Clearwater Florida | Motherhood Unplugged

We ventured to Clearwater, Florida on a whim. I had been searching for a quick family friendly getaway near Georgia and came across several amazing pictures of Clearwater on the gram. The water was a beautiful mix of turquoise and royal blue with sleepy beaches and lots of restaurants. I was sold, especially since the price was right on Spirit. I have to admit that I did not drive the 1 hr distance to get our airline tickets cheaper at the airport but next time I will make sure I do. The traffic in Atlanta sometimes can just make it not worth all the trouble. You can read more about how to save by flying Spirit here on the blog.

We stayed at the Clearwater Marriott in Sandkey. I chose this hotel because of the full suite with separate livingroom. I planned on teaching during my mini vacay to keep the dollars rolling in and I needed a quiet space away from my boys to work. Our suite in room 561 worked out perfectly. It was far enough from the elevators but close enough for easy access. The hotel has a nice pool with waterfall and hot tub to boot. It has a 24 hr fitness center which I did not get to use! Kids have to be older than 5 to stay there unaccompanied so that ruined my me time at the gym. I did bring a couple resistance bands and chose to work out poolside while my oldest went to the kids club and the youngest played in the splash-pad. I still am itching to lift some real weights after 4 days of no gym-time.

The sleepy beach town of St. Pete was perfect for our family vacation. There is lots to do and see and eat. We spent the majority of our time at the beach in Clearwater and also visited North beach. I liked both beaches but North beach is definitely less crowded and still has access to lots of restaurants and ice cream shops. The Pier has a children's park and a mini amusement park with jumpy houses and a bungy jump.

We arrived at night on our first evening and ended up paying a whooping $62 for a taxi from the airport. On the way back I opted to try the Jolly Trolley which is free. We rode it for free to Park Ave and then boarded the public bus 60 to the Clearwater Mall where we hopped on an uber after making a bathroom stop in Starbucks for coffee and snacks. That way only cost me $30 and also killed some time in the process since my flight didn't leave until late. We ate a few meals at Frenchy's restaurant across from the beach. Their calamari was pretty good and I also downed a few rum punches to hold me over from all the kiddie stress. We also ate a great meal at Columbia next door to the restaurant. I ordered mussels which my four year old helped himself to. He is the only toddler that prefers seafood delicacies over chicken tenders and fries lol

Overall, this trip turned out to be a success sans the little incident I wrote about on IG regarding almost losing one of my kids in the department store. ;0( #parentingfail.

I'm already looking for our next destination. If you haven't been to St. Pete you should go. I plan to return again during non-busy season so we can really enjoy the beaches sans the crowds.

Til the next flight! Happy Travels

#travel