MN to FL Road Trip - Disney & Clearwater Beach

Sarah Mell
Apr 8, 2019
7 min read

Updated: Apr 2, 2024

Published 2019

A vacation that ends with the 4 year old crying and saying “it's so fun here” and “I will just live here forever!” must have been a great one.

This adventure begins in Minnesota and ventures south to Nashville where we took a sharp left turn over to the Smokey Mountains.

Disclaimer: Michael won’t smile for pics but he had a blast on the trip!

What stood out the most compared to mountains out west is the different trees and the deep grooves running through them. They were not as big as other mountains we have seen but their beauty was found in these deep ravines with hardwoods in abundance. Large vines were discovered when we stopped to explore the moss covered bridge. Although this route added “a few” extra miles to the trip I felt it was worth it.

Side Note: Driving to the Smokey Mountains we drove thought Pigeon Forge and has been added to the list of places to come back to. Lots of attractions and fun things to do with the kids!

Upon leaving the mountains we drove into South Carolina…I fell asleep but I guess that is the way we went. LOL…I woke up when we arrived at our hotel I booked for the night just north of Savannah, Georgia.

The weather when we woke up to in Savannah felt magical after leaving a very cold Minnesota spring. Our first actual destination was to be Orlando but we had the day still to get there so we made the most of it! We drove into the Savannah historic district. Having never seen Spanish moss hanging from trees in real life this in itself was amazing to see! We drove around a bit and then parked and walked a small portion of what they call the “22 Squares” which I figured out are like little parks throughout the streets that sometimes feature historical figures and fountains.

I have to say I use Pinterest to read other peoples Blogs about areas they visit. In doing so I discovered a must on the list…. an ice cream shop. And by the line that was waiting for it to open I figured it wasn’t just one persons opinion.

Then after ice cream why not hit up the cemetery! Funny sounding I know but Savannah is the home to a historic cemetery made popular by the Novel “Midnight in the Garden Good and Evil” so we figured we would check it out. It was actually quite beautiful with trees and flowers everywhere you look. We were able to just drive around and check it out. Not that the kids were overly impressed but I thought it was neat to see and they were chill for the ride since we had just done a lot of walking.

Before leaving this area one more historic stop at a bar that was established before our country was. It is a pirate bar if you cant tell from the pics.

There was no time to waste though and we quickly got though our site seeing in Historic Savannah and made our way over to Tybee Island just East of there. We were recommended to eat at Sting Rays so thats just what we did and it was great! After a good lunch we headed to the coast. This being the first time our kids have seen the ocean it was pretty special. The waves were big and they loved playing in them. My favorite moment here was looking back at Michael as we were leaving and he was gazing back at the waves one last time.

Just south of there are other islands to explore. We made a quick stop on St. Simons Island just to see the Avenue of the Oaks. It was different than I expected but a great stop. You actually drive in a big loop around the trees and get out and take pics.

Last but not least for the day was a stop at Jekyll Island. I really wanted to see the driftwood beach there and it didn’t disappoint. I think the kids would agree we could have spent more time there. It was relaxing and a beautiful place to stop.

After this we said goodbye to Georgia and headed to Orlando. We got in later than we wanted but the extra stops were well worth it. We had to get right to bed though because our first time at DISNEY WORLD WAS IN THE MORNING! Not sure who was more excited…me or the kids!

It was the first time for all of us at Disney and it was nothing short of the magic you hear about. We had a great day without expectations of what we would get to do or how it would go and the kids did great waiting in the lines. They each had their own gift cards to spend and if they wanted a treat had to use that as well. It worked out great. Nobody was ever asking me for anything! It was a buys day there with beautiful weather. I am happy we watched the parade. Scarlett was adorable waving at and talking to all the characters! It truly was a wonderful day with great memories.

KEEPING IT REAL: I feel this is a perfect time note that not all things on a big long family trip are “magical” but there are so many more great parts of it to focus on. While my pics all show a perfect time what they don’t show is three kids getting a cold while we were driving and coughing and blowing their nose the whole ride, or Scarlett getting a fever on the way down, or EmmyLou waking up the next morning after Disney at 5:30 am sick and dehydrated from the day before and not keeping water down all the next day. But we don’t let it take away from any of it. The first day in Clearwater Scarlett was wearing sunscreen and got her face burnt still and woke up with it all puffy the next day…. so yeah thats why you see her in a hat for a lot of the pics. LOL So there I am…keeping it real.

Next on the agenda was our vacation rental in Clearwater Beach where we would spend the next week. I have to say it was our first time renting a house on vacation but it definitely won’t be our last! Got in kinda late that night but the kids hit the beach right away the next day. A dolphin cruise went by and was our first siting of dolphins which was exciting!

First day there was spent on the beach while the guys went on a fishing trip. It was great feeling the sunshine and the kids getting to swim while we were constantly on them to make sure they kept sunscreen on and to wear their rash guards. I feel they got the point because we didn’t have to remind them after that day!

The guys caught 70 small fish that day and we tried it two different nights cooked different ways. It was fantastic!

The next day we headed to Honeymoon Island State Park just north of Clearwater. The plan was to take the ferry over to Caladesi State Park but it started to rain shortly after we arrived. The kids still swam for awhile and some shells were found but we didn’t last too long there.

Lunch was in order after that so we decided to eat at Frenchy’s! It was recommended to us by a few people and that the Grouper Sandwich and She Crab Soup were a must.

The next day rained for most of the morning but looked to clear up in the afternoon so us girls decided to take a girls day and drive while it was raining down to Anna Maria Island. And boy did it rain and were there some deep puddles on that island when we got there! It was well worth it tho as the lunch was amazing. I had my first fish taco…yes it was my first and it was AMAZING! Had mine with grouper which is kind of the signature in the area. Ate with a beach view then went and painted sand dollars at the cutest little place with Bubble Ice Cream which was also AMAZING! We got one for the road too just to make sure.

And of course back down to the beach that night…

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we had great weather with no rain during the day. Wednesday we had another beach day right in Clearwater where we got to watch a school of bait fish come close to shore and there was a feeding frenzy. That afternoon went for ice cream and walked back and later went to the pier for their nightly entertainment and to watch the sunset.

Thursday we got a late start on the day but I decided I HAD to see Egmont Key which is only reached by boat south of St. Pete Beach. It worked out perfect though. We missed the 11:00 ferry ride so had to wait for the 2:00 one. So we went and explored Fort Desoto State Park and the remnants of the fort there, had some ice cream of course. It was by far my favorite thing we did on this trip. The island is so untouched compared to the main beaches. There is an old lighthouse there and whats left of Fort Dade. We saw a turtle hiding while walking to the beach which was exciting. We snorkeled around a fallen boat docking area and found some great shells and a couple of fish were caught! It was just a fun area. But then we went to leave and the turtles were on the move all over the island! We probably saw a dozen turtles as we made our way back to the other side. It was so fun. And then to top off the day there were around 9 dolphins close to the ferry on the way back and they put on a show. What a great day it was.

Friday we unfortunately had to start the packing up process but we still found time to have fun. Went to the beach in the early afternoon and then Michael got to go parasailing which he loved! What an awesome experience. Way braver than I am!