Thanksgiving in the sun
We're off to a great Thanksgiving holiday start and what may be a great tradition: vacation BEFORE the big meal. Part 1 of the #ThanksgivinginFExtravaganza began with a flight to Orlando and a 2.5 hour drive straight to Tampa on Friday.
We had just enough time to pop in for a delightful and informative time at the Dali museum where I, for one, learned a lot more about the mustachioed artist than I had known before. Perhaps the most fun fact was that he was such a gifted artist in school - and there was plenty of evidence to show he could draw/paint startlingly realistic imagery - that he declared there was nothing his teachers could teach him. He was promptly expelled. The fantastical stuff he's known for responds to his rejection of the realities of war and authority figures. Super cool stop.
We had dinner at a great place with our friend/advisor Joe Hudson. Read more about that in the food section below.
Downtown Tampa was hopping Saturday evening, in part because of a pro hockey game. We got to talking about how long it had been since we had gone to minor league hockey in Indianapolis. We think it was when the kids were little, and Alex Ogden went with us. Ali suggested we get tickets, but we opted, instead, for the Solar Bears – the Tampa Bay Lightning’s minor farm team – back in Orlando on Tuesday. Ali suggested we wear face paint.
I had first thought we could kayak at a state park, but when we got there, there were no kayaks, and the water was super choppy. There were paddle boards, but after my October dip in Annmarie's lake in Indy, I was gun shy about my abilities. We opted to simply walk the beach a bit and take our chances elsewhere.
That ended up being Shell Key Preserve Clear Kayak Tour with Get Up and Go Kayaking. At dinner, between sips of great red wine and after consulting about just how early we wanted to wake up, I booked us for the noon trip.
We woke up to Ali pounding on our door. She had thought we had agreed to be ready to go at 8:30 am so we could have a nice breakfast before our 2-hour exertion. I had no such recollection as our tour wasn’t but 15 minutes away from the launch site.
We were leisurely packing up and getting dressed when my phone pinged. It was a voicemail from Jenna at the tour place telling us our 9 am trip was about to leave and she was willing to wait a few minutes if need be.
Panic flared. Jeff was still in his underwear. Thankfully, I was able to call and get the trip moved back to noon.
Jenna turned out to be our guide, but she was really great and easily forgave us for our misstep. Per Jenna, because we were no-shows, a guy and his six-year-old daughter got a private tour, and the little girl had the time of her life. So we considered that our gift to them. Our trip consisted of two other couples and a grandmother and her tween-ish granddaughter.
As we neared the end of the trip, we were gathered in a small flotilla around Jenna, as she explained how the mangroves provide a better barrier to hurricanes because they absorb rather than reflect and magnify the force of wind and water like concrete. A small flock of cormorants had followed us to Shell Key and back not because of our charm and demeanor but because – as Jenna explained, our paddles churned up fish for easy snacking. They clustered around us for the last talk.
“She’s like a Disney princess,” Ali whispered. “Even the wildlife locks in on her when she talks.”
The Solar Bears was a great time, though we did find ourselves in a deserted part of town - shockingly a block from the arena, which doubles as where the Orlando Magic dribble. According to Google, it's not because of the hurricanes, but because Disney and another city shopping area has drained the tourists from there. It was sad and we were happy to spend a little money on pre-game drinks at the first place we found.
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I could spend a lot of time regaling you with the food from our trip, but it will just make me hungry, so I’ll link to the places you should definitely go to if you’re in Tampa or Orlando.
• The Columbia restaurant in Ybor City was tremendous, and we had a great time with our friend Joe Hudson there.
• I had a Fire Bird sandwich at La Segunda – a 100+ year old bakery in Ybor City known for its bread, baked goods and Cuban sandwiches – that was so hot I had to trade my second half for Jeff’s Cuban. It was amazing but my innards were sizzling for another six hours. Ali got a pound cake that none of us could even look at after our sandwiches. It was a perfect breakfast snack the next day.
• Multiple people suggested Bern’s Steak House in Tampa, but even 7 weeks before we left we couldn’t get a reservation until 10:00 p.m.. Instead we booked a same-day 8:45 p.m. spot at Charley’s Steakhouse. A lot later than our usual dinner hour, but man, oh man, we’ll be talking about Charley’s for a long time. Save your pennies – and save a lot more if you like wine. Alison has been kicking it at school, though, and we haven’t gone overboard with a meal like that in a while. They call it vacation for a reason, right? “That is the best piece of meat I have ever had in my life,” proclaimed the student. It was definitely on par with Joseph Decuis, St. Elmo or Ruth’s Chris.
• We had a great breakfast at SkyWay Jack’s in St. Pete. Just because we didn’t try the pig’s brain omelet doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.
• After kayaking – 14 miles in serene water and a little beach walking – we made a stop for Jeff to explore beer options. In Florida, it seems that if there is a slab of concrete or asphalt big enough to hold 25 cars, there’s a Publix grocery. Ali and I strolled into the one near the beer store and discovered we were hungry enough to need Pub Subs. They were – as always – big enough for leftovers, so we ended up crashing back at her place and finishing them off for dinner.
• Shrimp and grits, hurricanes, debris spring rolls with gravy and to-die for pumpkin beignets at Tibby’s. We had visited before when we first moved Ali in, and it was even better than we remembered.
It may seem as if we are simply killing time between meals, and yes, we kind of are. I'm skipping the more pedestrian snacks and meals because you can get them anywhere. Suffice it to say, we will not need a huge Thanksgiving meal.
We came across a couple of pop-up street markets where there were lots of fun items for sale and a ton of interesting food. Luckily – or unluckily – we had just feasted before we stopped in so we didn’t gorge as we walked.
From Sparkman’s Wharf, we watched an enormous cruise ship nimbly make a three-point turn as it prepared to go out to sea loaded down with a bunch of people. Ali counted the lifeboats hanging onto the side and wondered if there were enough for everyone.
We're doing a little ordinary shopping and stocking up and prepping for what we've been assigned to take to Thanksgiving. We've been invited to join Ali's boyfriend's family for the day. They're native Floridians, so we're not sure what to expect foodwise. We'll report back.
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Other trip highlights:
It should come as no surprise that Ali is kind of a hard-ass teacher. Like her father, she talks to herself while working so I’m hearing her discuss her students’ test scores. I asked her if she grades on a curve. “No,” she replied.
“That’s a little harsh” I said.
“Or,” she said. “It’s objectively fair.”
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“Yeah, it’s been fun. I haven’t used my musical skills in a long time, and I’ve made some new old-lady friends, like you, Mom.
I met the old ladies, who I’m certain are younger than me…
Hockey fan that she is now...
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