Wandering around downtown St. Petersburg

One thing I love about visiting the Tampa Bay area of Florida is that while you have gorgeous beaches and beautiful weather, you also have a few cities to explore. For me, a city lover and a nature enthusiast, that's a really great combination.

So we spent a leisurely Saturday morning wandering around downtown St. Petersburg. Here are a few highlights:

One of my favorite features of St. Petersburg is the long stretch of parkland that separates the big buildings from the water. Parks make exploring cities with a toddler so much easier and more fun, because you can get them out of the stroller to run free for a while. My husband and I fell for this giant old tree. I can only imagine how much needed shade it has provided families on hot Florida afternoons. I already want to return and plan a picnic lunch.

The Dali Museum

If the weather hadn't been so gorgeous (and we hadn't been so sun-starved after a long winter), I would have loved to visit the new Dali museum. But this was as close as we got. The building itself looks pretty spectacular, though (it's the glass dome in the background).

St. Pete Pier

As you walk toward The Pier, you can get fairly close to many of the boats lining the marina. The arrow is deep in that phase of boyhood where planes, trains and automobiles fascinate him. We can officially add boats to the list now, too.

But alas, a boat ride will have to wait, as downtown St. Petersburg was just too much excitement for our little guy.

This post is a part of Photo Friday at Delicious Baby.