988. Open 365 days a year, you can visit on a regular day or come for a special event. You can also fish on the approach to The Pier and around the exterior of the building and along the sea walls. Rentals and fishing needs are available at The Pier Baithouse on site. You can even rent bicycles at Whimsical Wheels. See the web site for scheduled events such as Karaoke, children’s events and dances. - Carol Muse Evans is an Alabama based writer specializing in family travel. If you go….CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU THE FLORIDA AQUARIUM CLEARWATER MARINE AQUARIUM CAPTAIN MEMO’S PIRATE CRUISE BUSCH GARDENS & ADVENTURE ISLAND DUNEDIN FINE ART CENTER SALVADOR DALI MUSEUM THE PIER GREAT ACCOMMODATIONS…RADISSON SUITE ON SAND KEY TRADEWINDS RESORT |
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It’s got beautiful Clearwater with its crystal clear water, pristine beaches dotted with shells galore and natural wildlife. It’s got the famous, older St. Petersburg, now experiencing a revival, and still home to some of Florida’s most beautiful beaches and historic hotels. And there’s Tampa, with great family activities including the family-friendly Busch Gardens.
To the locals, this area is simply “Tampa Bay.” But take a look at a map and you’re on a near island – a peninsula – and it feels like you’ve been dropped into a tropical paradise. Beaches, fine seafood and fun activities are all around you. There are 35 miles of some of the top-ranked beaches in the nation here. And there are renowned museums and cultural opportunities here, too. You’re in Tampa Bay, and you may just want to stay.
Aside from beautiful beaches, Tampa offers a world-class aquarium. The Florida Aquarium is ranked among the top major aquariums in the world and features more than 152,000 square feet of fun including daily animal encounters, chances to touch sea creatures and watch dive shows and see new animals and exhibits. 
If you like both wild life and wild rides, don’t miss Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay, where you feel you’ve stepped into your own wildlife safari adventure. This ecologically-friendly park not only brings you up close to the animals with 2,800 exotic mammals, birds and reptiles on 335 acres, including bird shows and a aviary where you can feed the lorakeets by hand, but it offers 30 rides and five world-class roller coasters to take your breath away. The new Rhino Rally attraction mixes both the thrill of the ride with the thrill of the safari, and you never know what’s around that next turn. Then, take a day to cool off at Adventure Island, a water theme park by Busch, just across the street from Busch Gardens!
Take a break from the beach and visit the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, a different type of aquarium from any you may have ever seen. This is a working aquarium dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and release of marine animals, and it also provides environmental education to the public through exhibits and classes. See some life-long residents at this aquarium, as well as those getting ready to “go back home.” Site visits by boat can even be arranged with scientists for an up close and personal look at sea life on the water.