Local Attractions

Less than an hour from our home in Tampa, my family enjoys the occasional day trip to  Tarpon Springs.  A great spot to soak in the Greek culture, delicious food and to pick up a natural sponge or two.

This is my obligatory “it’s been a while” post. Expectedly, life continued in the Bailey household. And just as unsurprising, I caught a good number of the precious moments on film.

On to pimping my flickr page…

Our visit to the Tampa Museum of Science and Industry:

Tampa’s very own Lowry Park Zoo:

One of Sarasota’s hidden education gems- G-wiz science museum:

And last, but not least. The Bailey family Summer vacation extravaganza! Wendy and I packed hotel hoping through Orlando, St. Augustine, Palm Coast and a trip to the in-laws in Ponte Vedra, Florida into two fun filled weeks. Our little one enjoyed, but tired out quick from all the run around.

I know, the narrative was lazy. But I guess that’s why I “photoblog” in the first place  Thanks for reading!

Another fun-filled family weekend for the Bailey clan! Some good friends of ours from the FSU days were back in-State for a wedding and were gracious enough to invite us to spend the weekend at their timeshare in Orlando. It was a perfect opportunity for an impromptu vacation. We’ve often discussed whether it was worth taking Rosemary to a themepark at this age (15 months), given that she probably wouldn’t remember most of the experience. So we’ve decided to wait a little longer before dropping $$$. However, being in Orlando – we didn’t want to deprive our little one of some Mickey time.  It’s amazing how much mileage you can get in entertaining a young’n given some creativity. One highlight of the trip was a lunch at the Rainforest cafe in Downtown Disney.  Every few minutes, the restaurant comes to life with wildlife, jungle noises and thunderstorms.  More than enough to entertain little Rosemary while we dined.

Anyway, clickthrough for photos:

Today, the family spent the afternoon at the annual Plant City Strawberry Festival.  If you’ve never been, the festival is ranked among the Top 50 fairs in North America, and has been held (almost) each year since its inception in 1939.  The festival celebrates Plant City’s strawberry harvest and brings together a number of exhibits showcasing Plant City’s agriculture, livestock, horticulture, arts and crafts.

The festival runs from February 26 – March 8.  Tickets are $10 for Adults and $5 for Children.  Also, be sure to check out the nightly concerts.  The fair tends to attract a few big country names each year (sorry kids, if you didn’t catch Taylor Swift today, you’re out of luck).  For more information, please check out www.flstrawberryfestival.com.  You can also find the fair on Facebook and Twitter (@flstrawberryfst).

My “Make Your Own Strawberry Shortcake” courtesy of the volunteers at St. Clement Catholic Church, Plant City:

Deep Fried Pepsi (Yes, deep fried pepsi):

Cow:

Feel free to check out the rest of the family fun photos:

The family had a pleasant (and exhausting) day at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park!  Just 1.5ish hours north of Tampa, the State park serves as a refuge for injured and/or endangered native Florida wildlife.  It was nice to get away from the city/suburb life for a day and back into “The Real Florida”.

Added bonus – admission is free if you’re a member of the Tampa Aquarium.  Otherwise, Adults (age 13 and over) $9.00 per person.  Children (ages 3 through 12) $5.00 per person.  There is no charge for children ages 2 years and under.

Feel free to check out some of the sights we saw from our tour: