Have we got a surprise for you! TradeWinds has just opened Splash Island Water Park … a 15,750 square foot floating playground for all ages. Located just off our beautiful white sandy beach in the tranquil Gulf of Mexico directly behind the Island Grand Resort, it’s the perfect addition to our popular, three-story High Tide Slide.
Spalsh Island Water Park includes inflatable slides, floating trampolines and more. Kids can whoosh into the water, scale the climbing wall and bounce to wild abandon in the cave of Summit Express, or create their own games in the interior splash zones of the multi-tiered Jungle Joey. For more creative play, the Rockit is an inflatable island where you can rock and roll for team fun, and the Revolution has three routes to the peak and a giant see-saw. The splashmats and water runways connect play stations, allowing guests to splash, run and bounce between all the zones. Beyond the play stations, Fiesta Loungers offer a place to cool off, immersed in the warm Gulf waters, or you can relax, swim and watch all the antics of the younger kids from a floating Island Raft. TradeWinds takes the beach experience to a whole new level with Splash Island Water Park, offering more creative play options for kids of all ages, and floating relaxation areas for adults, too!
Come and join us for some fun in the sun and splash your way to some wonderful TradeWinds memories!
Splash Island Water Park!
Pciture Perfect Beach Contest
Share a special memory of your visit to St. Pete Beach and help us showcase our beautiful beachfront by entering the Picture Perfect Beach Contest. Submit your photo or video for a chance to win a complimentary 2-night stay at the TradeWinds and a high definition camcorder or professional camera.
It’s easy and fun – be creative! Then get your friends and family to vote for your entry and you could be a winner. The top photo and video, based on number of votes, will be eligible to win, and all contestants will be invited to the Unveiling Event showcasing the top entries.
For every photo or video entry the TradeWinds will donate one dollar to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium (www.seewinter.com) to support their mission of restoring and preserving our marine environment.
The deadline to submit your photo or video is August 24 and voting begins on August 25, so visit PicturePerfectBeachContest.com to enter!
TradeWinds' New Look!
TradeWinds has a brand new look! Come check our our new website at www.justletgo.com and see all that our slice of paradise has to offer you and your family! With two award-winning gulf front properties on acres of white sand and sun soaked beaches, the classic beach vacation doesn’t get much better than this! The Island Grand and Sandpiper serve as a playground for children and adults alike. With a variety of dining and entertainment options, you won’t have to leave the resort to get everything you could ask for in a vacation. TradeWinds has something for everyone!
Local Spotlight: Egmont Key
Hello again blog-o-sphere! Long time no speak...er...write. We've been juggling some new and fantastically awesome projects here at the TradeWinds and haven't been able to keep up with posting news about all the awesomeness....
TOO MUCH AWESOMENESS!
As a nice-and-informative return to the blogging business we're getting our toes wet (again) with a feature about nearby Egmont Key. The key is a really great way to catch a glimpse of natural Florida habitats while learning about local history, collecting cool shells and snorkeling amongst the ruins of a Spanish-American War era fort. The marine life surrounding the key is also extremely interesting!
*Please don't hug the manatees! They seem hugable, yes, but they don't like it and we're almost positive it's against the law!*
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Egmont Key is a small island about 9.5 miles southwest of St. Pete Beach with a long and rich history. Excursion boats to Egmont depart right from the beach at TradeWinds Island Grand for some of the best snorkeling around.
In the early 19th century the waters surrounding Egmont Key played host to a quickly increasing number of shipping vessels and trade ships. The key is surrounded by shallows and sandbars making navigation of the waters extremely difficult. The resulting number of shipwrecks was enough to make congress take notice and commission the construction of a lighthouse.
The Egmont Key lighthouse was originally constructed in 1848 but was destroyed twice by hurricanes over the next 5 years. The current lighthouse stands 87 feet high and was reconstructed in 1858. Egmont Key was occupied by Confederate soldiers during the Civil War, but they were unable to hold the island. When the soldiers realized their defeat they fled the island and took with them the lens of the lighthouse. The Union navy seized the island to enforce their blockade and launched an unsuccessful bid to retrieve the lost lens that had been taken to Tampa by the Confederate soldiers. The lighthouse was finally repaired at the end of the war and returned to normal operation.
The construction of Fort Dade was completed on Egmont Key in 1906 during the Spanish-American War and functioned as a small community featuring electricity, homes, a movie theater and even a bowling alley. These structures are still standing on the key today!
Egmont Key was designated a National Wildlife Refuge and State Park 1974 and features some of the best wildlife viewing opportunities in the area. Decades of harsh weather and storms have eroded much of the land that once separated Fort Dade and the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Some of the fort's original structures have been submerged and have created artificial reefs in shallow water that are perfect for snorkeling!
The unique location of Egmont Key exposes its beaches to many types of marine life. An excellent selection of shells can be found on the key that can't be found anywhere else in the area. Dolphins and manatees also frequent the warm waters and sandbars surrounding the park.
Egmont Key is a beautiful example of natural Florida and the rich history that has created the area. The key is only accessible by boat and trips can be arranged by contacting our beach staff or Concierge on arrival at 727-363-2200 or visiting http://www.adventurecruise.net/.
*The information in this article was taken from the Florida State Parks Online Guide. For more information please visit http://www.floridastateparks.org/.
Written By:
Sarah Linthicum
eCRM Strategist
TradeWinds Island Resorts
Rays Watch Parties!
Hopefully you'll remember that, not very long ago, you were supposed to dust off your giant, foam finger to cheer on the Rays during spring training. Did you manage to find your beacon of team spirit in the closet under the Christmas decorations? We're willing to look the other way while you dig out your blue wig and body paint...but just this once.
These Rays parties are open to the public and parking is free. Check out the Rays Watch Party schedule below:
Sunday, April 26 – 3:30 p.m. – vs. Oakland Athletics
Thursday, May 7 – 6:30 p.m. – vs. New York Yankees
Sunday, June 7 – 12:30 p.m. – vs. New York Yankees
Sunday, July 19 – 1:40 p.m. – vs. Kansas City Royals
Sunday, August 30 – 12:30 p.m. – vs. Detroit Tigers
Sunday, September 13 – 1:00 p.m. – vs. Boston Red Sox
For more information please call (727) 367-6461
Sarah Linthicum
eCRM Strategist
TradeWinds Island Resort
Doing Your Part...
Going Green. You’ve heard it a lot lately. What exactly does it mean? I’ll tell you what it doesn’t mean:
Chili Dog + Roller Coaster ≠ Going Green
Green Beer + Leprechauns ≠ Going Green
Cleaning out your disgusting fish tank – when was the last time you did that??? ≠ Going Green
Tailgating at a Philadelphia Eagles game ≠ Going Green
“Going Green” is basically doing your part to reduce waste and increase the health of the planet and all the critters that reside on it (including us homosapiens). To give you a better idea, Wikipedia redirected me to the definition of “Environmentalism” when I searched for “Going Green” for this blog.
There is so much pressure these days to live, work and play “green” that we sometimes get a bit overwhelmed. That’s no reason to throw in the organic, all-natural, cruelty-free, pesticide-free, hand-woven-by-local-natives, cotton towel! There are lots of simple ways for you to make a difference without drastically changing your lifestyle. We’ll keep it brief because I know all that refined sugar and processed meat you’ve been eating has affected your attention span:
- Compact Fluorescent or energy saving light bulbs: Great things come in small packages! These little buggers last up to 10 times longer than regular light bulbs and use 75% less energy. Based on Energy Star’s calculations you could be saving 543 kilowatt hours of electricity…you could also be cutting down your CO2 emissions by a whopping 833 lbs.!
- Turn that tap off: Most people don’t really pay attention while going through their everyday routines like brushing their teeth. If you turn the water off while you brush you could save up to 1,825 gallons of H20 a year!
- Change the water temp: By changing your washer from warm to cold you can save somewhere in the range of 90% of the energy used if you had your washer set to just hot. What if everyone is the US made this switch? We could save the equivalent of 100,000 barrels of oil per day!
- Polystyrene containers are a no go: People often refer to the material as Styrofoam, though this terminology is incorrect. Polystyrene takes an extremely long time to decompose in a landfill, so opt for more environmentally friendly containers such as recyclable plastics, cardboard, or aluminum foil.
- MP3 Downloads: Downloading music is not only fun, it also makes mix CD’s a breeze to burn. About 45 tons of old N’Sync, Janet Jackson, and Alanis Morisette albums (ie obsolete CD’s) make their way into our landfills each month. And these days downloading the album is often cheaper than actually buying it.
- How cold is your fridge? The ideal temperature for your refrigerator is between 37 and 40 degrees and your freezer should be between 0 and 5 degrees. To check your fridge and freezer temps, put a thermometer in a glass of water and put it in the middle of your fridge overnight, and do the same for your freezer. You could be cutting up to 25% of your energy use by raising the temperatures.
- Dye your toilet water: What? Yep, dye your toilet water. Put some food coloring in the water that sits in the back tank of the toilet, and then wait around for 2 hours. Check the bowl water for any traces of the food coloring. If you see any color it means that the toilet’s flapper is leaking, and wasting water. You can get a new flapper at any hardware store and replacing it can save a lot of water. Toilet leaks are extremely wasteful, and can go through up to a gallon a minute. You could be saving up to 43,000 gallons a month by replacing a leaking toilet!
- Let the sun shine in…literally: Open your drapes and blinds in the winter to let in as much sunshine (and consequently heat) as possible. This will cut your heating costs up to 10%. In the summer be sure to block out as much sunlight as possible for the reverse effect – keeping your house dark and cool will save you a nice chunk of change on your air conditioning bill
I hope this simple list has inspired you to make some small changes around your home and in your life to “go green.” After all, caring about the earth isn’t just for hippies anymore!
References:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/homestyle/10/23/22.go.green/index.html
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/energy-environment-2007/tips_environmental_main_a1.asp
Written By
Sarah Linthicum
eCRM Strategist
TradeWinds Island Resorts
The History of St. Patty's Day
St. Patty's Day is in two weeks. How about a serious, informational blog about the history of this yearly celebration of green beer, tiny men, crazy parades, and that green river we've all heard so much about? Thank you History Channel (History.com) for your seemingly endless, brain-liquifying database of historical facts... Without further ado:
This holiday was not always so welcomed in the US until the mid-nineteenth century when the potato famine occurred in Ireland forcing close to a million poor, Catholic Irish to flee from starvation and begin their lives anew in the US. When the first Irish immigrants celebrated St. Patrick’s Day they were viewed as loud, drunken fools by the upper classes and shunned. But the Irish soon realized their strength in numbers and the Irish vote or “green machine” began to be viewed by politicians as an important voting sector that could influence the outcome of elections. In 1948 President Truman attended the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City.
St. Patrick’s Day was still observed as a religious holiday in Ireland up until recently. Even into the 1970’s Irish law prohibited pubs from opening on March 17th. In 1995 the Irish government decided to use the holiday as a catalyst for tourism for the country, and boasted St. Patrick’s Day as a great celebration with only minor religious undertones.
The dyeing of the Chicago River is perhaps one of the most famous examples of the St. Patrick’s Day celebration in the US. The river was originally dyed to locate illegal sewage outlets, but the color was apt for the holiday and the city decided in 1962 to continue to release 100 pounds of green vegetable dye into the river each year. In recent years, with the consideration for environmental hazards caused by the dye, only forty pounds of dye are added – enough to keep the river green for a few hours on St. Patrick’s Day.
Resource: http://www.history.com/content/stpatricksday/history-of-the-holiday
Written by:
Sarah Linthicum
eCRM Strategist
TradeWinds Island Resorts
