Clearwater Beach

Happy Monday!

We have been in Clearwater Beach, Florida for a little over 24 hours and I feel like a whole new person. I tell Brad every time we hit the roundabout on the island, all my worries fade and my creativity sparks. We assume this is because Clearwater Beach has been our vacation of choice (home away from home) for over 10 years. Brad loves it so much he even look at going to college down here. Luckily, my big mouth said I would miss him and he ended up in Southern Missouri. Not the same view, but a much better commune.

All week I will include you on our vacation from the food to the transportation, join me!

First, where to stay?! I am bias and always stay at Surfside. Over the years, I have come to love two units in particular- 401 and 302. If you click on the links below, you can see both units and the view.

The overarching reason is, Surfside is on north beach which still retains it sleepy beach town feel. The rentals are longer up here and the building are lower. The beaches are not as crowded and you can step out your front door and be on the beach! I, of course, love south beach  for the hustle and bustle of the pier and festivals, but I prefer to stay up north. When I bask in the beautify God has created, I don’t want to see sky scrapers. I want to see rolling waves, giggling children and dolphins jumping in the background. All of which can be appreciated a little easier on the quainter side of the beach. If you are looking for a family oriented beach, look no further….Clearwater Beach is it!

Surfside Unit 302

• Remodeled in 2013…literally the week before I got engaged on the beach and stayed there
• Beautiful kitchen which inspired my own home renovations
• Close enough to the beach to feel as part of it, but have a private balcony to people watching 🙂
• Sleeps 6, check it out- http://www.beachresortcondos.com/Clearwater-Beach-Rentals-Surfside-302.php

Surfside Unit 401

• Remodeled in 2014
• Beautify new kitchen, bathrooms and flooring
• Gorgeous view that goes from tip to tip of the island
• Sleeps 8 people, check it out- http://www.beachresortcondos.com/Clearwater-Beach-Rentals-Surfside-401.php

Now that I have given you housing, it is on to the part I love most. Where to eat? If you are like me, you diet for weeks on end, trying to lose that last bit of weight before a bikini. So when you get here, you have to splurge and eat all the local specialties. I believe you can’t make or break a bikini body in a week. You will see me splurge on drinks, desert and fried fish all week long. Come Sunday, I will get back into my Missouri groove and eat healthy.

Every trip for us, starts with the same Restaurant, the Original Frenchy’s Cafe which opened in 1981 and the start of something great. It stemmed from a french-speaking Canadian, Frenchy, falling in love with Clearwater Beach. After 10 years of working in other people’s restaurants, he started his empire on Clearwater Bach which now includes 4 locations on the island, 1 restaurant on the mainland, a boutique hotel on the inner coastal, a fishing company, and a cute shop.

Each version of Frenchy’s is slightly different. You can find the one that fits you best. Do you want to eat on the beach, inner coastal, grab a quick bite on south beach? Don’t worry Frenchy’s has you covered. If you eat at all of them, you even get a free Frenchy’s shirt! For me, Original Frenchy’s cafe will always be my favorite. It is a small storefront with wood panel walls and no more than 10 tables. It takes you back in time with warm smiles, fresh food and cheap cold beers if you do the beer of the month club. There is something special about this location, it was the first place I went when I discovered Clearwater Beach. It is always the first and last place on my list of eats in Clearwater Beach.

It was natural that we would hit it up at 10:30 on Sunday night. They close at 11 pm so we were cutting it close. We caught a cab from Tampa, set our bags down and started walking to Frenchy’s original which is only 5 blocks away. Brad and I walked through the familiar streets noticing how the island changes since we last visited. On north beach, change is much slower, and all of our favorites are still here. After our short stroll, we grabbed one of five tables outside and got our usual order. They taste even better than they look. These pictures are taken in the dark by a starving women so just imagine how great they look in person!

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After eating such an amazing dinner, it was off to bed and getting ready to wake up on the beach. To keep your vacation going, check out our first lunch at Bait House.