St. Petersburg • Clearwater 2008 - (Page 36) Enjoy a day with friends and family at Clearwater Beach. » A Day at the Beach 9 a.m. My husband, kids and I head to Clearwater Beach’s Pier 60, where the little ones play at the public park. This tot lot is situated right on the sand, so nobody gets a “boo-boo” when racing down the slide onto nature’s landing pad. To avoid a meltdown of tears, I strategically guard my kids’ French fries at the snack bar to protect them from the watchful eyes (and beaks) of the gulls. After a brief stint at the park, watching the kids go down a giant blow-up shark waterslide, we head less than 100 feet away to the Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort, which hosts a continuous beach party. The daily bash features plenty of volleyball games, outdoor ping-pong, kayaks and parasailing for adventurous types whose days include more than a pail and shovel. I love that we can come totally unprepared and walk away from the outdoor Beach Club desk with whatever we need, including sunscreen and a football. (Beach Club membership is $18 a day, but resort guests have priority. Unless the resort is at capacity, day visitors may enjoy this amenity as well.) It’s a one-stop shop, which is nice when the kids are getting antsy to kick their shoes off and run to the beach. Capt. Memo's Original Pirate Cruise. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. We board Captain Memo’s Original Pirate Cruise at Clearwater Municipal Marina. This two-hour tour gives us a much-needed break from entertaining our crew all morning. For roughly Sliding at the Pier 60 public park. $25 a person, Capt. Memo’s pirates keep our kids busy with water games, face-painting, limbo dances, treasure hunts and snacks. We sip cocktails at the bar while our pint-sized pirates dance the day away and collect their loot. If you go, you may not see Johnny Depp, but you may get lucky and spot some wild dolphins swimming next to the big red ship. 36 : Fun f o r f a mi l i e s
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.