Wednesday of our vacation we went on a snorkeling trip to Egmont Key. Tropical Island Getaway was recommended to us for the trip. Their website and phone service leave something to be desired but fear not, they are great and courteous sea captains. We drove the thirty minutes from Clearwater Beach to Gulfport Marina and packed a lunch. They provide coolers and you can bring your own drinks (including adult beverages if you choose). I absolutely love snorkeling so I couldn't wait. I'm in my element in the water and started swimming at a very young age. I began swimming competitively in high school and was in a pool for four hours a day for years so water and I go way back. UberGeek likes the water, just not quite so much. If there is 18 inches of clear water I will snorkel in it, picking up anything that looks cool and as if it would not sting me too badly.
The boat ride out was fun, we got to watch dolphins jumping the waves made by the boat. Since both UberGeek and I come from waterfront towns this wasn't that exciting to us but the people who were visiting from middle America really enjoyed it. It was pretty neat to see the dolphins racing alongside the boat. I enjoyed the sun, seeing the sights and relaxing.
Once we got there the island was so quiet and beautiful. It's reachable only by boat and is a state park and bird sanctuary. There are both ruins and shoreside area to snorkel and we did both. I picked up star fish, anemones and sand dollars. We also encountered a huge flounder, a couple sting rays and a sea horse which was floating by. We took a long walk on the desolate beach where only a few other people wandered around collecting shells or sunning themselves. The water was so warm, clear and gentle that a few young children seemed to be learning to snorkel as well. Originally we had intended to bring back sand dollars for the kiddos but they were so obviously alive UberGeek voted to buy cheap dead, pre bleached ones at a souvenir shop and pitch our live ones back in.
We slept well that night after a delicious local dinner at the Sea Hags in St. Pete Beach on the way back to Clearwater. Thursday morning it was off to Orlando. We scored a room at the Renaissance Orlando Sea World via Priceline for $70 a night. It was a steal! I couldn't believe how gorgeous our room was when we checked in. Nice marble bath with double sinks, big fluffy bed with European pillows, high thread count sheets, coffered ceilings and a nice sofa, best of all we had a view of Sea World and the night time fire works from our window.
A friend of mine at work always uses Priceline to book hotels, I tend toward Hotwire since you can usually figure out which hotel you will stay in but we decided to throw caution to the wind this time. It worked out nicely. The Renaissance has a great pool, several restaurants and bars and a really great location, even a free shuttle to Universal Studios. It was a bargain and a great place to stay.
Friday we spent the day at Universal Studios; we had received a coupon in the mail which offered one two park single day ticket for $50 and the second ticket for free. So, for $25 each we enjoyed the day at both Universal Studios and Universal's Islands of Adventure. Then we had libations at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville and dinner at another restaurant in Universal City Walk to celebrate my (drumroll please) 35th birthday. The best part about celebrating in a theme park is that they are so stringent about carding anyone who could possibly, with a lot of Botox, pass for 40 that you get carded if you just cover up your greys. So, I got carded on my 35th birthday!
