Sand and Souvenirs

Wednesday and Thursday included more of the same: lots of time at the beach and in the pool. They boys enjoyed building sandcastles right on the edge of where the tide/waves came up. They used large pieces of wood we found on the beach to try to protect their castle. They also realized how fun it is to be buried in the sand. We took another trip to the Columbia for lunch and the boys did some souvenir shopping. Alex had his heart set on a shark tooth necklace and Will really wanted a boogie board to ride the waves. Both found what they were looking for as well as a few other trinkets. We went down to the beach both nights to see the sunset. On Wednesday night, we saw a big jelly fish washed up on shore. On Thursday, we saw a school of dolphins swimming nearby and also saw Hulk Hogan sitting on the porch of his beach house (that we walked next to every time we went to the beach). The tooth fairy also visited us while we were in Clearwater - Alex lost his second tooth!

The waves are coming!

Alex discovered beach naps

Pretty cool!

Hulk Hogan is sitting on the middle balcony...

Alex lost his second tooth

More Beach Fun

We spent all day Monday at the pool and at the beach. In the afternoon, we took a break from the sun to walk into town to get the boys Slurpees. On Tuesday, we took the Jolly Trolley down to the Columbia restaurant where we enjoyed a nice lunch on the water. Then we played a round of mini golf and got ice cream before heading back to the house.

Morning shell hunt

Cannonball!

Cannonball!

Lunch at Columbia Restaurant

Mini Golf

Hole in One for Alex

Jolly Trolley

First Day Fun

On Sunday morning, we all went down to the beach for a while in the morning. Then, the four of us drove to Tropicana Field to see the Rays play (Stadium #8). The outside of the stadium was fairly boring but the inside was pretty nice. The boys received a souvenir baseball when they walked in and we bought their little bats in the gift shop. We had really nice seats - first row in the outfield on the first base side. We were near the bull pen and it was fun to see the players warming up. The game was not very crowded and the boys got high fives from the mascots and were also on the scoreboard. We took a break from the game to walk around the stadium for a bit and were able to see the rays in the tank in the outfield. After the game, we met up with everyone at Frenchy's. They were finishing their dinner as we arrived but we were able to recreate our family photo from 7 years ago (plus three additions).

View from my morning walk

Tropicana Field

Stadium #8

Petting the Rays

Frenchy's - 2011

Frenchy's - 2018