Spring Break 2018 - 2nd Stop Pass-a-Grille/St. Pete's Beach

On Tuesday, we left Siesta Key and headed north to St. Pete's beach. Mom always likes a "must-see" attraction. So we started our adventure at the Sunken Gardens, one of the oldest roadside tourist attractions in the United States. We were pleasantly surprised with this botanical paradise in the midst of a bustling city. Our lodging was at the cute Coconut Inn in Pass-a-Grille, a super cute area just south of the busy St. Pete's beach area. Once again, we enjoyed the beautiful sunset.




On our 2nd day in St. Pete's Beach area, we headed to Fort De Soto State park, a beautiful park with miles of pristine beaches. We started our morning kayaking in the mangroves. We were fortunate to see beautiful birds, discover some friendly manatees that let us get up close and personal. In the afternoon, we played with the wave runner in the ocean ("goalie training"). As always, we ended with dinner and sunset on the beach.




Our 3rd day, we took a boat ride to Egmont Key, a unique wildlife refuge that also contains the history of Fort Dade -- built in the late 1890s as the US prepared for the Spanish-American War. It was a pretty windy day with pretty big waves. We spent most of our time on the island exploring the beaches, Ft. Dade ruins, and looking for turtles. We ended our day with a sunset dinner (and Survivor on the big screen in our room).