TAMPA BAY - THE BIG GUAVA

Tampa Bay is not a city, but a number of towns that surround the body of water known as Tampa Bay. The two main cities are Tampa and St. Petersburg, but there are a number of smaller communities including Clearwater, Dunedin, and Bradenton, all of which host major league teams during spring training. Tampa Bay is now the largest metropolitan area in Florida.

Tampa Bay is located on the central western coast of Florida, with the Gulf of Mexico providing the vista and countless water recreational opportunities. The beautiful Gulf Coast beaches stretch for over 25 miles from Crystal Beach down to Fort De Soto State Park, but there is more to do here than lie in the sun.

Tampa is the bigger of the two cities, and is the home of both the Buccaneers of the NFL and the NHL's Lightning. But the Tampa Bay Devil Rays play in St. Pete, which seems to be the smallest city to have a major league team.

Tampa also has a minor league team, and we visited them as well, so please click here for more on Tampa itself, the rest of this page will describe St. Petersburg.

Our impressions: There is not much going on in St. Petersburg, at least in the downtown area - it is very small and not so busy. There are a couple of shopping areas, and a number of interesting museums, but a walking tour can be completed in about an hour. The Pier has an aquarium and science center as well as some shopping, but is not a particularly fascinating sight. The Baywalk is cool looking, but can be seen very quickly. 

St. Petersburg marina

One of the recommendations is Baseball Boulevard, also known as Central Avenue, which is a walking tour that joins Al Lang Field, spring training home of the Devil Rays, and the Trop. Along the way are bronzed markers shaped as home plates which describe historical baseball events as they relate to Tampa Bay. St. Petersburg has had spring training baseball since 1914, when the St. Louis Browns became March tenants, so its baseball history is rich - take the time to explore it.

Once you get north of the stadium, the city becomes less pleasant. You are away from the water and this area is just residential and not worth seeing. 

St. Pete's weather is interesting - hot in the morning, with thunderstorms in the afternoon, and a relatively cool evening. There wasn't a lot of humidity when we were there. 

Overall, St. Pete really doesn't seem like a major-league town - there isn't the typical skyline with lots of skyscrapers, and the downtown is fairly quiet. Still, it is worth stopping in, although if you are in a rush, one day is enough to check out the museums that interest you before watching the game at Tropicana Field.  But after that, make sure to head over to Tampa for some minor-league action as well.