On day 5 we originally had plans to hit Clearwater beach for a couple hours before heading over the do some crabbing in the afternoon. Well, the night before they were predicting rain so we changed plans and decided to check out M&M world.
Turns out it wasn't raining though, so my daughter was not happy we didn't go to the beach. But we had slept in a bit later because of it and we didn't have as much time as we originally had planned.
After m&ms and lunch we headed to the Tampa Bay area to jump on this boat...
And catch some crabs in traps like these...
Our guide was Gus, he's been crabbing for 35 years! He's 75 years old and still going strong. He's been giving the tours for the past 3 years now.
Each of us got a turn pulling some traps...
We met some friends along the way...
They followed us everywhere. Hoping for a bite to eat. We did throw them a couple of the bait fish...
Of course part of the experience was eating what we caught. Though none of really cared for much of it except my oldest. Luckily he had also made some hush puppies, fish and shrimp so we had plenty to choose from....
Day 6 was Harry Potter Day!! We were all looking forward to this.
It felt like you were walking right on to the movie set!
Hogwarts castle...
Inside the castle was the forbidden journey ride. The line for the ride first took you through the greenhouse and then the castle. This photo of the greenhouse is all I got...
It was too dark in the castle and all I had on me at the time was my cell phone as you couldn't have any kind of purses or bags. The inside was super cool though. You'll just have to take my word for it!
Honeydukes candy store.....
which was connected to Zonko's joke shop, though not sure why I didn't photograph that!
The kids and I had our photo taken behind the castle...
The tent covered area was the outside dining area behind the Three Broomsticks restaurant. Which dummy us didn't go into. We weren't sure if the kids would eat anything on the menu so we went outside the Harry Potter area to eat. I wish we would have at least checked it out!
One of the stores was the Owl Post where you could buy postcards and have them stamped with an Hogsmeade owl postmark.
The Durmstrang boys.....
The Beaubaton girls...
And of course, no visit to Hogsmeade would be complete without Butterbeer...
Although, I am sorry to say it was kinda gross!! I'm not sure what it was made of, hubby thought it tasted like a cross between root beer and cream soda.
3 comments:
M&M's and a candy store! Nice... my sweet tooth would have been so happy!
Looks like this was an awesome trip, I'm enjoying your recap...with a bit of envy! :)
Thanks for sharing your holiday snaps! I'm planning a big adventure for my family next year which will involve a trip to Florida and definitely Harry Potter World! I'll know who to talk to for advice :)
Hello Lynn
I just came across your blog today and wanted to say 'hi'. I enjoyed seeing your Florida pictures. Looks like you had a wonderful time. We were in Florida too this April (10th-19th) and enjoyed time with blogging friends at Disney, Tampa and St Augustine. It was our 3rd visit to the USA and we loved every minute. I look forward to hearing more about your trip.
Best Wishes
Lindsay
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