Two Days in St. Pete

Over the weekend, Rich and I flew to Tampa, FL for a quick getaway.  But before that, four days to be exact, I woke up not feeling quite right.  I had a pounding headache and moaned through the school lunch preparation process.  When Rich asked if I was ill, I told him it felt like there was a small bird trapped inside me and I could feel its wings beating against my rib cage.  "Are you having an anxiety attack over this trip?"  I didn't think so, but then I started to have anxiety thinking that I was having an anxiety attack.  Anxiety over anxiety.  That's a new one for me.

This happened to be the warmest day we'd had this spring and I decided to go out for a run despite not feeling well.  That did not go so well.  I barely made it to a mile and a half and then I had to walk.  Later that afternoon, I determined my problem.  I was dehydrated and the day before I hadn't eaten enough.  I'd had a small lunch and then I was hungry in the afternoon but I put off eating until dinner, which was a salad.  I just hadn't taken enough in.  So as soon as I figured that out, I increased my water intake and ate more.  I felt better the next day and fine the day after that.


Goodbye, Boston.

There was a business purpose behind our trip so no hours spent relaxing on the beach or poolside.  However, we did have the chance to check out St. Pete Beach and the beach on Treasure Island, which is right next to St. Pete.  The beach towns there are so very different from what we have here on Cape Cod.  Different is good.

















We had just experienced a handful of hot days right before our trip, so the heat didn't feel like it would have if we had been coming off of those never-ending 50 degree days.  I'll never complain about the heat though.  I'd much rather have it hot than cold.  It was a bit overcast for the first day but then it cleared.























A lot of our meals were grab and go or at the hotel, but there was one restaurant worth mentioning.  I had researched places to eat just to have an idea in case we were out and about and hungry.  Well, we were both full out hangry and right down the street from Jimmy B's Beach Bar.  We didn't want anything frou-frou or a steakhouse so I stopped here for dinner.  It's connected to a resort with a beautiful location on the beach.

Here's your view:



The structure on the left side of this photo is the restaurant.



The food was decent, especially given the cost, which wasn't outrageous.  I had the chicken tacos and Rich ordered the fish sandwich.



The tacos were quite tasty and my only complaint was that the chicken was a touch too dry.  Rich enjoyed his fish sandwich.  Of course, I had to order Key Lime pie for dessert!



Note that even though this is a "bar" there is a section for kids on the menu and we did see a few little ones eating with their families.
  
Both of our flights were fairly uneventful, except for that stretch of "minor" turbulence over Maryland on the way home.







That last one's not too bad for handheld in a moving plane.  Boston!