Seeing the Ocean for the First Time

Favorite Vacation Moment

Tampa, FL

by Bethlimmer March 10, 2008

Fun at the Ocean For the First Time

Our family traveled to Clearwater Beach, Florida four years ago. Our daughter, Ashley, was 10 at the time and our son, Tyler, was 6 at the time. We live in the Midwest in South Dakota and our children had never seen the ocean. We were going to Clearwater Beach to visit my Mom who was staying in Clearwater Beach for the month of March to get away from the cold winter in her home state of Minnesota. The kids were so excited about the trip. When we we left South Dakota it was negative 10 degrees. When we landed in Florida it was 80 degrees. What a temperature swing! We drove to Clearwater Beach from the airport and started seeing sights that we don't ever see in South Dakota. There were exotic flowers, palm tree, white sand beaches and the ocean. We got to my Mom's condo, unpacked quicly and then the kids put on their swimsuits. We rushed down to the beach. It was absolutely beautiful! The water was a gorgeous blue and the beach was white sand. The kids were so excited and ran right down to the ocean to put their feet in the surf. They could hardly believe they were finally at the ocean. We spent 3 glorious days in the sun on the beach. We could see dolphins in the ocean from my Mom's condo's windows. The kids would wake up early to watch the dolphins leave their cove to go out to swim in the ocean. My husband bought boogie boards for the kids and they learned how to body surf. We ate seafood for dinner and watched the beautiful sunsets from beach front restaurants. My husband, Ashley and Tyler went out on a charter boat to fish for grouper. They didn't catch anything, but had a great time. We spent most of time on the beach, soaking up the sun, playing in the water and buidling sand castles on the beach. It was a wonderful time for all of us. My favorite moment was watching the pure delight on the kid's faces as they saw and touched the ocean for the first itme in their lives.