Tampa Getaway

Steve has already had two week-long TDY's since being back from his deployment (another one coming up in a couple of weeks.) Fortunately, on the second we were able to tag along...to Tampa!

Nearly spur of the moment, we decided to drive the 8ish hours with Steve (the hotel was already paid for, and what's not to like about Tampa?) We happened to mention the trip to our dear neighbors, Leigh and Jana Marie and they decided to come for the first half of the week since JM was on Spring Break. What a great time we had! Beautiful 90 degree weather, Starbucks in our hotel, and a fabulous swimming pool! We were already familiar with Tampa from our trip last December, so I had a pretty good idea about how to get around and where to find the fun things to do.

We went back to the beautiful white sands and crystal waters of Clearwater Beach. Definitely more crowded than when we went in December. Christian went in the ocean for the first time and loved hanging on Jana Marie. He refused, however, to put his feet in the sand (or walk on it for that matter.) Any time I tried to put him down he would have one foot curled in the sand and the other raised like a flamingo. I guess the texture must feel so funny to his toes.We also enjoyed taking walks along the Riverwalk, which was right across from our hotel downtown. They have a nice playground for the children, and we liked watching the big birds and reading the creative names on the yachts parked on the docks.The last couple of days Christian and I were on our own, but we walked to the Florida Aquarium and marveled at the fish and sea creatures and enjoyed getting a little wet at the fun splash zone (I wish I had thought to bring his swim trucks.) Looks like Steve may be going TDY to Tampa often, so Christian and I may just have to tag along when we can. Christian is becoming such a pro at traveling and there is still so much more exploring to do in Tampa!