I've Been Poofed!

Well, I've been poofed! I allowed myself plenty of time on Monday morning. A leisurely breakfast in the front room lounge in my hotel, stop to fill up the gas tank on the way back to Tampa airport, return the rental. When I got to the checkin at Southwest, there was a line of people who all had just returned from a cruise. They all knew each other and were still having fun waiting on line. (Notice I didn't use 'in line'?)

For some reason, when I got to the security check, I was singled out to go thru the 'Poofer'. I thought, "Am I the lucky passenger #1,000,000 and do I get a prize?" The security guard asked me if I'd ever been 'poofed' and she took my belongings and told me to stand on the footprints. I closed my eyes as all of these little poofs of air hit me from all sides. Now what was that for? Is that what I look like? I'd ask her if my shorts made my butt look big, but I guess she could tell anyway! But, as I was gathering my belongings she did give me a wink and a smile!

Sunday in St Pete - Last Day

I had a friendly person take this of me when I got to the beach today. I played it smart, put sunscreen on my head, neck, shoulders, back, legs, brought my baseball cap and water to drink.









It was a beautiful day, water was not too warm, but relaxing. Nice waves. Blue skies.





After I got back to my hotel and showered, my stomach started burning. Ooops! That's where I forgot to put the sunscreen!

I took a walk to the pier and browsed the shops and ate at one of the restaurants there...had two appetizers...coconut shrimp and crabcakes. Love 'em both!

So tomorrow morning I leave for home. I've already started making lists of things I'll need to do once I get to Albany. And I'll be putting in my notice at the credit union. I just hope the interview I went on while I was here results in me being hired. It sure would save me a whole lot of other work!

Here's a few other pics from out and about...

Around St Pete - Day 5

Today has been a beautiful sunny day! I took a walk to the Pier this morning. Took tons of photos and went into the gift shops around the first floor of the structure.

In the afternoon I did a tour around the Peninsula first to the upper North East, across to the beaches and down thru the beach areas. Had delicious crab cakes for lunch at Philthy Phil's. There was a refreshing (notice I didn't say cool?) breeze on the upper deck.

From there, to Gulfport, a small, artsy 'town' at the southwest corner of the peninsula. Then thru the souther part, heading east and then north.

I met with Ralph to sign my lease for my apartment . . . September 1! Whoo! Hooo! Now I think I have some work to do to put this all into actually happening!

Enjoy this small sample of this beautiful day . . .

Orlando Visit

I started today with an interview at a bank. I thought it went very well. Time will tell how well it went. Is that onomatopoeia? No wait, that's with lots of vowels. Alliteration, I think. Now I'm digressing. Can you tell I'm tired?

I drove to Orlando to spend the afternoon with Gina. Silly me. I overshot the exit off of I-4 and ended up way out of the way. Luckily I had a good navigator via the cell phone. I got to see the new townhouse in Winter Park. It's nice and spacious and open. And I guess Luke was glad to see me. He kept licking my legs and jumping up on me. At one point, he had hi kong in his mouth and was running tight circles around me. Funny dog!

We went to lunch at an Italian restaurant not far from where she lives. It was yummy! I had eggplant parmesan and Gina had a chicken and pasta dish. Afterwards we swung by Jeremiah's for a gelati (I think I got that right), where Italian ice is layered parfait style with soft serve ice cream. Double YUM!

We had plans to take the 3:00 pm interlake boat ride in Winter Park. There was this terrible accident right near Jeremiah's and traffic was snarled. The red light at the intersection refused to turn green and we waited a very long time. We dashed up the road and as we were walking down the steps to the boat landing, we saw it pulling away. At the ticket window we noticed the clock.... 3:00 on the nose! Maybe they didn't want to wait too long because the sky was looking a bit threatening and it was about ready for the afternoon rain. So, instead we went to the movies to see Transformers. It was cool.

I dropped Gina off after a quick stop at Target and then drove thru Orlando, I-4, and back to St. Pete. It was a fun day but went way too fast! Next time I won't miss that exit!

St Petersburg Random Sampler

Don CeSar on St Pete Beach





Tampa Bay side.

Catch anything?

I must admit the bugs are huge down here!

Side street off beach.

Kickin' it Old School

Downtown street scene

St Pete Beach and around the town . . .

I spent a little time checking out some of the sites. And so far, I LOVE IT!
I'm a sucker for a palm tree.

What sun block??? I think I'll sell my hand painted t-shirts from here.

I had lunch here, and Gavin, I inquired about a Hurricane drink on the rooftop bar, but did NOT have one. But, the bartender printed out an ingredient list for me:
1 oz light rum
1 oz Barcardi Dark rum
1/2 oz amaretto
1 oz Southern Comfort
oj / grenadine

I DON'T THINK SO!!!

I had my diet coke.


BE SURE TO READ THE POST BELOW..........

And the Winner is . . .

Well, it looks like a done deal! And, needless to say, I am quite excited! This is the Villa Rosa, built in the 1920s. The apartment is a one bedroom, but it is HUGE! It's on the first floor, has big rooms, eat in kitchen, lots of storage, on site laundry and central air. And how could I resist those Majestic Palms out front? It's located in the Old Northeast section of St Pete, 5 blocks from the park along Tampa Bay. And, it's available on September 1. YIKES!!! I submitted my application this afternoon. UPDATE: I just got the call! I've been approved!


Funny thing, a man named Ralph showed me the apartment. For those of you who know me, I sometimes joke about changing my name to Raoul. In fact, a couple of years ago Mia and Gina gave me a Disney guest "official" name tag with "Raoul" on it. So, now when I relate the finding of an apartment in St Pete, the phrase, "Where do I sign, Raoul?" can be worked into the fabric of the story.


Here is a shot from the park on the Bay.



And here is a shot from the park looking west. My rental car is the PTCruiser parked there on the street where I'll be living if all goes well.

St Pete Apartment Hunting - Day 1

I started checking out the Old North East area of St. Petersburg, looking for apartments. It's a gorgeous area and very historical. Benoit area I think it's called also. Here are some photos of apartments and some of the streets and houses located in this area.

Some of the homes in the Old NE area...

Some of the streets were paved with these bricks

St Pete - My Ride

This is my ride. When I checked in at the counter at the airport, they wanted to give me a Durango. I said, "Er, no!" I reservered an economy car. This is what I got. It's kinda cool. I would have preferred the red Mustang convertable parked next to it in the garage.

Greetings from St. Petersburg!

I arrived safely last night. What an easy drive from Tampa airport to downtown St. Pete! All highway right to downtown, 3 blocks from my hotel! Did a little exploring, walking around a few blocks near my hotel. Not quite what I expected, but so far very nice! Quiet and laid back. No traffic. Ended up going to see Hairspray at the Muvico 20 screener 2 blocks from my hotel.

My hotel is more like a bed and breakfast. Only about 25 rooms and run by a young couple with a little boy named Jacob who actually runs the place!

Here's Jacob preparing the continental breakfast.