Beach Life in Clearwater, Florida
It was the fifth day of our week-long stay in Florida. We travelled over late afternoon from Orlando and settled into a hotel for the next three nights, the Sheraton Sand Key. It has its own private beach which leads on to Clearwater beach, so we headed down there straight away to check it out. I can see why it was voted No 1 due to it being made up of tiny little white shells and an overall powdery like feel. Absolutely breath-taking. Our first evening was at the award-winning steakhouse at the Marriott Sand Key. The steak was probably THE best steak I have ever had and with fabulous views of the harbour, it was the perfect start to our next two full days.
The next morning, we were up bright and early to go over to St Pete’s beach, another award-winning beach. With miles of beach, surf shops, boutiques and a range of accommodation, it is another ideal location to combine with a busy Orlando holiday. We took a dip in the Gulf of Mexico and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine whilst listening to our host tell us about the area. Our afternoon was to be another highlight for me and the rest of my companions, the Dolphin Speedboat Racer experience. We spent the next hour in a high-speed boat which creates a large wake in its path. This invited the dolphins to jump and body surf alongside. As well as getting very wet, we were all full of smiles during the hour and didn’t want it to end. I got some fabulous video footage and photos. An experience I won’t ever forget.
Our second day in Clearwater was going to be our last full day. We were asked to meet on the hotels private beach at 730am in gym clothes with a towel and a bottle of water. Before breakfast, we had a very refreshing yoga session on the beach, a great start to the day. After getting ready, we then headed to downtown St Pete. The area is known for awe-inspiring art and culture. It has more than 70 street murals on buildings around Central Avenue. Our first stop was a tour of the Imagine Museum in the Central Arts District. We were told about the collection of more than 580 pieces of art. It was a fabulous place to visit and I was wowed by the whole collection. Our next visit was to The Dali Museum. Here, we picked up our audio guides and made our way round the largest collection of his work outside of Spain. We saw masterpieces such as the “Bubble Mirror” and “The Persistence of Memory” replicated outside in the Avant Garden.
Such a shame for our last day to go so fast but after having lunch at Sea Salt, a contemporary seafood restaurant that houses over 6,000’s bottle of wine in its glass wine cellar, we headed back to our hotel for our last evening outing. To celebrate our last night, we were taken to the harbour and boarded StarLite Majesty for a dinner cruise. We enjoyed a lovely three course meal with live entertainment whilst sailing around Clearwater. Truly a great way to end our fabulous trip.
So, the flight home really was our opportunity to rest as we were virtually on the go for the whole week! If you do book a trip to Orlando, it is worth exploring further afield and hiring a car to truly experience the area. Next time, combine the fast-paced theme parks in Orlando with a rejuvenating trip to the beach and you’ll see a whole new side to Florida.