Since Tampa is about four hours from Tallahassee, our director, Joe, decided we should drive down on Tuesday instead of exhausting ourselves to be there by 8 am. Well, why go a day early and not take advantage of it? So we left campus around 8 am on Tuesday to begin what will always be remembered as "Teambuilding Tuesday." Joe rented a van for us all to ride together. Six adults in a van for four hours...you quickly revert to childhood. Especially when we were able to watch "Spaceballs" while I was able to play "LEGO Star Wars" on my DSi. Yea, that is a little odd to do at the same time...ha. I also remember lots of quoting "The Hangover."
After a slight traffic snag, we made it to Tampa. We started at the Tampa aquarium after grabbing some lunch. The aquarium was awesome. The otters may have been my favorite. Cute little things that could kick your ass...animals after my own heart. I was unfortunately too short to see the penguin show, but luckily they brought one around. One of the coolest things we saw was the leafy sea dragon. It was wild looking. They also had lots of giant fish, and we were able to pet some sea creatures.
The feeding of the otters
The leafy sea dragons
Me and Reg in one of a few crazy pics
After the aquarium, we drove through Ybor, which is a kitchy little place in town. I would love to go back and walk around when all the little shops and bars are open. This also lead to an impromptu tour of Tampa as we tried to find our way to our hotel. However, once we arrived at the hotel, it was amazing. We took a short break and then took advantage of the free happy hour in the lobby. From there, we went to dinner. We found a tapas place called "Ceviche," which had a Tuesday special of $4 tapas selections and $4 sangrias. The food was absolutely delicious. I do not even think I can count the number of different plates we ordered and shared, and the desserts we the perfect ending. After dinner, we took a quick trip to the Hard Rock Casino where some of us were luckier than others.
Just a small sample of the food
Wednesday dawned the conference, which was even better than I thought it would be. I really enjoyed getting to meet others who are going through what I am in my position. (I think I may actually be getting better at this mingling thing...ha.) On top of the networking, I was actually able to take a lot from the sessions. I have lots of ideas for the fall now. We were also able to act like students for a while sampling lots of free novelties put on by a local company. At the end, we were able to tour USF's new union, the Marshal Center. It is out of this world. The modern technology alone is great, but it is also designed with their students in mind. They even have a built in "serenity room" where students can sit in quiet that includes a foot wash room for Muslim students who use the room for prayer. Best part? They have a Moe's in the food court!
On the way home, we were all pretty exhausted. The craziest part was stopping at the Green Shutters restaurant in Williston where we reaffirmed Billy's obsession with shrimp, and Adam and I ordered a watermelon cake. What is that? It is a creation that involves grinding watermelon into the cake batter and the icing. It pretty much tasted like a watermelon Air Head. I do not think I will order it again...as was pointed out, I am not much of a "sweetie."
The watermelon cake
All in all, it was a pretty great!
Quotes:
Joe to me: "I think you have enough tattoos for everyone in the van."
Joe in response to not wanting directions: "I like feeling like Daniel Boone in a minivan."
Side of a church: "Everybody can't be right!"
Regina as we passed nice cars in a not so nice neighborhood: "Speaking of supporting meth habits..."
Adam as Regina is giving him a piggyback ride: "I'm made of bricks."
Me to Billy at Ceviche: "I've got the tapas sweats."
Everyone: "Where's Lori?"
I will probably put up more pictures later on Facebook. ^_^
You were all in my home hood without me... tears.
ReplyDeleteFun times!!!
ReplyDeleteThis was fun to read... thanks for sharing
ReplyDelete