Things to Do in Saint Petersburg

Bored with the staid security of corporate life, Eloyne and Bradley Erickson founded Grand Central Stained Glass & Graphics in 2006, dedicating themselves to bringing their love of fine art to the community. Focusing on decorative glass, the shop sells beautiful pieces and commissioned work, intensively collaborating with customers to create unique, colorful doors, decorative windows, or whimsical alien-observation tanks. Its regular classes teach pupils how to fuse and color glass in small workshop settings, and jewelry-making sessions teach aspiring artisans how to use wire to craft custom adornments. The shop’s giclée printing services reproduce photos and art with an Epson Stylus Pro 9800 printer, which obsessively corrects color until clients are satisfied with each piece's final balance.

A pirate ship hangs suspended in midair. Styrofoam pellets vibrate to sound frequencies. Tennis balls rocket toward the ceiling. Plastic robots jolt to life. Recipient of a 2008 MetLife Foundation award for promising practices, Great Explorations Children's Museum incites creativity and inventiveness from visitors of all ages with a constantly rotating lineup of interactive exhibits that fill 18,000 square feet with touch, light, and sound. Pulley towers allow children to hoist themselves into the air, and a mock fire station thrills wee visitors with a fire engine, child-sized firefighters' gear, and microscopic dalmatians. Museum guides lead lesson programs in a multidisciplinary style, though visitors can also find the friendly professionals and their orange polo shirts bouncing between exhibits while performing science experiments, dancing, and playing music.

Themed events let visitors discover the museum's potential through focuses such as "Superhero Saturday," "Slightly Spooky Boo!seum," and "Winter Wonderland," and seasonal camps explore annual topics such as the life cycle of a bunsen burner.

Located in the shadow of the Marriott hotel, Clearwater Jet Ski and Parasail outfits beachgoers with the equipment to safely speed across or sail above the waves. Its three-seater jet skis kick up massive wakes as they roar over the sapphire surface of the water, and tandem kayaks trundle along. Staff-operated speedboats tow parasails behind them, passengers getting a seagull’s view of the waves and a firm understanding of how silly the dog paddle looks from a distance.

The images of sharks and turtles swim across a 44-foot-tall mural created by Guy Harvey to welcome patrons into Surf Style's 55,000-square-foot shopping center, which the Tampa Bay Times called to “a baby Grand Central Station.” The artist's designs adorn an entire section of the center's racks of surf clothing, while other areas stock gear such as skateboards and skimboards.

Elsewhere, the sounds of crashing water and cheering bystanders lure shoppers to the FlowRider, a self-contained wave-pool machine that mimics some of Mother Nature's biggest waves. The machine incorporates aspects of surfing, snowboarding, and skateboarding and allows boarders to execute aerial maneuvers straight out of a pogo stick's wildest dreams. Visitors stow their cars in Surf Style’s six-level parking garage as they shop in the store or ride waves at nearby Clearwater Beach.

Sky Pirate Parasail's U.S. Coast Guard–licensed captains slip through John's Pass between Madeira Beach and Treasure Island while towing parasailers who glide under kaleidoscopic chutes tethered up to 1,200 feet in the air. After fastening their passengers, who range from school-aged kids to grandparents, into a secure harness, they fill the parachute's canopy with air and shuttle the skyward rider over the saltwater waves for an aerial jaunt. As the captain slackens the line and traces the coastline from offshore, the parasailer floats over the beach, the dolphins, and the gelatinous blob monster waving at sunbathers.

Established in November of 2011, Clearwater Beach Uncorked invites established chefs, vintners, and brewers from near and far to congregate for a weekend of sun, fun, and fine dining. The festival is always ripe for culinary adventures: in its inaugural year, the beach featured such sights as a “sand castle” made out of cake and rice-crispie-treat crumbs, a flash mob, and countless realizations that, despite popular opinion, vegetables aren’t yucky after all.