It had been 10 years since I had been on a plane until my boyfriend and I boarded one back in October to embark on our very first long distance trip together! Our friends (and hosts for the week!! thank you, Mike & Sara!) met us at the Tampa airport and after a short car ride to New Port Richy, it was vacation relaxation time! We spent the week playing it by ear, sight-seeing, and enjoying cocktails. I didn’t take my camera everywhere because of one reason or another, but I was able to get a few shots that I’m excited to share with you (a little later *wink*).
I got to see a whole lot of the area!! We visited the Sponge Capitol of the World, Tarpon Springs. I was pretty bummed I didn’t bring my camera there! All the sea sponge-draped boats were quite a sight to see!! The shops had sponges for sale that were still damp. I got my hands on some very awesome, sweet-smelling goats milk soap that had a sea sponge stuck right in the bar, and I was content.
The following day, we went to the Tampa Bay Aquarium! You bet I brought my camera this time. The Tampa Bay Aquarium is in an area or near an area called Channelside where huge cruise ships come to port (and where Wet Willies is located – a daiquiri bar! I took Sara’s advice when we dropped in for a frosty cold adult beverage and ordered the mudslide flavored combo. It. was. delicious.)
The outside of the aquarium was very impressive. Inside I got to see sting rays, gators, otters, ducks, turtles, sharks!, jelly fish! and a whole lot more. I got to touch a starfish and a sting ray! I was surprised to find that sting rays are silky to the touch. One of the sting rays in the touching tank was very playful, and he kept skimming up the side. Too cute. My boyfriend starred down a shark! And we met a very bold pink bird of some kind – if you know what he is from the photograph, fill me in!
When we left the aquarium, the sun was setting and the sky was a beautiful, shocking pink. I had to stop and get out my camera. I’m glad I did because it ended up being my favorite shot from the trip – it totally epitomizes the whole experience!
Sight-seeing also included: a day at Universal Studios’ Islands of Adventure (where we visited the wonderful world of Harry Potter!!! something I’ve wanted to do since the day I found out they were creating it! Tried butter beer – the frozen is delicious!) followed by the night spent at the original Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights (they turned the whole park into a haunted playground), taking advantage of the shorter lines for rides like The Mummy & The Simpsons before crashing in a hotel in Orlando for the night; a visit to St. Petersburg and the Salvador Dali Museum (another dream come true); an evening out in Ybor City; two delicious trips to two different Tijuana Flats locations (after my first visit, I was all for going one more time before returning to a Tijuana Flats-less world); my first encounters with both a Sanrio store and a Lush shop; and the most fabulous dinner (no lie!!) at the beautiful Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City!
None of this would have been possible without my sweet boyfriend and our generous friends. I’m so very lucky. I’m pretty sure my boyfriend and I make the best travel companions ever. Traveling with him was the most stress-free experience – even though the whole thing got off to a rocky start with a delayed-til-morning flight out of Syracuse because the pilot forgot to bring to work the documentation he’s required to show before… doing his job of flying a plane!! By the end of the trip, that whole experience was a distant memory.
Hehehehe you should have seen my boyfriend chase around that little lizard! It didn’t take him too long to gain a brief passenger. These guys were everywhere! I sought them out whenever we went outside because they were such a novelty to me.
Until next time! Be well. <3
