Girl's Vaca

Back at the end of June, two friends of mine from WA came to FL for different reasons. While they were here, the three of us girls took a little two day vaca down to St. Petersburg. Apollo was the only male allowed to tag along on the trip. As I told Michelle and Sue, I can't remember the last time I was away on a trip without a family member present to help take care of me. It was a welcome change of pace for a few days which we all enjoyed.

We left my house on Sunday morning. Thinking we were in no hurry and wanted to enjoy the trip, we decided to take what we thought would be the scenic coastal route 19. Well it may go down the Gulf coast, but you sure can't see the water while you're driving down it. No big deal though as the traffic was minimal and the drive was really nice. Along the way Sue pulled over to a roadside stand and bought some peaches. I've never been a huge peach fan, but I have to admit that those were probably the best peaches I have ever had. They were so juicy and yummy!!

We stopped in Tarpon Springs to have a late lunch/early dinner and discovered a large Greek population and what must be the natural sponge capital of the US. We ate at one of the Greek restaurants. We sat outside on the water where we could see the boats. It was quite pretty. After we ate, we walked around the water/tourist area and poked around in a few of the shops before getting back on the road to St. Petersburg. Try as she might, Sue did not manage to find Sponge Bob amongst the people of Tarpon Springs.

We stayed at the Sirata Beach Resort And Conference Center. It was an absolutely beautiful hotel and the room was great too! There was a bedroom that had two queen size beds for Michelle and Sue and a pullout queen size sofa couch in the living room/kichenette area for me. The sofa bed was really quite comfortable. In both the bedroom and living room area there were floor to ceiling sliding glass doors out onto the balaconies with plenty of room for wheelchair access. The bathroom was also quite large and had plenty of room to maneuver my wheelchair or Hoyer lift. I do believe that Michelle now has a true understanding of why I and those who take care of me prefer hardwood flooring to carpeting when one has to use a Hoyer lift!! :-)

The first night we went down to Rum Runner's, one of the two beachside bars at the hotel, and had a few drinks, some snacks, and a very relaxing time just sitting around listening to the band and talking. Here are some pictures from the hotel.

This is our hotel taken from the beach.

These are pictures Sue took while walking on the beach at the hotel in the early morning hours when the rest of us lazy people were still sleeping.

The next day we ate brunch at the hotel and then decided that there had to be at least one coffee shop somewhere in the area so we set off to look for it. We found a wonderful little shop called Steam. It was a family run place and come to find out they were from Kirkland, WA which probably explains why we were able to get a decent cup of coffee. The place offered food made fresh right there on the little grill. It smelled so good, we promised to come back. The friendly people at Steam told us about Ft. Desoto Park since we said we were looking for a good beach to go to so off we went in search of adventures for the day.

Ft. DeSoto Park turned out to be a great place to go with multiple beaches to go to. We were searching for North Beach since that was one of the places our friends at Steam had recommended. While following the signs to North Beach, we found a doggie beach and dog park so we stopped there to give Apollo a good time. He was so happy to see water that he could just run into again instead of our pool at home that scares him. What a happy boy!!! I believe it was while trying to get to the doggie beach area that I got stuck in some sand that Sue and Michelle could not get me out of.  Thankfully there were a few nice guys around who helped pull me out and get me back on solid ground.

After that, we got back in the van and went to North Beach so Michelle and Sue could do some swimming. I couldn't get all the way down to the beach, but I could get close enough to watch them go swimming and lounging in my poolchair float that we brought along on the trip. Apollo and I just kicked back under the trees and relaxed for a few hours.

Michelle really looks excited to be at the beach, huh?

Sue lounging in the poolchair float.

After we left the beach, we went back to Steam for dinner. The food was absolutely delicious! Then it was back to the hotel. We went down to Harry's Beach Bar this time. While we were there, a storm looked to be blowing in and everyone left the beach and pools. We just sat at the table enjoying ourselves, and the clouds blew over with no rain but it did bring a much appreciated breeze!

Here we are at Harry's Beachside Bar.

Tuesday morning we packed up the van and checked out of the hotel. We went back to Steam for breakfast and back to Ft. DeSoto Park before heading home. When we got to North Beach this time, we found a barrier free trail (sidewalk) down to the beach and an area that was hard packed enough for me to get my wheelchair out by the water. Apollo got another little swim time since there was absolutely no one on the beach down there before we headed back up to the area where Michelle and Sue could go swimming. This time, we also found the concession stand area so that is where Apollo and I stayed under the covered area there to wait and relax.

Apollo playing at the beach.

This is where I got to go down by the water via the barrier free sidewalk.

Sue and Apollo on the beach.

Then it was time to head back to the real world so we all got in the car and headed home. They had been calling for rain the whole time we were down in St. Petersburg, but we never got any until we were about halfway home which is fine with me!