We rented the same beach house (duplex) that we stayed in last year so it was immediately familiar and comfortable. I highly recommend using the website Home Away to book vacation rentals for a great price.
We spent most of our time at the beach just swimming, reading, relaxing, and enjoying some stress-free time away from work.
This is one of my favorite spots on the island: Bean Point
Of course we also had to take in a baseball game at the Trop in St. Pete.
We took a fun tour of the Mixon Fruit grove in Bradenton one day before heading over to Ybor in Tampa for dinner with friends and their kids.
We got delicious samples of fruit juice, rode through the groves on a tram, got to see the factory where they sort the fruit, went through the butterfly garden & maze, and they have an animal rescue area where we met several cuties (and an icky snake). Our favorites were feeding peanuts to a baby dear, petting the tortoises, and saying hi to this adorable tiny owl named Wally.
Another day we went over to Sarasota for a boat tour but stopped for lunch first at this great burger place right on the water. Yum! We had a beautiful view of the water and docks while we ate and several pretty birds as dining companions.
Then we went on the boat ride which left from Mote Marine Aquarium. This is a GREAT boat tour and I highly recommend it if you're ever in the area. There are several different versions to choose from -- info here.
One of the cool things we saw was this bird sanctuary island where tons of baby birds were hanging out in their nests.
Our tour guide was also a marine biologist and she pulled up some cool stuff in a net out of the bay to show us. My favorite things were the sea horses. Here I am touching the sea horse and letting its tail curl around my finger!
It was a great vacation! Next year we plan to go back with the baby. :-)
