2.16.14 Brews, Bands and BBQ

On Sunday the 16th - we used our annual pass to Busch Gardens to check out the Brews, Bands and BBQ Fest. We were really impressed. For $30, you buy a wristband to sample over 100 beers. A few local breweries were highlighted so that was fun.

Then it was time for the band portion of the event: Gin Blossoms and Mark McGrath from Sugar Ray. 

February 7 - 9 Camping at Hillsborough River State Park

We headed out camping February 7th for a weekend at Hillsborough River State Park. We really like camping here. The campsites are nice and face the woods. The Park has a great network of trails to explore. Plus - it's only 30 minutes from our house. 

This trip was historic because it is the first time we camped in the cold and the rain. Our new tent passed the rain test and we were pretty excited about that. We spent most of Friday night sitting in our chairs inside our tent: 

January 2014: Carnival Paradise Cruise

For MLK Day weekend, we took off on a 4 night Cruise on the Carnival Paradise. This cruise was complimentary since I am travel agent.  This cruise is tough to review. The big memory we will have from this cruise is that Glenn got food poisoning on the first night and we spent all the first day at Sea in the cabin. Luckily, he was feeling better by dinner, but we ended up heading to bed early every night since he wasn't 100%. I also felt a little crappy due to the food so it definitely wasn't one of our best cruises. It's a shame because we loved the ship and spent the first several hours talking about how great the ship was and we should take this cruise more often. There were a couple highlights: 

12.14.13 Busch Gardens Christmas Town

 To get in the holiday spirit, on December 14th Glenn and I headed to Busch Gardens Christmas Town event. They close the Park at 5:00 pm. You buy a special ticket to enter at 6:00 pm. The event includes a Snow World – with “snow” to play in, throw snowballs and even go sledding. 

December 1st 6 night Cruise on the Carnival Breeze

Our friends Tom and Margaret flew in the Friday after Thanksgiving. We went to the famous Columbia restaurant for lunch and then hung out by the pool for the rest of the afternoon. I started making dinner,  caught the cooktop on fire, and then decided I should probably just hang out by the pool. 

On Saturday, we started a leisurely drive to Miami. We took the back roads through the Everglades stopping in Everglades City for lunch and at Clyde Butcher’s Gallery. Butcher’s black and white portraits of the Everglades are really incredible. We were lucky enough to meet him and he signed a couple prints we purchased. 

November 2013 Adventures

November was filled with a lot of fun. My cousin Kelly is a playwright. His play (a love story) was featured in a workshop  in Orlando.  It was great to able to see him and hear his play read!

October 2013 Adventures

October was a very busy month with a lot of travel for both Glenn and I plus the Red Sox made the World Series. We were able to go to one of the playoff games in Tampa.