New Traditions, New Vacations - Thanksgiving on a Florida Beach

     Who says that traditions aren't meant to change?  This last Thanksgiving, my family of three and my parents, decided that we were going to do things differently.  I am one of those teachers that are lucky enough to get the entire week of Thanksgiving off.  Normally, that week is full of sitting around the house, in Michigan, waiting for the impending doom of a cold winter.  Followed by over stuffing ourselves on traditional Thanksgiving food.  Like I said, this year we decided it was time for a change.

    Florida was calling our name.  Usually that means Disney World, but not this time.  We were craving the beach!  The Gulf Coast was the decision.  At first, we were going to stay in Madeira Beach, but plans changed and the condo we had rented was sold to someone else, so we found a better and more affordable location about ten minutes north in Indian Shores Beach.  To most people, this doesn't seem like a big difference, but to this girl, it was a huge difference.  Indian Shores was so quiet and WAY less busy than Madeira Beach was.  I'm so glad we had to move condos!

    To say this was an amazing trip was an understatement!  Our seven year old had so much fun, he said it was his most favorite trip we have ever taken.  That made my Disney-loving heart hurt a little, but I do have to agree with him in a lot of ways.  It was a trip of relaxation, not a busy go-go-go attitude.  We didn't have anywhere specific we had to be on specific days.  Having days that we just stayed in the condo and laid on the beach were fine by all of us.  Our condo was literally RIGHT on the beach, just three floors above it, and had all the beach furniture we could ask for(chairs, boogie boards, umbrellas, beach towels).  We had a balcony that pointed toward the Gulf, looking West, which made for some of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen.  A painted sky doesn't do the description justice.  Dolphins every morning and evening swimming just off the shore. And the most softest, whitest sand you could ever ask for.  Plus seashells galore for my little explorer to collect and bring home.  

    As a family, we decided that we were going to do Thanksgiving dinner, but not a traditional one.  We were on a beach, so close to fresh delicious seafood.  We did a seafood boil, complete with corn, potatoes, eggs, andouille sausage, Gulf shrimp, grouper bites, crayfish, and crab legs.  My Lord, was that delicious.  Who needs the turkey??? We didn't even miss it!

    So what else did we do?  Not everyone is a beach person, I get that.  We are, but we were in Florida, so we wanted to do a few other things too.  We went up to Clearwater to visit the Clearwater Aquarium.  The last time my husband and I were there, we were able to see Winter, the dolphin made famous because of her prosthetic tail.  She unfortunately passed away a few years ago, but they had some amazing memorials for her there that were very fun to see.  Now, you need to remember this is not a normal Zoo type aquarium.  They are a rehabilitation center that work on helping sick or hurt animals so that they might be released back into the wild to live out the rest of their life.  I love this aspect.  Being a teacher, I love learning about these animals and what the center does to aid these animals, but some people may find that part a little boring.  Not my son.  He loved it!  There were a couple parts where it was more of a memorial for Winter, that he got a little antsy during, but once we got back into the dolphin area, he locked back in.  There weren't that many people there when we went, and there was a magical moment between my son and one of the dolphins because of this.  We were on the back side of the tank, where no one else was wandering around to look and one of the dolphins swam into that area and saw us looking into the tank.  The dolphin swam down to our level, got right in front of my son and started "talking" and "dancing" in front of him.  When my son would move to his right, the dolphins would follow him!  It was amazing.  At one point, the dolphin brought a toy from the surface and swam past my son with it, almost to "show" it to him.  We stayed there for a good 20 minutes just watching this dolphin interact with my seven year old.  This lit up my son and he made us go back to the tank before we left, and sure enough, that dolphin came back and "played" with my son for another ten to fifteen minutes.  I would recommend this location to everyone who goes down to the Clearwater Area.  Ten out of ten stars!

    Pirate Putt Putt Golf???  You bet!  Oh and by the way, you get to feed dog food pieces to baby alligators while you are playing as well.  What more could you ask for.  The theming at this place was great and age appropriate for everyone in our party.  We all had a great time, and the feeding frenzy and death rolls we got to see from the three to five feet long alligators they had there was really interesting.  There are a few of these in the area, we went to the one in Indian Shores.  They weren't busy or crowded.  The staff was super friendly, and it was clean and great lighting.  We went in the evening, so it was just getting dark.

    Want to go shopping??  We headed to John's Pass in Madeira Beach.  Florida trinket stores, beach wear, t-shirts, jewelry, candy, ice cream, wine, restaurants... basically anything you would want!  There was a little something for everyone.  Not so kid friendly.  I wish we would have had two vehicles so the men/boys could have left so my mom and I could have explored a little more, but it was fun in the end.  We ate on the dock, and then went under the dock to the local fish market to get the seafood for our seafood boil Thanksgiving dinner!  

    In all, this trip was amazing.  I'm considering going to Indian Shores every Thanksgiving week, just to have this experience over and over again.  

    If you're interested in booking a trip like ours, please let me know!  Email me at kyrieh.thoughtfultravelers@gmail.com

Your Adventure Awaits, 

Kyrie Howell