Tour Guide of Pinellas County

There have been many tourists and visitors who have come to Pinellas County to see the beautiful cities of Saint Petersburg, Treasure Island, Gulfport, Pinellas Park, Largo, Seminole, Clearwater, Dunedin, and Tarpon Springs. Pinellas County is a beach county and often lumped with Tampa as part of Tampa Bay (when they call it Tri-City area) so that tourists who like the "beach" will know that Tampa has access to more than a bay. I've lived in Pinellas County for a long time and I've seen it grow just like I did when I lived in Tampa. Many things change over the years, but some things stay the same. For this "tour" I'm going to talk mostly about the things that have stayed the same. Maybe I'll write another article later about the things that have changed.

Let's begin in Saint Petersburg and I will tell you what I know which isn't much really, but it might help those who know less than me. The far end of Saint Petersburg has the Skyway Bridge which you can access from I-275 or I-19. I believe there is a toll but if you have the SunPass, you don't have to worry about that. That bridge will take you to Manatee County. On that side of town, there are four colleges: Eckerd (private), Stetson (private Law University), U.S.F. (public), and S.P.J.C. (public). Downtown Saint Petersburg is what I call "fru-fru" where the glamorous types like to hang-out. The yacht clubbers are there. The baseball ticket holders are there. The condo owners who like their glorious high rise view of the bay are there. There's not much to do Downtown though. There's some interesting museums, a few pubs, and some shoppes, but besides that I think it's kind of boring. I usually just went and got a sub at Subway and strolled through the park or took a peek at the library. That's what us Po' Folks do at a place like that. My favorite museum is the Salvadore Dali museum. I love that artist and they usually have some neat things going on there. The Rowdies Soccer team have something going on in the Downtown area too. There is a humongous hotel (The Vinoy Resort and Golf Club) for the millionare club, but I stayed at the Ponce de Leon, which is a historic building with a lot of character and less ameneties. They have bike rentals on the sidewalk, and if you have your gadgety cell phone handy, you will be able to access those bikes, but if you're not tech-savvy you'll need to walk. There is a movie theater and it's very nice. The restaurants I've been to down there have all been quality.

Next, I'll tell you a bit about Gulfport. I was madly in love with this little town in Pinellas, even though some of my memories there are bittersweet. I once had a cute little apartment overlooking Main Street, and I was so proud of it. I had hoped that Gulfport would grow into the charm and style and flavor of New Orleans or Ybor City. It went a different direction. It followed the sanitized formula of the mall instead. It lost it's character. It's still cute and still worth visiting, but the music is dead there now. The french restaurant is gone. It's just a big giant apartment complex now and they don't really seem too glad to see visitors. The bar (once called On The Rocks) changed the flavor and name, and the next door neighbor (still called O'Maddys) is always too crowded for my liking. They have a great library, and a nice stage theater, and sometimes they have craft festivals. I'd still go visit, but I'm not in love with it like I used to be.

Moving on, Saint Petersburg beach. It's clean. It's normal. It's typical. It's expensive. The Don Cesar castle hotel is probably the most glamorous and most impressive for vacationers. Bottom line, it's just a beach.

Treasure Island is the neighboring beach, and for some reason I think it has more going for it than Saint Pete Beach. It has some fun arcades, and some dance clubs, and just looks more interesting. I don't really know what to say about Pinellas Park. It's mostly just a nice Suburban area with blue collar folks doing the typical family life stuff.

I love Largo. Largo definitely has the best library. It's got everything - a great snack bar where you can get a delicious pressed Cuban. Two floors of books, computer lab, private rooms and a friendly staff. Outside is clean and the landscaping is lovely. Across the street is Central Park, a wonderful park for kids and adults with a running train and park toys and adult exercise equipment. That whole area is just perfect in my opinion. Those citizens seem to really love their town and are continuing to make improvements on their main street welcoming new businesses into the plazas and just creating a very kind and happy atmosphere.

Seminole is a large area and has secret gems that mostly the locals know about. As a traveler, you'll have a hard time finding those. It's a lot like Pinellas Park, a Suburban dream and they keep their good stuff hidden.

Clearwater is where I live. I've lived in Clearwater the longest of all the places in Pinellas County. I know it pretty well. It has so much potential and this is evident in the Downtown area including the downtown library where some major construction is going on regarding adding an outdoor ampitheater to the library. I think it's a great addition. Clearwater moves slow in making improvements. Not sure why that is, but I do see improvements. The Beach has been rated highly by travelers although as a poor local I don't really agree. To me, the beach is just a wall of overpriced hotels that I can't afford. The parking is congested and I don't feel safe driving around there. I don't feel safe walking around there either. It's just too expensive and too hard to even find a beverage when you're thirsty. I don't go there much. I've seen enough to know that a poor girl like me really doesn't belong there.

Downtown is mostly run by the Scientologists. Some of them even work at the Downtown Starbucks. They all dress the same in their weird suit uniforms. I think it's a bit creepy. There is a church (Hope) in the Downtown area. You can't miss it, it's pink. In between the Downtown area and the Beach area (which you can travel to and fro by Trolley Busses) you'll find the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. It's located on the same island area as the most impressive Publix Supermarket I've ever seen. Those two are both worth visiting sometimes in my opinion.

Dunedin is also very nice. They have a Main Street and it's very busy and goes straight to Countryside Mall, which is my favorite mall in this county. The other "big" mall is "Tyrone" which is on the other side of the county in Saint Petersburg. Dunedin is like a bigger version of Gulfport. It has the same kind of small town charm, but also has the Suburban neighborhood thing going on too. There are some lovely churches, interesting shoppes, nice lower cost motels that don't make you feel like you're staying at the Creepers Roach Dive Inn.... I like Dunedin. Haven't spent that much time there, but I would go visit again.

Finally, this tour will end at Tarpon Springs. Tarpon Springs really hasn't changed much after all these years. It's still very charming and still very Greek themed. I like it there. The sponge docks are still interesting to look at. The fishing tours are still interesting to ponder. The little shoppes at the docks still have cute knick knacks. The people are still nice and warm. There's probably a lot of cute places I haven't seen there yet. I mostly like that Tarpon Springs seems to be the town in Pinellas County that has changed the least, without looking decrepit or abandoned. Nice work, Tarpon Springs.

That concludes this tour of Pinellas County. That's about all I know unless you want me to talk about Fast Food restaurants and parks and good places to hang out if you find yourself "homeless". Enjoy your visit.