“The beach is completely accessible. The sand is packed, so I can wheel down pretty close to the water. It’s beautiful.” — Katie Mathews.

Tampa Bay: Florida’s Other Playground


Photo Courtesy of Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce

Soaring up to 192 feet above the water as we cross the Sunshine Skyway Bridge — the centerpiece of the 15-mile causeway that spans Tampa Bay — I wish I could stop and admire everything around us. Tampa Bay’s wide mouth is to our right. The blue-green expanse of the Gulf reaches out to our left. Conquistadors once sailed these waters. Now boats of all types and sizes cruise in all directions below us.

Most travelers catch their first glimpse of Tampa Bay as they land at Tampa International or drive in from the north. I’m lucky to be coming up from the south. With a center span stretching more than five miles, the bridge is the world’s longest — acknowledged by some as a “Wonder of the World.” I can’t think of a better way to start a visit. After all, it’s part of what draws millions of people every year to Tampa Bay, Florida’s other prime vacation destination, just behind Orlando and Miami.

Photo Courtesy of Tampa Bay & Company

Situated on the Gulf of Mexico, midway down Florida’s west coast, the area encompasses three main cities. Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater stretch across two counties, wrap around Florida’s largest harbor and are surrounded by 20 barrier islands, with 35 miles of dazzling white beaches.

Self-proclaimed as Florida’s SunCoast, the area’s semitropical climate allows visitors plenty of time to use those beaches. No other beachfront resort area has ever bested St. Petersburg’s world record for the most continuous days of sunshine — 768 days of great tanning weather.

Not that the weather’s always perfect. During the summer rainy season, thunderstorms are common, causing as many as 50,000 lightning strikes in a single month, earning the area its other unchallenged title — Lightning Capital of the Nation.

Still, even during the summer’s hot, stormy days, there’s usually ample opportunity to get out and enjoy everything the area has to offer. The only question is whether you can fit all of it into your schedule.

Clearwater
As we descend the Skyway Bridge, it looks like we’re approaching an island. In reality we’re arriving at the southern tip of Pinellas County, the 39-mile peninsula that shelters Tampa Bay from the open Gulf. St. Petersburg, the county’s largest and most well-known city, takes up a good deal of the peninsula’s southern end. We bypass it, just for now, and head for the beaches first.

Clearwater is the peninsula’s second largest city and its county seat. Named by Native Americans for the fresh water springs they found near its shores, it is home to the Philadelphia Phillies’ spring training camp, the worldwide headquarters of the Church of Scientology, the world’s first Hooters and, thanks to her prosthetic tail, Winter, the world’s only performing disabled dolphin.

But Clearwater Beach is the city’s star attraction.

Located on a narrow island squeezed between the Gulf and Clearwater Bay, it attracts a diverse following, recently being named one of the East Coast’s “Best Family Beaches” and one of the “Top Five Singles Beaches in Florida” — in the same year.

Thanks to the wide range of hotels, motels, restaurants, shops and stores packed on either side of the island’s main road, most visitors can find something that fits their taste and budget. We choose the new Hyatt — using the theory that the newest hotel is usually the most wheelchair accessible.

Clearwater Beach lives up to its name.
Clearwater Beach lives up to its name.
Photo Courtesy of Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce

Of course that’s just a theory. Checking into the 17-floor, 250-suite, full-service hotel, I’m well aware this is not a budget choice. But our theory proves to be true. We find our room blocked for us, one of the hotel’s 13 accessible suites, which contain from 600 square feet to an impressive 1,600 square feet — all with roll-in showers. All of the suites feature kitchens and stunning views of the beach and the newly built 40-foot-wide, half-mile-long Beach Walk that runs along it.

But the bed is what impresses me most. Rather than the too-high mattresses so popular these days, it is wheelchair transfer height — on an open frame — now standard, I’m told, in all Hyatt ADA rooms.

We’re soon off to celebrate sunset at Pier 60.

Just a short push from our hotel, the 1,000-foot-long, beachfront fishing pier provides the gathering point for the daily festival. Just like Key West’s celebration, the festivities’ arts and crafts booths, street performers and live music attract an enthusiastic crowd.

Our particular favorite is a percussionist who drums on a motley assortment of 5 gallon buckets. His rapidfire quips and drumming tricks keep us, and the rest of the crowd, enthralled. The magnificent sight of the sun setting in the Gulf from a red and copper-streaked sky isn’t too shabby either.

For dinner we head to the Beachcomber, within rolling distance of the beach. Founded in 1948, the award-winning restaurant is a Clearwater institution, noted for its thick steaks, fresh seafood and fried chicken. Inside it is country-club chic, with soft piano music and some of the best fried shrimp I’ve ever had.

Just up the block, the Clear Sky Café, another award-winning, but more relaxed and affordable restaurant, packs crowds in with its array of choices, from breakfast to beach food to fine dining, with live music each evening.

Author Alan and his wife, Susie.
Author Alan and his wife, Susie.

For those who’d rather be out on the water for a sunset cruise or daytime dolphin excursion, the Clearwater Beach Marina, directly across the street from Pier 60, houses boats that offer every type of water adventure. Both Island Time Adventures and the Dolphin Encounter have ramps and crew willing to help guests with that one pesky step down from the dock. But Captain Memo’s, a 70-foot, very red pirate ship, has no steps.

Everyone — including power chair users — boards across the same wide ramp. Once aboard, all are encouraged to join in the piratical hi-jinks of the crew. Kids love it and there’s plenty of free beer and wine to placate the grownups.

Accessibility seems to be the rule around Clearwater Beach. Curb cuts abound, and at the beach, signs at each handicapped parking spot greet wheelchair visitors with a reminder that sand wheelchairs are available at the lifeguard station. Lift-equipped Jolley Trolleys carry visitors around the island and into downtown Clearwater.

And there are plenty of other beachfront communities to the south.

St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg’s downtown sits on the peninsula’s bay side, facing Tampa, 18 miles away. The cities share many similarities and a bit of a sibling rivalry. Tampa is the older and larger of the two, already a trading center decades before St. Pete was developed. Today, Tampa’s port bustles with cruise ships, freighters and tankers. St. Pete’s port hosts a Coast Guard station. St. Petersburg’s name was chosen by a coin toss between its co-founders. Had the toss gone the other way, it would be called Detroit. Another interesting factoid about Tampa’s name: It’s a misspelling of Tanpa — a Native American word meaning sticks of fire, or campsite.

Barrier-free pirate hi-jinks? Aye.
Photo Courtesy of Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce

Both cities were already luring wealthy visitors to their luxury hotels when Miami Beach was still a coconut plantation and Orlando a rural crossroads. And both of their early hotels are still standing — although Tampa’s is a museum now and St. Pete’s is a condominium.

The two are also the arts and entertainment centers of their respective counties, with St. Pete ranking first in the list of the Top 25 Midsized Arts Destinations. Tampa ranks 11th. Both are sports towns, too, with Tampa bragging on its Buccaneers, Lightning and Storm. St. Pete embraces its Rays and its annual downtown Grand Prix.

But Tampa has nothing that compares to the Pier, St. Pete’s iconic landmark. Located in the middle of the city’s century-old, 7-mile-long bayfront park system, the five-story, upside-down pyramid sits on a pier jutting half a mile into the bay. More than 2 million visitors stroll its mile-long approach each year, shopping and eating at the pyramid’s stores and restaurants, fishing off its pier, enjoying the daily events and clicking many, many pictures. Sadly, the Pier, which opened in 1973, is slated for destruction and replacement sometime in the next few years.

The nearby St. Petersburg Museum of History offers a glimpse into the city’s past and into aviation history. In 1914, just yards from where the building now stands, Tony Jannus and his Benoist Airboat took off for Tampa on the world’s first scheduled airline flight. The museum displays both an operational replica of the airboat and period pictures of the event.

Art fanciers can stroll downtown’s many galleries, view the collection at the city’s Museum of Fine Art or visit the $6 million Chilhuly Collection of glass-blown art. Lovers of the surreal can venture a mile south to the Salvador Dali Museum and dally over the world’s largest collection of the artist’s work outside of Spain.

Diners can choose from a wide assortment of fine restaurants, many of them spread along a restaurant row facing the bayfront park. We try 400 Beach Seafood, which advertises relaxed coastal cuisine — and delivers it.

Music enthusiasts should check out the concerts at Jannus Live, an outdoor concert area nestled in between apartments. Partiers cruise St. Pete’s clubs and bars in downtown or on Central Avenue until 3 a.m. — the same closing hour as Tampa.

Those who want to stay close to downtown’s action have plenty of lodging options close by. One of the best, the Renaissance Vinoy, a historic hotel on the bay, offers luxurious accessible rooms with roll-in showers as well as its own marina, golf course and spa. There are even more choices across the bay.

Tampa
At first glance, Tampa looks much more serious than St. Pete. Highrise office buildings crowd its compact downtown. Wide expressways crisscross the city, and traffic clogs its downtown streets. But this is a town that understands that life is about more than commerce. A cluster of nearby hotels, some with rooftop pools like the Marriott Waterside, enable guests to enjoy the downtown’s many entertainment and shopping options on foot.

For those who’d rather ride, accessible electric streetcars provide easy transportation along a 2.4-mile loop that covers downtown as well the city’s historic Ybor City. Those, like us, who prefer waterborne transportation, can turn to Tampa Water Taxi, which also offers tours.

Captain Larry meets us at a floating dock for our harbor tour, helping me up the one step onto his pontoon boat. Once underway, he narrates a fact-filled, hour-long cruise covering the area’s early history — from the Native Americans and Spaniards to Henry Plant, the railroad baron who built Tampa’s first hotel. Along the way we motor from harbor channels to waterways, passing behind hotels, attractions and luxury homes.

Venturing up the Hillsborough River, we pause to gaze at Plant’s Tampa Bay Hotel. Now a museum, the quarter-mile-long, 511-room Moorish Revival hotel hardly matches the modernity all around it. But its stainless steel minarets, cupolas and domes make for a stunning view.

Once a hotel, now the Henry B. Plant Museum.
Once a hotel, now the Henry B. Plant Museum.

The Tampa Bay History Center downtown shows and tells more of the story of the area, from the early Native Americans and Spaniards and the Seminole wars, to the cattle drives that once came through the city, and the Spanish-American War. A recreation of a 1920s cigar store gives visitors a look at the area’s once thriving industry.

Fish lovers, the viewing kind, can take a short walk over to the Florida Aquarium, nationally rated one of the Top Five Kid-Friendly Aquariums. Just a short drive from downtown, animal lovers can enjoy Lowry Park Zoo, the top-rated zoo in the country. With 60 acres of natural habitats showcasing two thousand animals, it’s a wonderful kid-and wheelchair-friendly experience.

Even though it is nine miles away and far more expensive than the other Tampa attractions, Busch Gardens remains the area’s top attraction. The state’s only theme park outside of Orlando, Busch delivers breathtaking thrill rides, an expansive zoo and plenty of shows, food and shopping. Little kids will love their new Sesame Street Safari of Fun, and families will enjoy their many shows. And all can enjoy the zoo. But, just like other theme parks, their thrill rides are off-limits for most wheelers.

In Ybor City, a historic district near downtown, almost nothing is off-limits. Settled by Cubans, Spaniards and Italians in the late 1880s, when Vicente Ybor started the Key West cigar industry’s migration to Tampa, it is now Tampa’s equivalent of South Beach. During the day it’s a historic attraction where visitors can stroll, shop, dine and visit museums to learn why the area was once known as the Cigar Capital of the World. A walking tour takes visitors to Jose Marti Park, the only place in the United States where someone can set foot on Cuban soil — thanks to a gift of the land to the Cuban government in the pre-Castro 1950s.

But at night, Seventh Avenue closes to traffic and Ybor comes alive. Its clubs and bars and restaurants throb with music everywhere, and revelers fill the street. At Ybor’s Columbia restaurant, the music’s flamenco and the dining more refined. Founded in 1905, the state’s oldest and world’s largest Spanish restaurant is one of the two Tampa Bay restaurants that are national icons. At a city block long, it’s hardly an intimate place. Still, dining in the enclosed Patio Room is as elegant as dining in a courtyard in Andalusia. Even though I wanted to try the paella, I couldn’t resist the Ybor-style Cuban sandwich, a Cuban version of a ham and cheese grinder, but far better.

The other national icon, Bern’s Steakhouse in Tampa’s SOHO district, is renowned for its aged steaks, its 6,800 wine choices and its second-floor, private and accessible dessert rooms. Founded when Eisenhower was still president, it’s decidedly retro, with red brocade walls and decor reminiscent of a turn-of-the-century bawdy house. But there’s nothing retro about the food, the service or the delightfully decadent desserts.

For those who prefer something more modern, Mise En Place near downtown serves an award-winning, ever-changing mix of eclectic and adventurous dishes. For the more traditional, the Colonnade on Bayshore Boulevard has been serving more affordable fare for the past 75 years. Its view across Tampa Bay makes it hard not to linger and eat too much. Fortunately, the world’s longest continuous sidewalk (4.5 miles), right across the street, offers the perfect opportunity to burn off those calories.

As we leave over the Skyway, at its southern end we pass the world’s longest fishing pier — just one of the things we missed on this visit, and another reason we’ll return.

Bird on the Beach
Our cover model, Katie Mathews, has been going to the Tampa Bay area for fun and recreation most of her life. She grew up in Venice, a couple of hours from Tampa. At 16, when she returned from rehab at Denver’s Craig Hospital after being injured in a car accident, she flew into Tampa and immediately went to the mall, one of her favorite places. “Hey, I’m a girl, I love to shop,” she says, laughing. “And while I’m there, I always go to the Cheesecake Factory to eat. It’s great. You’ve gotta go there.”

You may want to visit the iconic St. Pete pier before it is demolished.
You may want to visit the iconic St. Pete pier before it is demolished.
Photo Courtesy of St. Pete/Clearwater Area CVB

Now a C6-7 incomplete quad, Mathews currently lives in Orlando, but still goes to Tampa Bay often.  “Besides the mall and the Cheesecake Factory, I’m a huge football fan, so I like to go to the Bucs’ stadium.  My brother’s the starting quarterback at Cornell, the first freshman to start there. He may play pro ball or he may get his degree and a good job. Time will tell.” She comes from an athletic family, having played basketball in high school. So she’s tall and willowy, right? “No, I’m a shrimp. Just five-three, a shooting guard, but I’m a competitor.”

Now that she navigates the beaches in a power chair, she is impressed with how easy it is to get around in the Tampa Bay area. “The beach is completely accessible. The sand is packed, so I can wheel down pretty close to the water. It’s beautiful, the whole place is surrounded by trees, and there are a lot of historic buildings. Some frames of homes built in the 1800s are still on the beach. It’s gorgeous there.”

Besides traveling to Tampa Bay, Mathews is focusing on public speaking as Junior Miss Wheelchair Florida 2010. “I talk about cell phone use and being distracted while driving.” She was a passenger during her accident. While she was getting verbal directions from her phone in the back seat, the driver became distracted and rolled the car.

Mathews is quick to acknowledge the help and instruction she got from the Donna Marini Foundation in regaining her independence. She was the first person to go through their post-rehab program, learning how to do things like transfer without a transfer board and put on her own jeans. “I thought I’d never wear jeans again. The first time I put them on by myself it took an hour and a half. Now I’ve got it down to 10 minutes.”

And what about those turquoise toenails? Do they mean anything special? “Yeah,” she laughs. “I don’t like wearing shoes, so I go without a lot. I guess you could say I’m kind of a free bird.”

 


Tampa Bay Resources

Clearwater
• Hyatt Regency ($$$), 301 South Gulfview Blvd., 727/373-1234; www.clearwaterbeach.hyatt.com.
• Pier 60 ($), 10 Pier 60 Drive; www.sunsetsatpier60.com.
• Beachcomber Restaurant ($$-$$$), 447 Mandalay Ave., 727/442-4144.
• Clear Sky Café ($-$$), 490 Mandalay Ave., 727/442-3684; www.clearskybeachsidecafe.com.
• Clearwater Municipal Marina, 25 Cause-way Blvd.
• Captain Memo’s Pirate Cruise ($$), Slip No. 3, 727/446-2587; www.captmemo.com.
• Dolphin Encounter ($$), Slip No. 4, 727/442-7433; www.dolphinencounter.org.
• Island Time Adventures ($$), Slip
No. 22, 727/447-0969; www.islandtimeadventures.com.
• Sailability ($), Clearwater Community Sailing Center, 1001 Gulf Blvd., 727/489-9468; www.sailability.org/us/florida.

Indian Rocks Beach
• Guppy’s on the Beach ($$-$$$), 1701 Gulf Blvd., 727/593-2032; www.3bestchefs.com/guppys.
• Keegan’s Seafood Grille ($-$$), 1519 Gulf Blvd., 727/596-2477; www.keegansseafood.com.
• Lighthouse Doughnuts ($), 215 Gulf Blvd., 727/517-8722.

Madeira Beach
• John’s Pass Village & Boardwalk, 150-128th Ave.; www.johnspass.com.

St. Pete’s Beach
• Postcard Inn ($$), 6300 Gulf Blvd., 727/367-2711; www.postcardinn.com.
• Don CeSar Beach Resort ($$$-$$$$), 3400 Gulf Blvd., 727-360-1881; www.doncesar.com.
• The Hurricane ($$), 807 Gulf Way, 727/360-9558; www.thehurricane.com.
• Tierre Verde ($), Fort DeSoto Park, 3500 Pinellas Bayway, 727/893-9185; www.fortdesoto.com.

St. Petersburg
• St. Pete Pier ($), 800 Second Ave. NE, 727/821-6443; www.stpete-pier.com.
• St. Petersburg Museum of History ($), 335 Second Ave, NE; www.spmoh.org.
• Museum of Fine Arts ($), 255 Beach Drive, 727/896-2667; www.fine-arts.org.
• The Chihuly Collection ($), Morean Arts Center, 400 Beach Drive, 727-822-7872; www.moreanartscenter.org/chihuly/chihuly_main.html.
• Salvador Dali Museum ($), 1000 Third St. South, 727-823-3767; www.thedali.org.
• 400 Beach Seafood ($$-$$$), 400 Beach Drive, 727/896-2400; www.400beachseafood.com.
• Vinoy Renaissance ($$$-$$$$), 501 Fifth Ave., 727-894-1000.

Tampa
• Tampa Water Taxi ($$), 888/665-8687; www.tampawatertaxico.com.
• Henry B. Plant Museum ($), Tampa Bay Hotel, 401 W. Kennedy Blvd., 813/254-1891; www.plantmuseum.com.
• The Tampa Bay History Center ($), 801 Old Water St., 813/228-0097; www.tampabayhistorycenter.org.
• The Florida Aquarium ($$), 701 Channelside Dr., 813/273-4000; www.flaquarium.org.
• Lowry Park Zoo ($$), 1101 W. Sligh Ave., 813/935-8552; www.lowryparkzoo.com.
• Busch Gardens ($$$$), 10165 McKinley Dr., 888/800-5447; www.buschgardens.com.
• Columbia Restaurant ($$-$$$), 2117 E. Seventh Ave., 813/248-4961; www.columbiarestaurant.com/ybor.asp.
• Bern’s Steak House ($$$-$$$$), 1208 S. Howard Ave., 813/251-2421; www.bernssteakhouse.com.
• Mise En Place ($$$), 442 W. Kennedy Blvd., 813/254-5373; www.miseonline.com.
• Colonnade Restaurant ($-$$), 3401 Bayshore, 813/839-7558; www.thenade.com.


Florida’s Sun Coast Highlights

Just across the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Sand Key Park is renowned for its award-winning, mile-long beach. For sailors with disabilities, Sailability is located at the Clearwater Sailing Center across from the park.

Indian Rocks Beach, a few miles farther south, is a laid-back beachfront community more notable for its restaurants than its hotels. On nice evenings, Guppy’s patio is the place to dine outdoors on fine seafood. Less fine, Keegan’s Seafood Grille’s charbroiled octopus and ultra-hot blackened grouper sandwich have been featured on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. As a fan, I have to stop to sample both. The restaurant looks funky enough that my wife, Susie, gives it a dubious glance. She sticks with tuna.

"The beach is completely accessible. The sand is packed, so I can wheel down pretty close to the water. It's beautiful." — Katie Mathews
“The beach is completely accessible. The sand is packed, so I can wheel down pretty close to the water. It’s beautiful.” — Katie Mathews.
Photo by Steven Kovich

Afterward, I’m glad to find Lighthouse Doughnuts a few blocks south. My mouth still burns from the grouper. A key lime doughnut cools it right down. Susie goes for a peanut butter and jelly doughnut, far better, she says, than her tuna.

But there’s more to life than beaches and food. In Madeira Beach, we stop at Pinellas County’s top tourist attraction, John’s Pass Village. Built under the assumption that you can never have enough T-shirts, this quaint fishing village lookalike houses over a hundred shops and eateries. Unfortunately, about a third of the establishments are so quaint that they’ve forgotten to become accessible.

We visit the accessible ones, seeing a similar mix of souvenirs and T-shirts at a bunch of the shops. Our most unique stop is the Tervis Tumbler store, an improbable tourist shop selling pricey insulated plastic glasses and mugs with touristy emblems.

Treasure Island, next to Madeira Beach, earned its name from the treasure chests its developers buried and then “discovered” the next day. Packed with hotels, shops and restaurants, it boasts the area’s widest beach, plenty of kite flying and a former record for world’s largest sand castle.

When we reach St. Pete Beach, we stop by the Postcard Inn, a renovated motel that’s been reborn as a “hip, affordable inn.” With summer room rates as low as $79 a day, it’s definitely affordable. But the inn’s one accessible room, on the outside facing the parking lot, reminds me of pre-ADA days.

It does have a workable roll-in shower. Still, the sink has no countertop, the bed is way too low and there’s no wheelchair access to the beach.

Beach access is no problem at the historic, Don CeSar Beach Resort further down the road. Built in 1928 and painted Pepto-Bismol pink, this grande dame of St. Pete hotels offers luxurious accessible rooms with roll-in showers. The hotel also greets new guests with pink lady cocktails. But wheelers have to enter by a lower-level side entrance and take the elevator up to get their sips in.

Pass-a-Grille, directly south of the Don, is at the southernmost end of St. Pete Beach. Decidedly low-rise, it’s the closest thing the area has to a beachside village. The downtown consists of a small gathering of specialty shops, restaurants and bars facing 22 blocks of beachfront.

The Hurricane Restaurant’s three-story, Key West-style building dominates the area. Elevator access ensures that wheelers can enjoy the food and magnificent views of the beach and the Gulf from every level — as well as join in the nightly sunset festivities at the third floor bar.

Fort DeSoto Park, at the southern tip of Pinellas County, offers water views combined with history, beaches and nature. The park’s namesake fort, built during the Spanish American War, has an accessible lower level and mortar battery. Named Top Beach in America by TripAdvisor for the past two years, the park’s North Beach is praised as a “Portrait of Tranquility.” Wheelers can arrange for beach wheelchairs at the lifeguard station there.

But the park’s barrier-free nature trail impresses me most. The wide path forms a loose, irregular 2,200-foot circle that loops through cabbage palms and sea oats and other local seaside plants. Interpretive stations help visitors identify these and animals they spot.

At the midway point, the trail comes to a clearing overlooking a few yards of beach. It’s close enough for waves to wet the trail on rough days, with a view across the entrance to the bay. The Skyway Bridge is far off to the left, the open Gulf to the right, and waves lap at the shore. This is my idea of tranquility.


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