Wow. I thought this post would be dead and buried by now. We are already back from our trip and I want to thank you all again for your suggestions. In the end we did not have quite as much time to sightsee as I thought we would simply due to getting late starts on the day. We did, however:
- visit Mount Dora. It was a charming little southern town. Looked around the boutiques and at the architecture and had lunch at a nice little cafe. Planned to go back and do a tour as well as go to the giant antiques fair/ flea market but didn't make it. Of well, something to look forward to in the future.
- go to Tarpon Springs. It also had a lot of antiques stores. We took a trolley tour (which I think cost all of $1 each). The driver was quite a character. A great bargain. The harbor area shops were full of pure tourist kitsch from what I could see - just the kind of stuff kids usually love.
- spend the day on St. Pete Beach. Nice beach though I still like Clearwater Beach better. We stayed at the Tradewinds Resort which had a 4 diamond
AAA rating but I found kind of shabby. On the plus side (and I guess this is why it has such a high rating) they had a lot of activities available to guests free of charge. The Don Cesar where we had lunch one day looked much more upscale but, I did notice, you had to pay for every little thing. We usually rent a condo when we stay at the beach and I like that better but it wasn't an option for 1 night.
- visit Blue Springs State Park. I really, really liked this little park. We didn't swim because we didn't bring our suits but the water looked so clear and tempting. The boardwalk trail was a pleasant walk - the lighting was incredible. Didn't see any manatees - it was still too warm in St John's river for them to seek out the warmth of the springs. I hope we have a chance to take the st John's boat tour next time and see some manatees in the wild. It was sold out this time. Saw lots of turtles and fish.
- visit St Augustine which I also really liked a lot. The old city is beautiful and full of interesting history. We took a trolley tour here too. It was nowhere near as cheap as the Tarpon Springs one (about $18 each) but still a bargain because it took us everywhere and the guide was charismatic and full of interesting facts. There are 2 trolley tour companies. We took the orange and green because they seemed to go to more parts of the city than the red. It turned out that the ticket was good for 3 days but we couldn't take advantage of it since we were only there for 1 day. We didn't really have time to go into the historical attractions. But we couldn't leave St Augustine without having visited the Fountain of Youth. It cost about $6 each and in general was pretty hokey. We had learned most of the history while on the trolley tour. I suppose, though, it may have been worth the price of admission just to have a drink of those famous spring waters. I'll let you know when I start feeling younger (though between gloomy winter days and Christmas shopping crowds it has not happened yet).
- we stopped at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park on the way back from St. Augustine. Pretty gardens set in what used to be a plantation. It was about $4 or $5 to get in.
We never did make it into Tampa but I am hoping to on our next trip to the area. It looks like there is a lot to do with the kids. One day we will also take them to the space center. We've just been waiting until they are old enough to really enjoy it (especially since you have to pay to get in now),
However, I must warn you that the traffic on I-4 can be unbelievable between Orlando & Tampa, depending on the time of day. If your interested in our fine city, I'd be glad to post more info. 
), and the Museum of Science & Industry. Not far away, is the Lowry Park Zoo. On the water, by the port, is Channelside. There they have a very nice Aquarium, with an interactive child play area. There's also places to eat, a movie theater, and shopping. There's also a military type ship to tour. If you time it right, you may get to see 1 or more cruise ships docked there. From the aquarium parking lot, you can hop on the trolley for a ride through downtown, then off to Ybor City. There you'll find many nice restaurants, The Columbia restaurant gets very high marks. You will see many more places to shop, clubs, and another movie theater. Game Works is also there. The city also has many museums & Broadway type shows. I'll stop with that for now, but that is just a taste of what Tampa has to offer. If you'll let me know more specifically what things your family is interested in, I'd be glad to make suggestions that cater to your interests. 
