{"id":210564,"date":"2026-03-29T12:13:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T12:13:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/210564\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T12:13:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T12:13:12","slug":"i-never-knew-finding-myself-in-the-kitchen-on-holiday-could-be-so-much-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/210564\/","title":{"rendered":"I never knew finding myself in the ‘kitchen’ on holiday could be so much fun!"},"content":{"rendered":"

St. Pete-Clearwater on Florida’s gulf coast has it all \u2013 sun, sea and sport \u2013 offering so much more than a relaxing sunshine break, writes Rachel Beresford\"Clearwater<\/p>\n

Clearwater Beach in Tampa, Florida<\/p>\n

When I set off for St. Pete-Clearwater last month, I never thought I\u2019d end my visit in the kitchen!<\/p>\n

Located on Florida\u2019s gulf coast and boasting over 45 kilometres of white-sand beaches, I pictured myself basking in some much-needed sunshine and swimming in crystal clear waters.<\/p>\n

Naturally, that does happen \u2013 temperatures here reach up to a lovely 25 degrees in March so laying by the beach and cooling off in the sea is a pleasant pastime for us of Celtic descent \u2013 but I also found that St. Pete-Clearwater offers so much more than just relaxation.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Ryanair flight attendant names two best rows to book on planes<\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE: Swiss city of Lucerne will light up your life (literally!)<\/a><\/p>\n

At first glance, you\u2019d be forgiven for assuming this is where older generations go in their retirement. The vibe is cool and calm and the pace of life is seemingly far slower than the mile a minute we go here. Locals take leisurely strolls with their dogs from early morning or enjoy a brisk run.<\/p>\n

On our first morning, I felt a million miles \u2013 not just over 4,000! \u2013 away from the hustle and bustle of Dublin and, more importantly, the kitchen\u2026 Or so I thought!<\/p>\n

Landing in Tampa on February 28, we were just in time for a cracking weekend of sport across St. Pete-Clearwater.<\/p>\n

The Toronto Blue Jays were in town for spring training \u2013 the Canadian baseball team escape their harsh home weather conditions for sunnier climes, holding their training camp at TD Ballpark in Dunedin \u2013 and I was lucky enough to be one of thousands of revellers in the stands for their game against The Phillies.<\/p>\n

The Phillies train just down the way in BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater so this is a fierce rivalry \u2013 even among the two mayors. Tradition sees the losing mayor forced to wear the winning side\u2019s jersey.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never been a fan of red so on the day I chose to support the Blue Jays and, as Irish luck would have it, I ended up on the winning side.<\/p>\n

\"Rachel<\/p>\n

Rachel at TD Ballpark in Dunedin<\/p>\n

It wouldn\u2019t have dampened my spirits had I not been though \u2013 a day out at the ballpark is everything I expected and more. Rival fans mingled, mascots got the crowd amped up, hot dog and Cracker Jack (caramel-coated popcorn and peanuts mixed together in one bag, very American!) vendors shouted for sales much like the traders of Moore Street and there were smiling faces all round. What could be better?<\/p>\n

Well, a lot, it seems, in St. Pete-Clearwater.<\/p>\n

This was a visit of plenty of firsts for me, including finding myself in the kitchen on holiday!<\/p>\n

But this was no ordinary kitchen \u2013 in fact, despite having a serious competitive streak, this is the most fun I\u2019ve found myself having while in a kitchen. At home, I cook to eat, not for fun.<\/p>\n

And while finding yourself in the kitchen at St. Pete Shuffleboard Club is not supposed to be fun \u2013 the kitchen is the area behind the primary scoring zones called the \u201910-off\u2019 area where 10 points are deducted when landed in \u2013 I had a blast.<\/p>\n

\"St.<\/p>\n

St. Pete Shuffleboard Club<\/p>\n

We were given the rundown on the rules by club director Amy and the resident pro (no pressure!) and, after two games, while the only award I\u2019ll be winning is a participation medal, I picked up a new hobby that I never would have tried before my visit here.<\/p>\n

And that is the type of trip I love \u2013 somewhere that takes you to places you\u2019d have never dreamt of going before. Somewhere new and exciting.<\/p>\n

St. Pete-Clearwater offers that in spades.<\/p>\n

And nowhere is as exciting and new to the area than St. Pete Athletic where we headed for another first, my first \u2013 but absolutely not my last \u2013 game of pickleball. To say I am hooked is an understatement.<\/p>\n

Previously, I\u2019ve always been a \u2018couch\u2019 sports enthusiast in so far as I love watching sport rather than playing any. But pickleball is a game I can \u2013 and will \u2013 get onboard with.<\/p>\n

St. Pete Athletic is the newest addition to the St. Pete\u2019s sports scene and it is INCREDIBLE \u2013 a premier pickleball and panel club that feels exclusive but welcomes both members and non-members and even caters for those looking to work remotely in a space that will make you feel like you aren\u2019t working at all.<\/p>\n

\"St.<\/p>\n

St. Pete Athletic is the newest sporting addition to St. Pete<\/p>\n

As the fastest growing sport in the US, St. Pete offers a space where you can hone your pickleball skills while also doing so much more \u2013 there\u2019s a restaurant, a cocktail and coffee bar, private conference rooms, work spaces, a sports shop and gym. This is all in addition to the pickleball and padel courts.<\/p>\n

After a hearty lunch in the onsite Rose\u2019s Cafe (probably not so wise) we were put through our pickleball paces \u2013 and, while exhausting, this hour-lesson is the most fun I have had in years.<\/p>\n

The rules are, erm, complicated \u2013 there is a lot of math involved \u2013 but that almost adds to the fun of the game. As does winning \u2013 and one out of two ain\u2019t bad, right?<\/p>\n

The weekend we visited, the IndyCar Firestone Grand Prix was also taking place in St. Petersburg.<\/p>\n

This event dates back to 1985 \u2013 with Indy cars first competing in 2003 \u2013 with drivers racing along the streets as well as one runway of Albert Whitted Airport. It\u2019s quite a sight to see \u2013 race cars whizzing by as small aircrafts take off and land around you.<\/p>\n

Pato O\u2019Ward seemed to be the driver of note of the weekend as young fans sported his merch and cheered as his car roared by. I followed suit, assuming \u2018Pato\u2019 was Irish. So imagine my surprise when I realised he was Mexican and had absolutely no Irish ancestry whatsoever.<\/p>\n

Ex-Formula 1 drivers Mick Schumacher and Romain Grosjean were two of the names I recognised, as both now race in IndyCar, but it was Alex Palou \u2013 a four-time IndyCar Series champion \u2013 who took the win on the day.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Firestone Grand Prix IndyCar race<\/p>\n

And there must be something in the water in St. Pete because in my Wikipedia-ing of Alex after the race, I found he is also a keen pickeball player. Touche.<\/p>\n

After a couple of days of being a good sport (see what I did there?), it was time for that famous relaxation I mentioned earlier. So we headed out for some time on the water. Bliss.<\/p>\n

Or miss\u2026 if you have two left hands like me. Thankfully, I am the only one who has those so it was just my kayak that kept veering off course on our clear bottom kayak excursion at Shell Key Reserve.<\/p>\n

This was recently named the top outdoor and nature activity in the US in the TripAdvisor Best of the Best Awards \u2013 and, with the beauty that surrounds you in St. Pete Clearwater, it\u2019s easy to see why. Being out on calm, crystal clear waters is indeed something special.<\/p>\n

After four days of eating American-size portions, the exercise didn\u2019t do any harm either!<\/p>\n

So everything comes full circle, we\u2019ve landed back in the kitchen\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"St. Pete-Clearwater on Florida’s gulf coast has it all \u2013 sun, sea and sport \u2013 offering so much…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":210565,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-210564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210564\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/210565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}