I know I'm a few entries into this Trip Report and I've barely even mentioned Walt Disney World. And then I go and throw a title like that onto another entry. I promise, WDW is coming! But first, we wanted to head to the beach!
I wanted to give the new coolant lines in the van a good workout, but didn't want to have all 6 of us stranded on the side of the road in case something didn't hold right. So we decided to take two vehicles over to the gulf - the kids with their grandparents in their Explorer, Bambi and I in the rolling death trap.
We set out south west on I-4 towards Tampa, then took the Courtney Campbell Causeway over Tampa Bay to Clearwater. I only mention that because one of Bambi's best friends growing up was also named Courtney Campbell, but I doubt the road is named after her. Or that she's reading this report. So basically this paragraph means nothing to anyone. Moving on then...
We arrived at a very nice beach parking area to find two things: people and rain. You would think these things would be mutually exclusive at a beach, but clearly Florida plays by different rules. The forecast called for scattered showers and thunderstorms for most of the day, so we decided to drive down the coast for a bit to check out the scenery and maybe get some lunch.
We eventually ended up down around Treasure Island and settled on Britt's Pizza for lunch. They have a huge brick pizza oven in the corner, but instead of burning wood, they fire it with charcoal. It added a really interesting taste to the crust. Interesting in a good way, though.
Since it was still raining after lunch, we killed some time in one of the local tourist trap shops. We did
not buy any of this...
(although someone
may have asked if we could
)
This one sparked my interest as well - it would be a fun one to wear on It's A Small World.
For those that don't understand, it's from a Saturday Night Live sketch that you can watch
here. All the naughty words are bleeped, but you probably don't want to watch it at work or while the kids are still awake. Or if there any priests or little old ladies around. Really, you probably just shouldn't watch it at all.
After wandering the store for a bit, we emerged to find...it was still raining. That must mean it's time for dessert! There was an ice cream joint just up the road, so we pulled in there, got some ice cream, and enjoyed it in their covered patio. We finished eating and cleaning up - which is no small task. I watch Evan eat. He uses his spoon. But somehow he still ends up with red, yellow and blue Superman ice cream from ear to ear.
So after the clean up job, we emerged to find...it was still raining. (We didn't really emerge to find that, we watched it rain the entire time we were eating. It's just a bit that I'm doing - go with it.) The radar looked like it wasn't going to let up anytime soon, so we called an audible. Movie Time!
We searched the GPS for "cinema" and found several, shall we say, Adult-oriented establishments. I doubt any of these were showing Cars 2. Eventually we did find one that sounded family friendly, that was showing the movie, and that wasn't too far away. Triple Win! Since we just ate pizza and ice cream, of course we ordered several large buckets of popcorn to share. We thought the movie was pretty good - maybe a little complicated plot for the little ones to follow, and the "big oil is bad" subtext was a bit over the top, but all in all it was a good movie. (Duh, it's Pixar - they've never put out a stinker)
After the movie, we emerged to find...bright sunshine! (You thought I was going to say rain again, didn't you?) Nice, warm, sunshine - a perfect day to head to the beach! As we headed to the cars, Evan had to stop and check out a rear-engine Audi a few spots away from the van.
Let me just say this - that dude's lucky he wasn't around. Imagine how embarrassed he'd be in front of his friends when he lost a drag race to my minivan.
Anyway, while watching Lightning McQueen race around the big screen for 112 minutes, I picked up a few driving tips that I utilized on the way back to the beach. Namely, drive fast, whip in and out of traffic, and make "zoom", "vroom" and "weeeeeeee!" noises the entire way.
Using those techniques, we made it to the beach in no time and headed straight for the water.
It was then that I realized - we were under attack! Man the cannons ye scurvy dogs! Thar be pirates headin' this way!
After a few well placed shots just off their port bow, they turned tail and ran for open water.
Or maybe it was just a touristy pirate ship taking folks out for a pleasure cruise. In which case, I deeply apologize for firing those cannon balls at you and for all those nasty things I said about your mothers.
The water was nice, but Evan decided he would rather pull out his DOT-issued construction equipment and build some roads on the beach. I'm a little confused though. That shovel looks like he's actually digging with it instead of leaning on it. Are you sure you're doing that right?
Warning: artsy pictures ahead.
And so after a picnic snack/dinner on the beach while trying to fend off some very brave seagulls, we called it a day, washed most of the sand off and headed home. Then van made it without a problem so I gave it a clean bill of health and certified it to make tomorrow's drive to ...
Up Next: The Magic Kingdom!
I'm sure your mother is a very fine lady. 
)
