Road Trip: Day Three

Once we got to Tampa, we had way more options than time. My first pick was of course the Museum of Science and Industry. I was very sad Stellan didn't last until the planetarium show I wanted to see, but he was a mess by the afternoon. Three days without a nap or a good night's sleep was wearing on us all.

We also wanted to rent a little boat, but the one place with prices we could swing wouldn't let Stellan aboard, and that was a bit of sticking point. So we thought we'd go on an eco-tour, but when we didn't make it from the hotel to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium on time, we decided to hit the beach instead. (Because the one thing people who live within 2 miles of the coast should do on vacation is go to the beach as often as possible.)

Day Three Stats:

Start and stop: wandering around Tampa

Distance: I wouldn't be able to even guess it, but not a lot

Sites Visited: MOSI, Clearwater Beach

High Points: MOSI is huge and pretty cool. Kevin especially like the electric circuit games. The Wildfire Experience is a little too realistice, but cool nonetheless.

Low Points: We lost Stellan at MOSI. Not for long, and in the children's area, but it took us several minutes to find him safe and sound. He never noticed we were gone. Also, he had a huge meltdown at the beach. I chalk it up to the aforementioned naplessness. It was so ugly we almost gave up. In fact, as I took the photo you'll see in the slideshow, I thought to myself, "I better take a picture, it'll last longer." Kevin was a champ and coaxed Stellan back into good spirits. Also, the beach itself was totally packed and very touristy.

Lemonade From Lemons Moment: We stopped by Taco Bell for a quick snack on our way home from the beach. In case you hadn't already considered it, giving a bean burrito to a 2-year-old in a car seat is not a good idea. But we had a great view of Tampa Bay at sunset by the dumpster where we cleaned him and the seat. I've included a couple of shots in the slideshow.