Three Go To Orlando. Day 10 Clearwater Beach 10th October 2012

[nickymouse66]

We had booked an alarm call for this morning as we had to get to the Rosen Inn at 7.40am to get the coach for our trip to Clearwater Beach – this would be our very first experience of a real Florida beach and we were all looking forward to it, there was only a couple of pick ups after us, so we were soon on our way. I didn't write the time we arrived down, but I think we got there around 10.00am, so we were looking at a full day to soak up the sun



The beach was absolutely gorgeous with white sand seeming to stretch for miles, and it seemed really quiet, had a look in some of the shops along 'the front' and then went and found a beautiful spot on the beach, we hired 3 chairs and an umbrella for $37 – this was for all day, but we only used them until lunch time – it was glorious, and it was nice to just sit & relax.







As part of the cost of the trip, lunch was included & we had been given a voucher for a restaurant opposite the beach – we weren't expecting much to be honest but were really pleasantly surprised, there was a separate menu for us voucher users but the choice was huge (as were the food and cokes!), we were expecting to pay for drinks, but these were included too. I had a mushroom pizza, Cody had spaghetti with marinara sauce and Mike had fish & chips – it was really nice.




We were booked on the Sea Screamer at 2.00pm, so after lunch we took a slow stroll to the marina




the amount of boat trips on different kinds of boats was amazing, we were chatting to a lady who had done several of them & she had enjoyed all of them. When we boarded the boat, the captain told us that hardly any dolphins had been spotted in the last 5 – 6 weeks, so we shouldn't build our hopes up, he also warned that people sitting at the back of the boat would get wet when we got out into the ocean – we sat at the front, but were told we could get up & move around if we wanted.





The boat started out quite slowly and the captain pointed out some landmarks, such as the largest house in the county, owned by some lottery winners from Kentucky




but when we got out into the open sea, WOW! It was fast!



When it slowed down again, the people from the back came forward & they were soaked to the skin, so we were glad we hadn't sat there! We stopped to look for dolphins without success, so moved on and then, like magic, they came – it was wonderful! They were on both sides of the boat swimming around. The captain explained that they enjoy playing in the wake, so put on the engines & sped forward to see if they would follow – they did & it was fabulous! There were two large dolphins on one side and two large and one small one on the other side and they were jumping through the water so playfully! I have never seen anything like it before, it was really breathtaking (almost welled up again!).





Back on dry land, we paid 50c each to walk along Pier 60, there were quite a few fishermen, we put a 25c in one of the telescopes along there and could see for miles, then we walked back along the pier and had an ice cream while we waited for the coach.



We got back to I Drive at 8.00pm & were going to get the Trolley back to the hotel, but just as we were getting to the stop, one of those bike taxis persuaded us to go with him instead...well...for all of you adrenaline junkies out there...forget the theme park rides! I was convinced the seat was for two, the rider was adamant it was for four, so after we squashed in (Cody in the middle), he set off at what felt like break neck speed towards our hotel (it felt so fast I almost expected to see dolphins in our wake! ), now, we had crossed over to catch the Trolley, which meant we had to get back... I was scared stiff, we bumped down the gutter & flew across what felt like 50 lanes of traffic (no exaggerating here ) hanging on for our lives - when we hit the gutter on the other side, I swear we tilted onto one wheel, at this point Mike was shouting to the rider “you can drop us off here mate” but his voice was lost in the wind & we were destined to go all the way... eventually pulling up, right outside the revolving doors of the hotel, slightly windswept and a little too traumatised to be embarrassed – this was one experience that I am not keen to repeat. To be fair, there were lots of these going up & down I Drive and most of the riders appeared to take it easy and it looked quite pleasant, we also saw some equipped for four passengers ... trust us to get the speed freak!

I just fetched food from the deli in the hotel (they did fresh food there until midnight which was really nice) for dinner and stocked up on some snacks for tomorrow, Mike was beginning to feel the effects of forgetting to put sun cream on, so wasn't feeling great and we had a really early start tomorrow, so the alarm call was booked & we got everything ready for the morning and were soon fast asleep.

It had been another lovely day and we were glad to back in one piece .

[scotsprincess]

Great day

Lovely pics

[Pussycat Doll]

Lovely photos, we really enjoyed the Sea Screamer, its so great to see dolphins just playing out in their own environment. Pussycat

[nickymouse66]

Originally Posted by scotsprincess

Great day

Lovely pics

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Originally Posted by Pussycat Doll

Lovely photos, we really enjoyed the Sea Screamer, its so great to see dolphins just playing out in their own environment. Pussycat

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Thanks - it was a lovely day

[pamela1960]

Clearwater Beach... Pamelas best place on Earth

[nickymouse66]

Originally Posted by pamela1960

Clearwater Beach... Pamelas best place on Earth

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I'm not surprised

[Disney Kate]

What a great day. We are planning to book a coach and sea screamer trip for next year so I hope we get a chance to see dolphins like you did.

Can I ask who you bought your excursion through?

[nickymouse66]

Originally Posted by Disney Kate

What a great day. We are planning to book a coach and sea screamer trip for next year so I hope we get a chance to see dolphins like you did.

Can I ask who you bought your excursion through?

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I booked it through American Attractions & the tour company was Dolphin Tours HTH

[Diddy&Co]

Did the coach leave at about 530pm then? Looks absolutely lovely.

Is there much to do other than the beach and sea screamer?

[nickymouse66]

Yes it was around 5.30pm when we left.

We thought it was just about right for a day trip, but there is other stuff to do there, like the Aquarium & indoor surfing