One of the greatest aspects of our adventure is seeing family that we haven’t seen in decades. We were able to see my aunt in St. Petersburg and the visit was wonderful. We took a stroll down memory lane and visited the gift shop my parents used to own at John’s Pass. We had our first dolphin sighting, which everyone was really excited about. During our stay we also took a trolley ride and the driver was hilarious, so everyone had a blast. The pool was a little cool 
as a cold snap had just come through, but there wasn’t any snow and the kids did brave going in for a little swim. It was great to get to reconnect with family and we were happy to be able to see my aunt.
Since the age of 17 I have been an artists and the reason I became one was because of Salvador Dali. Normally we visit free museums or ones that Miles gets us into for free with his ASTC membership, but we made a 
special exception for the Dali Museum. Originally we had intended to go to the reduced price evening program, but our muffler fell off and we were delayed while I reattached it. Yes you heard me right. I said our muffler fell off, which is strange, but after driving 23,000 miles on a single trip you have to expect somethings to need fixed on your tow vehicle. Luckily for me I have a great wife and she insisted we fork out the dough to visit the Dali Museum another day. The bad part was that we had to cut Fort Desoto out of our agenda for the stay, but it is impossible to see everything in an area when you only have a few days to stay. Wandering around the gallery looking at original works of art, up close, was surreal to 
me. It was worth every penny spent and even the kids enjoyed the visit. The museum had a scavenger hunt and after marking off works of art on a paper, they were allowed to pick a prize from the prize bin. Since we have a tiny house, we picked out a tiny picture to add to our walls. Now our house is our home because every home we have ever lived in has a Dali on the wall!
While we were in the area we also visited the Museum of Science and Industry. This place was a giant museum and we didn’t give ourselves enough time to see it all, but we did get to see some neat things while we 
wandered around. The kids really got a kick out of the going to the moon exhibit. First you went through doors that were made up to look like an airlock. Then you stood in this room with a video of the Earth receding playing on the floor, to make it feel like you were in a rocket going to the moon. When the other airlock doors opened you were ‘on the moon’. Journey and Trip loved driving the moon rover to collect rock samples. Everyone had fun at all the work stations and Miles really enjoyed 
working at the moon hatchery with the fish. After that exhibit the robots were the second favorite. Each museum has something different from all the others though and even when the same exhibits show up at multiple museums, we learn more each time.
Yes the museums were fun and we loved walking on the beach, but the family visits are the true highlights of our trip. We don’t post pictures of who we visit out of respect for their privacy, since this is a public website. That doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy every minute we get with family. From Washington to Florida we have family all over this great country and getting to see them on this adventure makes all the sacrifices worth it!
Here are links to some of the places we visited
The Dali Museum
Johnspass
Museum of Science and Industry
St. Petersburg Trolley
