The Perfect Day

Day started with a picnic at the pool. I had the best cuban sandwich ever and sat overlooking the bay for a few hours. This is literally what it looks like, not photoshopped pics from a vacation guide.


No really the pool is right on the bay, and one can actually live here. Its the pool of my friends apartment building. And about the same price as an apartment in Ithaca. Insanity!! How anyone goes to look at these apartments, sees the pool and the bay and doesn't just sign on the dotted light right there is beyond me.


And if that wasnt enough..... BASEBALL!!!!! Saw Cubbies@Rays, Tropicana field. My first Dome game.


Keen and Dave outside the park.


Lovely ladies..... I told her that if she wore an A's shirt she would be asked about it all day. So true.

The lineup.


Dome Baseball.... We were apparently in the Cubs section which was fun.



Baseball pretzel yum.

This little kid in front of us (Gavin) had this amazingly wierd baseball hat with a mask on the back. On him kind of cute.... on us.... slightly disturbing.



Vid from our seats. The annoying yellow deck blocked us from the scoreboard, but, overall our seats were good. Rays won after a crazy 9th inning bunt and play at the plate.

The whole day: super fun.

Saturday

Went to the Irish Pub with Keen, Kelly and Marianne. It was a fun time with the girls, but, unfortunately we had all had a little tooo much fun the night before and were still in recovery. Went to sleep early and felt a lot better the next day. Guess you have to have a least one really proper hangover on a month long vacation!

Finally an Update!!!! Having too much fun to blog.......

So, Keen, Kelly and I went to the Hard Rock Casino last Friday afternoon. We ended up only staying a little while.


Had a few Drinks at the center casino bar and ate some amazing sushi at Rock and Raw.


We later ended up back at the usual haunts for the rest of the night.

Tampa Time... DEBAUCHERY!

Wild Wings... On a little lake with a super cute outdoor bar.


So, the first of many a Wild Wing afternoon.


Showing Keen that you can save the bubbles of champagne with a spoon. Not positive it actually works.



Aww, the first glassy eyes of the trip. Safe at home!



Kelly, Keen and I. Partners in crime for the trip.



Wild Wings Part Two.... Before the Debauchery of the bar crawl.... oh we have no idea what is about to occur!



Bostons: Kelly with the team pitcher!








Bennigans: Two for ones.


Green Iguana: I think they are called "Big Ones" gone in less than 5 min! Brian with the group of them.


This is what happens after large green drinks.


Wild Wings part three!!!!


A day of recuperation from the crawl. Pool party!



Yep really that gorgeous here!

Day 5: Raleigh to Tampa 1729.3 miles

Soundtrack: Salmon Burke, Steely Dan, Dylan.

I was in Raleigh for about 8 hours. Just enough time to sleep, shower and get a Nana breakfast in. Back on the road quickly, so I could make it to Keen at a decent hour.

A couple stops along the way were very necessary. The first of course being "South of the Border" a ridiculous area right over the SC border. Not completely sure what it's purpose is besides the over abundance of cheese... but it was fantastic.




The parking lot safari is a fabulous addition.



I actually got out of there with not a single cheezy souvenir.... just a new friend:)

Savannah was the next required stop. SOOOOO BEAUTIFUL. I parked for an hour and just wandered around. It is such a visitor friendly place and so easy to get around.


An awesome 50s theatre with a classic car parked out front.... so cute.


Paula Deen's restaurant. Literally 50 people standing outside on a Saturday afternoon waiting for a table. It was 102 degrees!!!


Awesome Bridge over the Savannah River.


And after 1729.3 Miles, finally the Keen!!

Day 4: Brooklyn to Raleigh. 1042.7 miles.

Soundrack: Bruce Springsteen (have to in New Jersey), Gillian Welch.


After escaping NYC thru the lincoln tunnel, i travelled towards PA. A required stop on this trip was always Roadside America. So cheezy its awesome!!.



A whole tiny world inside a random building on the side of the highway.



Best Part: The night pagent. They turn down all the sky lights, turn on the lights inside the houses, and play "God Bless America" with fake fireworks timed to the music. I was hysterically laughing the entire time.


Worth every penny.



Finally made it to Front Royal, VA. The northern entry point to Skyline Drive, and home to "Dinosaur Land". Amazingly low budget replicas of dinosaurs, right on the side of the highway. So great!!



Looks just like the real thing. Best part: The 15 year old working there sitting on the curb in the parking lot smoking a cigarette, look on his face: I hate my life. I cant see why when you get to hang out with these guys all day.


Three hours at 35mph. Worth every second. So beautiful and relaxing.


Was also a nice break from the heat. Shady and breezy.



The one rest stop smack dab in the middle. Pulled up to stretch my legs and use running water. A tiny little bambi was just hanging out in the parking lot. Unfortunately being harassed by a group of people, but, still super cute.


Had to get over the fear of heights pretty quick. The first couple vistas gave me wobbly knees driving by.






The Gillian Welch soundtrack was a coincidence, but adds to the video beautifully. Had no idea the camera had audio.


Sunset over the mountains, finished the drive right before dark.

5 1/2 hours more to Raleigh.... A failed attempt at seeing monticello and a super annoying search for dinner was all that happened after.

Nana waited up for me and we gossiped over a cigarette before I passed out after a lovely long day.