Florida Beaches

[-Cago34-]

We're probably going to take it easy for the most part. Would like to get a wave runner rental for a few hours. Maybe a dinner cruise on the water if they do something like that? That or some type of boat tour. Think that's going to be the weekend of the first game of the year so I'd need a good sports bar. :bears:

Once we get tickets locked up I'll do some more research. For the most part though we just want to stay close to the water, drink and find a few good restaurants.

Wave runners can be rented right on the beach. Parasail and all that stuff also.

Dinner cruises are there, no biggie either. All within walking/trolley distance if you end up staying in a hotel on Clearwater Beach. Starlite cruises is one off the top of my head http://calypsoqueen.com/, then there's the ''pirate ship'' you can cruise around on also. Not sure if they do dinners, or just like a dolphin tour kinda thing...but heres the boat, lol.

Wouldn't worry much about watching the game, plenty of bars right on the beach that'll be showing games.

Restaurants, plenty...a bunch within walking/trolley distance. Anything from high end places like the Beachcomber, to mid level places like Shephards which have a kickass all you can eat seafood bar for like $20, oh, and it's a hotel/resort also, so you may want to check into that. They have a tiki bar, and a couple dance clubs on the premises and its right on the beach.

Here's a couple pics of Shephards. Tiki bar. (I fish under that bridge in the background all the time)

Heres a pic of the resort itself

Heres a pic of one of the clubs at Shephards.

Or, theres a bunch of smaller places where you can get grouper sandwiches and fries for like $10. There's a lot of variety depending on y'alls budget.

 

[BaBaBlacksheep]

Cago the tour guide! Thanks... We're going to use up some points and stay at the Hilton. That bridge looks like a nice place to fish... Wonder if I can talk my wife into taking a little half day fishing charter...

All this looks like fun. Is there anything as a local that you think is a "must do?" Like in Chicago I'd tell someone they have to catch a game at Wrigley if they've never gone.

Hey, and what's up with that B&B you mentioned earlier? Was that a joke?

 

[nvanprooyen]

Cool, I asked because I would have recommended Ft. DeSoto if you wanted to camp/RV. It's a gorgeous state park where you can camp and all that, like 40 mins from Clearwater.

Yes, I live like 5 mins from Clearwater Beach.

Ft DeSoto is awesome. Fucking impossible to get a camp site out there unless you live in Pinellas county though. Or reserve it like a year in advance.

 

[nvanprooyen]

Found a better pic of the outdoor theater. Crabby Bills is right across the street, one night we had all you can eat crabs, and apparently all you can drink beer, cuz after eating and drinking we stumbled across the street and watched Finding Nemo hahaha

Isn't Crabby Bills in St Pete Beach?

Edit> Just looked it up. Didn't realize there was more than 1.

 

[JLeigh34]

Oh, and I live in Clearwater, so if your looking for a place to stay, I run a bed & breakfast called the Leisure Lima Inn, if your interested?

This is all I can think of since you said you run a B&B...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Sunbiz1]

The answer depends on taste.

If you want to look at something other than a beach, you might wish to check-out St. Augustine...the oldest city in the entire country.

If not, Sarasota is a good choice. Or, if you are willing to travel a bit further south...try Marco Island.

I would skip Sanibel/Captiva, beautiful there but definitely lacking in quality restaurants.

Enjoy!

 

[gpphat]

Cago, next time I'm down there we'll need to meet up for a beer. My families house is in Crystal Beach (in Palm Harbor) so I am roughly 15 minutes from Clearwater beach.

 

[Warrior Spirit]

Thanks Cago. Think we decided we're going to do Clearwater right after labor day. We have kids but this will be our first trip in several years without the kids. Grandmas taking them for a few nights. Can't wait... Looking at the pictures makes me pretty jealous. Texas is nice... but not THAT nice.

haha, can't remember the last time we took a trip without the kids. Well, it was 12 years ago before any were born. They'd scream bloody murder if we left them behind with grandma.

 

[SilenceS]

Anybody go to Destin for Billy Bow Legs or Flora Bama for Mullet Toss?

 

[BaBaBlacksheep]

haha, can't remember the last time we took a trip without the kids. Well, it was 12 years ago before any were born. They'd scream bloody murder if we left them behind with grandma.

Yeah, they're not too happy about it.

 

[-Cago34-]

Ft DeSoto is awesome. Fucking impossible to get a camp site out there unless you live in Pinellas county though. Or reserve it like a year in advance.

Yeah, definitely hard to get reservations from what I hear. I've never camped there, only day trips.

 

[-Cago34-]

Cago, next time I'm down there we'll need to meet up for a beer. My families house is in Crystal Beach (in Palm Harbor) so I am roughly 15 minutes from Clearwater beach.

No doubt man, just let me know.

 

[-Cago34-]

Cago the tour guide! Thanks... We're going to use up some points and stay at the Hilton. That bridge looks like a nice place to fish... Wonder if I can talk my wife into taking a little half day fishing charter...

All this looks like fun. Is there anything as a local that you think is a "must do?" Like in Chicago I'd tell someone they have to catch a game at Wrigley if they've never gone.

Hey, and what's up with that B&B you mentioned earlier? Was that a joke?

Yeah, LOL, the Bed & Breakfast thing was just a joke. These bastards on here always pick on me cuz I told a story about a lima bean one time.

As far as a ''must do'' attraction...it depends on how long your going to be here, and what time of year you come. We don't have a Wrigley Field to visit, so uhmm I don't know. The impression I get is that you are only coming for like a long weekend kinda thing, so personally, I wouldn't worry myself with trying to find a ''must see'' attraction. The main thing imo, is to enjoy the shit out of the beach and water. Relax.

There's a ton of free/cheap stuff to do here that I'd recommend, but without a car(unless you rent one), and being on limited time(3-4 days) I would just skip trying to plan a day trip somewhere.

As far as fishing, you can take a half day trip (6 hours) for like $700 if you want the boat all to yourself, or take a $55 per person trip on a ''head boat''. Last time my parents visited me from Maryland, I took them on the half day $700 trip for Red Grouper about 13 miles out in the Gulf. This is very important, unless you and your wife LOVE fishing, I would not recommend doing a trip like that. For one, it's $700, for two, you fish your fucking ass off. I can't stress that enough. It was like we were harvesting fish. Every single bait, before it even hit the bottom, got nailed by a grouper. My mom, and girlfriend were wore the **** out! My step-dad and I fish a lot, so we were okay, but you could definitely feel it the next day. My mom and step-dad are coming June 12th, for 10 days, and my step-dad and I are going again, but just him and I this time, the girls aint having that shit again, LOL. It's worth it to me, and may be to you too if you LOVE fishing, but it'll kill your wife for the day honestly. We ended up with bags, and bags, and bags, of filleted Red Grouper. If your interested I'd recommend Greg at http://www.fishtwocs.com/ , he's docked at the Clearwater Marina (right by Pier 60).

And when I mentioned that I fish under that bridge, just to clarify, I don't use a boat there. It's a cool spot, it's all beach, and clear water, kinda private except for the locals. We wade out into the water and fish for Snook. Actually, that IS a ''must do'' attraction to me, people come from all over the Country/world to fish for Snook.

The Hilton - I'm sitting here racking my brain, there's so many hotels it's hard to keep track. I kind of want to say the Hilton either changed names, now the Windmere(or something like that), or the Hilton is actually on Sand Key, which is separated from Clearwater Beach by that bridge I fish.

Both scenario's-

IF, the Hilton is now the Windmere, than that's located right next to Shephards and it IS on Clearwater Beach. Nice place with a small private beach and deck with an inside/outside bar. My girlfriends Christmas party is there every year, and it's nice.

IF, the Hilton is on Sand Key, it may be a pain in the ass for y'all commuting back and forth to Clearwater Beach on the trolley every day. Only like a 2-3 minute ride, but the pain in the ass to me would be that I couldn't just leave my hotel and easily walk to Clearwater Beach, ya' know? Here's the trolley I keep talking about, haha.

Next time I'm over there I'll try and figure it out and let you know(maybe tonight ).

 

[-Cago34-]

Hey - disregard all that shit about the Hilton I said. It IS on Clearwater Beach, actually right in the middle of Clw Beach. Great location.

I always forget which hotel is which, to many of them.

Edit - I'm so stupid, lmao...look in the top left corner of this pic I posted...big ass Hilton logo haha

 

[nvanprooyen]

Shit Cago, I think you just talked me into taking a long weekend over in Clearwater soon. It's been awhile. I go over to St Pete some for work, but haven't chilled on the Gulf over a weekend in a year probably.

 

[-Cago34-]

Shit Cago, I think you just talked me into taking a long weekend over in Clearwater soon. It's been awhile. I go over to St Pete some for work, but haven't chilled on the Gulf over a weekend in a year probably.

Haha, just trying to be helpful, the same way I'd expect someone here to do for me, ya know?

You're near Orlando, right?

 

[BaBaBlacksheep]

Yeah, LOL, the Bed & Breakfast thing was just a joke. These bastards on here always pick on me cuz I told a story about a lima bean one time.

As far as a ''must do'' attraction...it depends on how long your going to be here, and what time of year you come. We don't have a Wrigley Field to visit, so uhmm I don't know. The impression I get is that you are only coming for like a long weekend kinda thing, so personally, I wouldn't worry myself with trying to find a ''must see'' attraction. The main thing imo, is to enjoy the shit out of the beach and water. Relax.

There's a ton of free/cheap stuff to do here that I'd recommend, but without a car(unless you rent one), and being on limited time(3-4 days) I would just skip trying to plan a day trip somewhere.

As far as fishing, you can take a half day trip (6 hours) for like $700 if you want the boat all to yourself, or take a $55 per person trip on a ''head boat''. Last time my parents visited me from Maryland, I took them on the half day $700 trip for Red Grouper about 13 miles out in the Gulf. This is very important, unless you and your wife LOVE fishing, I would not recommend doing a trip like that. For one, it's $700, for two, you fish your fucking ass off. I can't stress that enough. It was like we were harvesting fish. Every single bait, before it even hit the bottom, got nailed by a grouper. My mom, and girlfriend were wore the **** out! My step-dad and I fish a lot, so we were okay, but you could definitely feel it the next day. My mom and step-dad are coming June 12th, for 10 days, and my step-dad and I are going again, but just him and I this time, the girls aint having that shit again, LOL. It's worth it to me, and may be to you too if you LOVE fishing, but it'll kill your wife for the day honestly. We ended up with bags, and bags, and bags, of filleted Red Grouper. If your interested I'd recommend Greg at http://www.fishtwocs.com/ , he's docked at the Clearwater Marina (right by Pier 60).

And when I mentioned that I fish under that bridge, just to clarify, I don't use a boat there. It's a cool spot, it's all beach, and clear water, kinda private except for the locals. We wade out into the water and fish for Snook. Actually, that IS a ''must do'' attraction to me, people come from all over the Country/world to fish for Snook.

The Hilton - I'm sitting here racking my brain, there's so many hotels it's hard to keep track. I kind of want to say the Hilton either changed names, now the Windmere(or something like that), or the Hilton is actually on Sand Key, which is separated from Clearwater Beach by that bridge I fish.

Both scenario's-

IF, the Hilton is now the Windmere, than that's located right next to Shephards and it IS on Clearwater Beach. Nice place with a small private beach and deck with an inside/outside bar. My girlfriends Christmas party is there every year, and it's nice.

IF, the Hilton is on Sand Key, it may be a pain in the ass for y'all commuting back and forth to Clearwater Beach on the trolley every day. Only like a 2-3 minute ride, but the pain in the ass to me would be that I couldn't just leave my hotel and easily walk to Clearwater Beach, ya' know? Here's the trolley I keep talking about, haha.

Next time I'm over there I'll try and figure it out and let you know(maybe tonight ).

Ha! Awesome shit as always. Yeah, we do want to just relax. Just wanted to make sure there wasn't something "must see" that I was missing. I am the guy who went to Paris and didn't see the Eiffel Tower after all.

I would probably love the charter you mentioned... would kill the wife though.

The more I look into this I don't think we're even going to get a car. Just take a shuttle or taxi over there and park our asses on the beach for 4 days.

 

[nvanprooyen]

Yep, pretty close. From my house probably 20 mins to downtown (unless I-4 sucks), further to the attractions...between Daytona and Orlando. My local beach is New Smyrna, which is great in it's own way. But you can't beat the calm Gulf waters.

 

[-Cago34-]

Yep, pretty close. From my house probably 20 mins to downtown (unless I-4 sucks), further to the attractions...between Daytona and Orlando. My local beach is New Smyrna, which is great in it's own way. But you can't beat the calm Gulf waters.

Cool, you aren't to far from the Atlantic then. I keep telling myself I need to day trip, or weekend trip it over there. I hear the fishing is great.

 

[nvanprooyen]

Yep - I can get over there in probably 20-30 mins, depending on traffic. I really like the Melbourne / Vero area, but that's more of a drive (south of Cocoa Beach). If you are into fishing, you should check out Sebastian Inlet:

http://www.floridastateparks.org/sebastianinlet/

The further you go south the better the water gets on the Atlantic side...ending obviously in South Beach. Melbourne is about where it starts to change a little.