Spring Break Review (St. Pete, FL)...with kids

What's up friends and family! It's been a while since our last blog post. I enjoy writing blog posts, but I am incredibly insecure about my writing skills! I promise to try to do this more often.

With that said, I wanted to provide an honest review of our spring break vacation in St. Pete, FL. This was our first time in Florida with the girls, and we figured this would be the "safest" trip to take amidst these covid times because we would be spending the majority of our time outside. We were correct in our thinking; we were the first ones out at the beach everyday! Definitely not the last to leave because, you know, kids. Also, wearing a dad shirt on vacation definitely gets great looks. Grab one below!

#1 Dad Shirt

The Hotel:

We stayed at the very nice TradeWinds Resort. Our room was great because it had a separate bedroom with a door which is perfect with two little kids. We were able to put the kids to bed first then we had the opportunity to hang out in the living area and decompress before we went to bed. Our room had a kitchenette with a stove (didn't use), refrigerator, sink and microwave. We were close to a grocery store, Publix for those familiar, and we bought groceries for breakfast and for lunch. This hotel was recommended to us by a former local St. Petian, and she didn't steer us wrong! The resort has 5 pools, 10 restaurants, 450 cabanas on the beach, and a 3 story tall inflatable slide! It's a quick 30 minute drive from the Tampa airport. Highly recommend!!

Activities:

We always started the day by heading to the beach (right on the resort) and grabbing a cabana for the day. We were usually one of the first families on the beach because the kids never sleep in. The first day was a little rough because the girls were still getting comfortable in their new environment. They are 4 and 5 so they needed to figure out their boundaries. By the second day, they were official beach pros. They would start playing in the sand or go by the water to find seashells. We would pack our lunch in a little styrofoam cooler I got at Publix for $9 (best purchase)! We usually made sandwiches for lunch with some chips and fruit as sides. One day I did bring a chopped salad bag and split that with Becky which turned out to be pretty good! The 3 story inflatable slide opens around noon so the girls were usually first in line. It was so funny watching those two go down the slide then sprint back to the line! When I asked Maddie what her favorite part of the vacation was she said the slide! Becky and I enjoyed the slide a few times, as well! Also, you can pack a few beers in the cooler so you don't go broke buying the resort beers and drinks! 

Nightlife (in bed by 10 PM every night):

We went out for dinner each night since we were saving money for breakfast and lunch. At least that was our logic! The first night we headed down to John's Pass boardwalk. This place is fun if you like shopping and walking around. We ate dinner at Madbeach Brewing which, unfortunately, were not that impressed with then we stopped by a yogurt shop for dessert. The second night Maddie requested pizza so we dined at Britt's Coal Fire Pizza. Highly recommend this place! The service was top notch and the pizza was delicious! The last night we attended a New York Yankees spring training game at George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. They were at 25% capacity so we were very comfortable in our section. This was my first spring training game so I was mesmerized by watching these big league stars in such an intimate setting. Hearing the full crack of the bat from Aaron Judge affirms the power behind it. The girls loved it, and great memories were made there!

I want to reiterate how wonderful this trip was. These memories will last a lifetime for me, and I am already feeling nostalgic writing this! Traveling with kids does bring challenges, but those hiccups are easily forgotten watching the joy in their eyes running in the sand or jumping in the ocean! St. Pete left a lasting memory with us, and we will absolutely be back! 

Here are few pics from the trip!

 


4 comments


  • Tom

    Thanks for sharing! Heading to Tradewinds for Spring Break with the wife and kiddos in early April so loved hearing the recommendations.


  • Zach

    Gotta love the intimacy of spring training! The Yankees field is actually one of the larger capacity fields around (probably similar to the Phillies field over in Clearwater). Next time you get a chance, check out Merchant Field in Lakeland to see a Tigers game. Feels like you’re on the field it’s so tight.

    St. Pete beach is great, glad you had a good time! Enjoyed the blog post.


  • Zach

    Gotta love the intimacy of spring training! The Yankees field is actually one of the larger capacity fields around (probably similar to the Phillies field over in Clearwater). Next time you get a chance, check out Merchant Field in Lakeland to see a Tigers game. Feels like you’re on the field it’s so tight.

    St. Pete beach is great, glad you had a good time! Enjoyed the blog post.


  • Alex Moles

    Glad to see you enjoyed St. Pete! I hope you got a chance to visit the new pier and amazing kid friendly outside playground area on the east side of the island near the Vinoy marina.


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