Clearwater Beach

ABOVE: A picture from Clearwater Beach.

Clearwater Beach is located in Clearwater, Florida which is located in Pinellas County. To the west of Clearwater Beach is the Gulf of Mexico and to the east is Tampa Bay. The drive from Tampa, Florida to Clearwater Beach is approximately 35 minutes depending on traffic. The beach is open daily and has beach guards on duty from 9:30 am until 4:30 pm. 




ABOVE: A view from the beach.

This is a beautiful beach and has white sand and a gentle surf which makes it a fairly decent beach for younger kids, except for the large crowds. The beach has many amenities including beach showers, cabanas, umbrella rentals, concessions and restrooms.

At the beach there's plenty of options in activities. You can play beach volleyball, go swimming in the ocean, collect seashells, go fishing off of Pier 60 or even just lounge in the sun.

Pier 60 is located at Clearwater Beach and has daily sunset watches as well as many amenities. Those amenities include: restrooms, telescopes, a park playground, a snack shop, a bait and tackle shop, rod rentals and covered pavilions. Also at the pier is shopping and other entertainment.

Overall, I really enjoyed my visit to Clearwater Beach. It was a very beautiful beach, even though a storm was rolling in while I was there and the sky turned very dark. The white sand blue water was just gorgeous. It is a great beach to pick up seashells (I have an entire glass jar full of them). It was a little bit crowded, but I went in the afternoon so that could have been part of the reason but it was still very enjoyable. It wasn't a far drive from Tampa at all and the area had a lot of restaurants and things to do. 

My family and I only spent the afternoon at the beach since we were staying in Tampa but there was plenty to do in the area to make a day out of it or even stay for a couple days. I definitely recommend this beach; it's really a beautiful place to relax and spend time with the family.

The picture to the left is one of my favorite pictures that I took at the beach, I feel it really captures the beauty and the bright colors found at Clearwater Beach.

ABOVE: A picture of the beach while walking from the parking lot.

ABOVE: A picture of the street near the beach.

ABOVE: Driving down the street near the beach.

 

ABOVE: Part of the beach that is near the parking lot where I parked.
 

SOURCES:
http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/beaches.htm
http://www.clearwater-fl.com/info/about/geography/beaches.asp
and experience! :)


Greenfield Village

ABOVE: The entrance to Greenfield Village, a part of The Henry Ford history/museum complex.

Greenfield Village is a fantastic, fun and beautiful learning experience for people of all ages.  Greenfield Village is the outdoor section of The Henry Ford history/museum complex located in Dearborn, Michigan.  It's about a 20 minute drive from Detroit to Greenfield Village depending on traffic and all.

ABOVE: This is a picture of the original Ford Motor
Company building.

The village was founded in October of 1929 and has been used as an educational tool since then.  The village has so much to do and see including: the railroad junction, working farms, Edison at work, Henry Ford's Model T and much more.  You can see Edison's original  light bulb, a real Model T (you can even take a ride in one!), a working phonograph, and the Wright Brother's Cycle Shop. 

ABOVE: This is a picture inside the roundhouse where an old steam engine train is being restored.

You can see the home Henry Ford lived in as a child, the original Ford Motor Company factory, you can see Thomas Edison's workshop, the home where Noah Webster wrote the first Webster's Dictionary, live glass-blowing, a working roundhouse where old steam engine trains are restored and so much more!



I visited Greenfield Village in the summer of 2012 and had an absolute blast. It was so much fun to see all the different buildings and important places where history took place. My brothers and I took a ride in a Model T around the village which was really fun. 

ABOVE: This is a picture inside of Thomas Edison's workshop.

At the glass-blowing shop you can pay to have your own glass-blowing lessons and you also get to make your own figurine.  They also have a train ride that you can take around the entire park and while on the ride you learn a lot of history about the park which is really cool.

At one of the farms you learn about how they grow all of the food as well as preserve the meat.  They use the food they grow to feed the farm workers.  When I went it was around lunchtime and they were cooking...it smelled wonderful!
 

One of my favorite parts of the village was really just walking around and seeing all of the beautiful sights.  My family and I visited on a very warm and sunny day which made the visit even more great.  It's really a great place for the entire family to visit because there's so much for people of all ages to see and do.

 

It's also a great place for people who like to take pictures.  I love taking them and the village has so many beautiful places to take pictures, especially family pictures!

 

A visit to the village could take a couple days depending on how long you plan to spend at each of the little houses and/or buildings and how many little children you're bringing along to make sure to plan ahead if it's for a vacation.  My family and I spent an entire day, from open until close, at the village and we had even skipped a few things.  Definitely bring your walking shoes because you will do a lot of walking!

ABOVE: A view of a farm inside of the village.

ABOVE: Part of a stone house located inside of the village.

ABOVE: A windmill located inside of the village.

SOURCES:
http://www.thehenryford.org/village/faq.aspx#8
http://www.thehenryford.org/village/historicdistricts.aspx
http://www.thehenryford.org/village/map.aspx
and experience! :)

Frankenmuth

Frankenmuth, Michigan is a wonderful place to get away for awhile! The town has a very strong German theme which is very warm and inviting. Frankenmuth is located in Saginaw County which is 12 miles Southeast of Saginaw, Michigan and 77 miles Northwest of Detroit, Michigan. 

ABOVE: The front of Bronner's Christmas Wonderland.

ABOVE: The giant Santa statue outside of Bronner's Christmas Wonderland.

Frankenmuth houses the largest Christmas store around, Bronner's Christmas Wonderland.  They sell everything you could ever want that's Christmas related; they have walls and walls of ornaments! Outside of the store is a huge Santa statue as well; great for family pictures! I have visited many times and when I went most recently I got a seashell ornament with glitter and an ornament that says "I <3 my Labrador Retriever".  My brother got an ornament of fishing gear and my other brother got a lime green alien head ornament.

If you're looking for some great food, look no further than Zehnder's of Frankenmuth or Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn Restaurant! At Zehnder's they serve family style chicken dinners which are absolutely delicious! The restaurant also has a gift shop and bakery for customers to visit. The Bavarian Inn Restaurant is a German themed restaurant that also serves family style chicken dinners and also serves German dishes such as Wiener Schnitzel. They also have specialty shops below the restaurant area for customers to visit.

If you visit Frankenmuth you'll need somewhere to stay, I suggest the Bavarian Inn Lodge.  The lodge is so cozy and inviting and has things for everyone in the family to enjoy themselves.  They have 4 indoor pools and 3 whirlpools! They also have an arcade and an 18 hole mini golf course! On top of that, they have some very comfortable beds (or at least it was really comfortable to me when I visited)!  Below are some pictures of the lodge:

ABOVE: A picture of the outside of the Bavarian Inn Lodge.

ABOVE: This is a picture looking out a hallway window inside of the Bavarian Inn Lodge.

ABOVE: This is a picture looking across the river at the Bavarian Inn Lodge.

ABOVE: A picture of part of the 18 hole mini golf course located inside of the Bavarian Inn Lodge.

ABOVE: Another picture of the 18 hole mini golf course located inside of the Bavarian Inn Lodge. 

If you're interested in shopping, there's a shopping center called the River Place Shops located near the Bavarian Inn Lodge.  They have a shuttle service that will drive you there as well which is a nice feature so you don't have to carry all your bags back!

There's so much to do and see around Frankenmuth it's worth the trip! It's even worth the trip (if you live close enough) for the weekend just to get away and take a break.  Come Christmastime it's a fairly busy place but it's also very beautifully decorated for the season!

ABOVE: The bridge leading to the Bavarian Inn Lodge.

SOURCES:
http://www.citytowninfo.com/places/michigan/frankenmuthhttp://www.frankenmuth.org/
http://bavarianinn.com/
http://www.zehnders.com/
And experience! :)