Tampa Area

Tampa Area – We are fortunate to have a family member with a condo in New Port Richey. A few of us “girls” in the family took the kids and made the most of a long weekend. I recommend a trip to the Florida Holocaust Museum in Tampa. If you have younger school age children you should teach them some of the history to spark their interest. My son, who was 8 when we went, ended up looking forward to going and was full of questions. The prices are cheap for a family and your admission includes an electronic wand for you to use on the 1st floor for additional information. They were simple to use. Unfortunately my niece didn’t get one because at age 4 she was too young to be responsible for one so it was hard to keep her interested. She continually asked “Aunt Cher, when are we leaving?” My son, on the other hand, was fascinated and spent time at each display. He would then run up to me to tell say what was coming up. During our independent tour we were lucky enough to have Eva introduce herself to all of us.
As soon as she pointed to the wall at an enlarged old black and white photo we knew right away she was a survivor. Soon she had us all captivated with her story and before we knew it we were following her to see more. Eva was an extraordinary example of someone with courage to overcome. As we listened to her with tears in our eyes, she reminded us, with the biggest smile, how great of a country we live in and she loves her great life in America. **Note – my daughter just went back to the FHM with her class, and it was not as good the 2nd time, she said, but they also had a “walking tour”, I think the headphones are a great plus. Following the museum we made a quick stop at the St. Petersburg Pier. We paid $3 for parking which included a trolley ride to the door of the pier which had shopping and a view of the Tampa Bay from the 5th floor observation tower. At the pier you can feed pelicans for a fee, rent bikes with several seats, and visit the nice shops. The 2nd floor has a small aquarium, we didn’t go, but stop by and watch the candle making on the 1st floor. *Note – my daughter went here with her class and she said it was “cool” but they didn’t a lot much time for them to explore. Our weekend included a day excursion at MOSI, the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa. I read a few negative reviews on the place but have to strongly say I disagree. We had a full day up until it closed; we were actually told it was time to leave. Although we were there so long, we didn’t see everything. My son and nephew had enough guts to ride the bike on the high wire; we experienced different types of weather, grossology, the IMAX and much more. If you are pressed for time purchasing the add-ons might be wasteful, so use good judgment. They do have an area to picnic. When going to the IMAX you can purchase snacks and drinks, but they cannot be taken into the other areas. Some things weren’t working but we were refunded money with no problems after losing it in a sticker making machine. It’s a good idea to end in the kid area because you might not get them to leave. Many hands on areas were here and we adults had fun also. Plan to be there for the day. Tarpon Springs is an area highly influenced by Greek people with lots of specialty shops, cultural food and nice water views. We arrived later in the day so most places were closing. But the streets were filled with the sights, smells and feel of great place.


Tarpoon Springs

Sunset Beach