Family Travel with Colleen Kelly

Colleen

One look at the white sand and crystal blue is easy to see where Clearwater Florida gets its name. I'm Colleen Kelly welcome to Clearwater Florida. At their pristine beaches aren't the only treasure this seaside city is known for. In this episode, I'm joined by my daughter Shea and my niece Keelin on a Floridian vacation filled with incredible animals, delicious food, and of course fun in the water and sand. Hop on aboard as we tour the city on the jolly trolley. Meet a pair of famous dolphins and some friendly pelicans. Take in a baseball game. Meet a local celebrity and learn how to perfect our sandcastles sculpting skills on the stunning Clearwater beach. Bring your sunscreen and join us in the warm waters and ivory sands of Clearwater Florida. My name is Colleen Kelly and when I was single I lived abroad and traveled the world. Then I became a parent and wondered how would I ever travel again. So I set out to find a new way to travel and get back to exploring the world family style. I'm here to guide you on how to get the most out of your family vacation. Pack your bags and join me, Colleen Kelly. We're going on vacation. Funding provided by.

Narrator

This show is sponsored by State Farm. when the unexpected happens State Farm is here to help life go right.

Colleen

People may come to Clearwater for the beaches but they keep coming back for the fun the food and the hospitality. Clearwater Florida is located on the Gulf Coast just northwest of Tampa Bay. So much to do we can't wait to start exploring. We begin our trip at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. Dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of sick or injured animals the Clearwater Marine Aquarium is a safe haven for marine life where every animal has a name. We're ready to meet them all. You'll be greeted by their friendly staff on your way in.

unintelligible

Colleen

Okay, thank you. Before you even meet the animals you'll have a chance to get your picture taken with them. Today we're at the Clearwater marina aquarium. I am here with my daughter Shea and my niece Keelin. This place is so great because it's not just an aquarium but it's also a working hospital. You ready to go see some dolphins?

Shea

Yes.

Keelin

Yes.

Colleen

All right. Oh my gosh so cute. Wow, what do you think? This is Shea this is Keelin, nice to meet you. Why is Nicholas here?

Sara Iwanoczko

That's a really good question. He was found stranded on the beach in Gibsonton in 2002 as a young calf. At the time he was with his mother but he was only six months of age. That left Nicholas as an orphan calf. At six months of age, they haven't yet learned all of the necessary survival skills like foraging for their own food, socialization skills, navigation and other things that only their mothers can teach them. He was deemed non-releasable by the government body the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. That government body determined that Clearwater marine aquarium would be able to provide him with his forever home.

Colleen

Wow, he's lucky very lucky. That's cool. How long has he been here then?

Sara Iwanoczko

He has been here now 16 years. He's 16 years old and he was rescued on Christmas Eve which is why he got the name, Nicholas.

Keelin

What do you do if you find an injured animal in the wild?

Sara Iwanoczko

The first thing you want to do is call for help. If you're familiar with any of the stranding teams of stranding organizations that rescue and rehabilitate and release animals, call their hotline. Or you can certainly call 911. They'll be able to redirect you to the closest stranding facility to send out those people that are professionals in rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing animals.

Colleen

That's what I love about this aquarium it's not just an aquarium it's a hospital where they rescue, rehabilitate and do all these things to bring these animals back into the wild but if they can't, they live here.

Sara Iwanoczko

Yes that's right. If they are deemed non-releasable then we're able to provide them with a second chance at life by giving them a forever home here at the aquarium.

Colleen

Wow, Nicholas is a lucky dolphin. Say goodbye to Nick.

Bye Keelin

Bye Nick.

Colleen

Bye Nick. After meeting Nicholas we head back inside to check out some of the otter animals. Wally the otter was raised as a pet on a houseboat. He"s playing on his own. Because he was only ever handled by humans he's become too dependent to be released into the wild. Another reason these animals while amazing to watch should never be pets. Thankfully the Clearwater Marine Aquarium strives to continuously educate their visitors on the importance of their mission.

David Yates

Clearwater aquarium is a Marine Life Rescue Center in Clearwater Beach Florida. We really involved in five different things. We're involved in the rescue. We have the release of marine life. Education, conservation, research, and inspiration. Really about animals rescuing marine life. Trying to get them well get them back in the wild when you're sick or injured. Also then telling their story to the human side. Bringing kids who wanted to connect to the animal stories. We're about marine life but also about kids and people at the same time.

Colleen

Okay girls, the cool thing about this place is this is actually a working hospital. They rescue a lot of sea turtles here. Look at this was a sea turtle, Donkey Kong was his name. He was wrapped in line and it ate a piece of a balloon he thought it was food. You got to be really careful with the environment. Don't release balloons they can think it's food. Good thing we got a hospital here. It all turns out and went back to the wild. All right, keep going.

David Yates

Marine life protection is a big part of our work and ocean debris is a major major major problem. Eight million tons of plastic, for example, goes into the ocean every year 8 million tons and 80% that comes from the land and animals ingest that. They get caught in that. The number one thing people can do is when they're in the ocean when they're in the waters in the rivers where ever you're at. Just don't litter. Be smart about what you put in and what you don't put in the water. Protect where they're at and respect there as their house and their home in that sense.

Colleen

As part of one of the aquariums paid programs visitors not only have a chance to see these majestic animals but even feed some of them too. We chose to feed the pelicans.

Kaelyn Tharp

Station. All right, Collen, you want to come out first?

Colleen

Yes, perfect.

Kaelyn Tharp

One two three, perfect. Very nice. Thank you so much. I'm going to give you a fish and toss it just like that. A little bit closer. One two three, perfect. One more, one two three. Nice, cool.

Colleen

It was a pretty cool experience. Can everybody do that here?

Kaelyn Tharp

Yes anybody can sign up for our programs. We don't have any age limit but yes anyone can. We have limited spots because we have so many meals to fwwd throught the day.

Colleen

If you want to do it just sign up?

Kaelyn Tharp

Yes, I'd say sign up early.

Colleen

This is definitely worth it.

Kaelyn Tharp

Yes, I think so too.

Colleen

Thank you so much.

Kaelyn Tharp

You're very welcome and you girls.

Colleen

After the pelicans were fed and happy we headed downstairs to see the sea turtles and meet a pretty knowledgeable scuba diver. Look at this, hello

laughs

Colleen

. Oh, she's blowing kisses. Oh my god, She is writing. How does she write in the water? Welcome to CMA. How long do turtles live for? That's Keelin's question. That's cool. Look at there. We just asked the turtle a question and it just came out. What does it say?

Keelin

Sea turtles can live to 80 to 100 years.

Colleen

Wow, that's a long time. Let's blow here kisses goodbye. Ready? The Clearwater Marine Aquarium doesn't miss an opportunity to engage their guests and allow them to interact with the animals. You can even pet the stingrays. Even if you can't pet all the animals this aquarium ensures that you still get up close and personal. Portraying themselves in the film Dolphin Tale and Dolphin Tale Two are a pair of dolphins that people come from miles away to see just like we did. Oh my god, they're right by the window. That's Winter and Hope they're famous. Look at that they're coming right up to the window. Oh my goodness. Hi.

chuckles

Colleen

What do you think of this? I don't think I've ever seen anything like this before. You can actually see their eyes. Oh my goodness. I'm in love.

laughter

Colleen

This is awesome you guys.

Say goodbye Shea

Bye.

Keelin

Bye.

Colleen

Actually let's just go see them upstairs. Okay? All right let's go. Winter at home. Oh my god, do you see this?

John Widick

Hi guys. Good. How are you? Welcome. One of the animal care specialist. I've worked with Winter and Hope every day. Do you have any questions about them?

Colleen

Well, we want to know their story.

John Widick

Got you. Basically, in all three of our dolphins have similar stories. All three of them were orphaned under one year of age and that's the reason why they're not releasable. Winter has another reason as well and is that she lost her tail flukes. Basically what happened was when she was found, she was entangled in the ropes of crab trap and if something close too tight on the body parts for them as well as well us, it can lose blood flow, loose oxygen. Her tail fell off a few days after her rescue. So winter and you can see what going on over here. Winter does a good job getting around without her prosthetic tail. In fact, her prosthetic tail which is famous for having is not for mobility. It is to exercise the muscles that she's not using enough. She has muscle atrophy. Muscles if you don't use them you lose them. She has them when she's not going up and down all day with her peduncle. The part of her tail she still has. She does get exercise in that way. That up and down motion when she wears her prosthetic tail. It's very important for medical reasons. However, not for mobility the way like a prosthetic leg on a human it would be but not to say that it's not extremely important because it is for overall health.

David Yates

The world hope is a wall that has a select number of letters we got from kids telling us how you want to inspire them for a really tough medical challenge in their life. So we put up these letters and guests can actually come to watch and read these letters and see in their own handwriting what these kids have gone through. Now one of the darkest stories inspired them.

Colleen

There's no question. A Clearwater vacation is incomplete without a trip to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

David Yates

My goal for any guest especially kids in their walkways should be inspired and educated. Educated number one on marine life the issues facing the ugly oceans with marine debris and those things. Also inspired by this overcoming animal stories. I think every kid needs a little bit hope in them. They walk out educated and inspired. We've done our job.

Colleen

If fishing is your game, there's hardly a better place than Clearwater. Known as the grouper capital of the wild. Although we didn't get a chance to go fishing ourselves, we decide to round out our first day in Clearwater with a delicious fish dinner at Cooters. A local kitchen catching cooks hot spot. The girls and I are even in for a special treat.

Misty Wells

Hi guys.

Colleen

Hey we're here. Oh, nice to meet you.

Misty Wells

You too.

Colleen

These is great. This is my daughter and my niece.

Misty Wells

Nice to meet you.

crosstalk

Misty Wells

Welcome to Clearwater.

Colleen

Thank you.

Misty Wells

We're in the grouper of capital of the world here in Clearwater. We're not sure, about 20 miles today, we cought an amazing red grouper and we're going to have a really good dinner tonight. It's going to be awesome.

Colleen

Oh, my god so awesome.

Misty Wells

Best fish you can ever eat.

Colleen

What we do with this?

I don't know because-- Misty Wells

Well, I handed it over to our amazing server and she's going to take it into the kitchen and cook it up like three different ways and give us a great dinner.

Colleen

Wow, Thank you. That is great. I don't even know how to cook. This is a mum's dream.

Misty Wells

I know. No cooking. You get to have fun and go catching. You don't have to do any cooking or cleaning.

Patrick Jones

People will bring their fresh catch to Cooters right off the boat. We'll de-bone it for them as long as the fish is clean. What we have here today is a little bit of grouper that our guests have brought. Having fish come right of your boat caught by your hands and cooked by us. It's a great way to enjoy time with your family without having to worry about any of the mess. You just get the fun part.

Colleen

When I grew up, I saw a lot of men fishing. I don't think I ever saw a woman but my dad taught me and took me fishing. How did you start this?

Misty Wells

My dad actually took me fishing as well and that's really where I created the love of just being an outdoor and going fishing. Because we would camp out on the beach and fish all night overnight. I love living here in Clearwater. I was actually born and raised here. It's really just a natural fit to be a fisherman and not only go out and catch fish for myself but take other girls and other ladies with me to experience the joy.

Colleen

Oh, wow, that looks good. Is these what you caught?

Misty Wells

These is the grouper that I caught today and it's a great tasty fish. It's very mild and flaky. So you're hard pressed to find anybody that doesn't love.

crosstalk

Colleen

This is a grouper capital of the world.

Misty Wells

It is.

Colleen

More grouper caught here than anywhere else

crosstalk

Misty Wells

Than anywhere elsewhere in the world right in here in Clearwater in Pinellas County.

Colleen

You will hardly find fresher fish then straight from the ocean to your table and it tastes even better when shared with family and friends. What will you say?

Misty Wells

Well, great drinks and great fishing.

Colleen

Done. Fisher women. With so much to do and see in Clearwater, it's hard to know what to do next and who better to tell us about the city than the mayor himself.

George Crefekos

There's never going to be a dull moment when you're Clearwater. Clearwater is that place that you can bring your family. You will feel safe. You will feel welcome and most importantly, you will feel that you're on holiday but you're still at home. We want to consider ourselves as your second family.

Colleen

Just a short trolley ride from the beach is Clearwater's bustling downtown. Filled with entertainment, shopping and a variety of restaurants. For an evening out on the town, taking a show in the capital theatre and afterward head to the Clear Sky Cafe in Cleveland. Adults can even present their theater ticket at Clear Sky for a free drink. To kick off our second day of vacation, we chose to hop aboard the Jolly Trolley. There's tonnes of ways to get on Clearwater but today we're taking the Jolly Trolley. Are you guys ready for a jolly good time?

Shea

Nice try.

laughter

Keelin

I don't know.

Colleen

I'm trying, okay? I thought it was pretty good. The Jolly Trolley is free to the public and runs seven days a week. To hop on, just look for the jolly trolley street signs around Clearwater. Not only does the Jolly trolley get you where you need to go, but it also doubles as a tour of Clearwater, not bad. The Jolly trolley opened in 1982 and to this day welcomes riders with its vintage charm. Each ride is like a tour of Clearwater with a knowledgeable driver who doubles as a concierge on wheels. As a parent who does a lot of driving, it's nice to be chauffeured once in a while. It's so pretty over there. Don't forget to tip your driver. If you're looking for a little more flexibility with your transportation, you can't go wrong with fun ride rentals. Located beneath the edge hotel of Mandalay, fun ride rentals offers gas and assortment from mini-electric cars to Segway and even bikes. For those looking to explore Clearwater and get a little exercise, grab a surrey bike and hit the sidewalks. Surrey bikes can seat anywhere from one to four people are easy and fun way to avoid traffic and explore the shoreline. After a day of venturing around Clearwater, we're ready to take it at Thrasher's game at spectrum fields. There's nothing quite like a baseball game on a summer evening to rekindle that childhood nostalgia. I love being a minor league baseball game because you really feel like you're part of the game. Don't you think so?

Shea

Yes.

Keelin

Yes.

Colleen

Awesome. Let's go get some food. You're hungry? We began our evening with an all-American baseball staple, the hot dog. Hot dogs at a baseball game are tough to beat but our evening was about to get even better. We were asked to throw the legendary first pitch.

background talk

Colleen

My God. Whatever.

Male Participant

Good job. Good job.

Colleen

After Keelin's pitch, we grab our seats and let the games begin. Tonight it's playoffs. The Clearwater Thrashers versus the Daytona Tortuga's.

John Timberlake

The Clearwater Thrashers are a minor league team of class A advanced minor league team from the Phillies minor league system. We're one of seven teams that actually feeds players into Philadelphia or that's the goal as our players develop. They come through the Phillies system and we're one of those seven minor league teams affiliated with the Phillies.

Colleen

Another great thing about minor league games, they've got tons of activities for kids from bouncing houses to face paintings. They can have fun and we can watch the game, not bad. Not just the kids who get to play the games. Before long I'm back on the field for a chance to win some cash. I'm a little nervous.

Male Participant

Two chances for $140.

Colleen

In the middle hole.

Male Participant

In the middle hole.

Colleen

I might have missed the first shot but I still have one more chance. The more the crowd cheers me up, the closer I get to move to the hole for that second shot.

Male Participant

You got this?

Colleen

I got this.

crowd cheering

Colleen

I give those baseball players a lot of credit. Even though I may not be ready to be a future Philly, my girls and I were still having a great evening.

Speaker 10

I love coming to into the Thrasher's game it's a great place to take the kids and it's fun. It's a good place to come.

Speaker 11

I like coming to the Thrasher's game because of the hot dogs.

Female Participant

We like coming here because she can run around, play and there's lots of other kids here. She always has a good time.

Colleen

Although they say it doesn't matter if you win or lose. It was pretty cool to see the Threshers win that night. What made it even better, was sharing that experience with my family. No one across the United States has one of the best beaches in America. There's no question that Clearwater Beach is as beautiful as it is famous. Located on a Barrier Island. Clearwater Beach is a three-mile stretch of soft white sand and calm waves.

Patrick Brafford

Clearwater Beach. Well, what's not to say it's a beautiful place. It's one of the leading destinations. Recently we've been recognized for being one of the best beaches in the U.S. It has a lot to offer. One of the biggest things that in my position as a watershed supervisor is we offer year-round lifeguards. For a beach, that is- we put such a high priority on safety, cleanliness and being attractive to the public. We do offer the public safety the lifeguards 365 years seven days a week. Ultimately, our job to be proactive to enforce ordinances but at the same time try to get to people and educate them before they put yourself in a harmful situation. We have a beach flag warning system. These flags are flown on top of each every tower. There's also a chart on the back of these towers that tell you what the flags mean. Each flag represents a water condition whether it's dangerous or whether it's calm. What that does is it gives you a sense of safety for families, for children, whoever comes to visit our beach. We provide safety in a nice atmosphere for our visitors.

Colleen

We couldn't wait to check it out. To give us a behind the scenes look at what makes Clearwater Beach such a must visit location. I got to speak with Lisa Chandler, known to locals as The Queen of the sugar sand. Today, I'm on the beach with Lisa Chandler and she is named The Queen of the sugar sand. How did you get a title like that?

Lisa

I believe it started probably about six years ago. I think we created an event called the Pier 60 sugar sand festival. It takes place every April. We create in our art exhibit, built out of what we consider ClearWater beaches number one assets which are our sugar sand. The reason why it's named the sugar sand festival is for decades people have referred to the consistency of our sand being sugar like.

Colleen

It's like sugar. It's gorgeous. So bright and beautiful. It's really soft too.

Lisa

It's very cool to the touch. We've got a special treat in store for you. Patrick is here from the team Fantastic. He's actually going to show you the tips, tricks, and trades of the masterful art of sand sculpting here on Clearwater Beach.

Colleen

They're going to love this, this is going to be great.

Lisa

It's going to be great.

Colleen

Okay, maybe after all this I can join the contest, right?

Lisa

You could.

Colleen

I don't think so. It wasn't long before we found sandcastles sculptor Patrick Harsch, working in his element. Hi, are you Patrick?

Patrick

Hi, guys welcome to Clearwater Beach.

Colleen

Hi. This is great. I heard you're going to give us some tips on building a sandcastle.

Patrick

Let me show you all the tips, tricks, and techniques.

Kelly

All right that sounds great.

Patrick

The big thing with sand sculpting is, you need the sand wet. If you don't have the sand wet it's not going to stick together. We try to pile up a bunch of dry sand it just fluffs off and runs on. I always say go down by the water when you're building a sand sculpture at the beach. Finish up the quick little castle we're making here. Show you how we'll make a make a bridge. A lot of times, you have a motor on your castle when you're all done and bridges nice. Cut down in there. You want to get the sand very wet. You can almost can't get it too wet. But nice and mixed. We're going to take that. We're going to pack it on top of the cup, the head right on top there. This is the ancient trail. Smooth that out. Throughout the back, I'll help smooth out. Just cutting down. We're going to pull this cup out of the bottom here. That gives us a little bridge, we got a nice little arch you can make it more dramatic if you wanted to.

Colleen

What do you like best about sandcastle making?

Patrick

I would say that how fast it is and the fact that it's not going to be there tomorrow. Because it's like you do it and you've done it. Take a picture of it otherwise, it's gone.

Colleen

Temporary. Does that bother you or is that-?

Patrick

No, it's what I love about it.

Colleen

From shelling to boogie boarding to just relaxing and soaking up the sun. Be sure to take a least a full day to enjoy Clearwater Beach. There are so many things to do here from water sports, to jet skis, to shelling. His parents were always so busy that sometimes it's just awesome to relax and I'm going to get pretty done good of it today. If you get hungry after a day in the water. Head over to the barefoot beach house for some ice cream or a snack. For a perfect end to a perfect day. Enjoy a stroll along the beach. For my lazy day at the beach to exploring the local city seeing. We couldn't have asked for a better Clearwater vacation. We learned about the importance of Marine Rescue and Rehabilitation at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. Indulge in some freshly caught grouper with local fishing celeb Misty Wells. The Threshers win one for the home team explored the city on the jolly trolley. Learn the art of sandcastle sculpting and spend a fun and relaxing day at the beach. Thanks for watching family travel. I'm Collen Kelly enjoy making memories on your next family vacation. Funding provided by.

Narrator

This show is sponsored by State Farm. When the unexpected happens. State Farm is here to help life go right.

Colleen

For more information on upcoming destinations and projects visit familytravelck.com. Follow us on Twitter. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and check us out on Snapchat. We'd love to hear from you.