At the end of March my three dear friends from "home" flew down for a girls weekend. This is one of those things we always talk about doing, but finding the time and money and the ability to coordinate everyone's schedules is akin to figuring out the 12-sided Rubick's Cube after four shots of tequila. The stars must align perfectly. That's why weekends like this only occur once in a blue moon. And that's probably what makes them so special.
I picked them up at Tampa Airport on a Thursday evening. I remember it was snowing in New England that day, so their plane was delayed about an hour or so. It was over 80 degrees here. I took them to my favorite Mexican place on Kennedy, Miguels, because in my opinion there is no better margarita in town. Parked the van, stepped out, pushed the arm of my sunglasses into my ear, and blew out my eardrum. (HOLY MOTHER F****R IT HURT!) But no one likes a party pooper, so I tried to be cool and pretend like nothing happened. Unfortunately moments later, blood started squirting out of my ear and startled my friends, so I had to tell them. Luckily our cutie pie waiter, Raul, was quick with our margaritas and quick to refill them. And so began our girls weekend....
There is so much to do in Tampa Bay that the most difficult thing about entertaining friends for a few days is figuring out how to narrow it down to a few good places to see and a few good things to do. Our first morning I took them for a Cuban breakfast at the Latin Cafe up the street where we enjoyed cafe con leche and Cuban toast with guava jelly. We then drove down to Anna Maria Island to my favorite beach spot, where the water is turquoise and the skies are azure and the sand is white, and if you are lucky you will find yourself in the surf amidst a school of dolphins or even a stray manatee or two. (Stingrays and sharks, maybe....) When the sun gets too hot, it's time to head to The Sandbar for a Rum Runner and conch fritters, which is exactly what we did.
Why do sunny days with friends go by faster than normal? We rushed to get home to prepare for our night in Ybor City. We checked into the Hilton Garden Inn on 9th Avenue and moseyed our way down the strip to Gaspar's Grotto where Mitchman sang "Take it Easy" on karaoke while we waited for our table at Acropolis Greek Taverna, where entertainment includes belly dancing, breaking plates, live Greek music, and Greek men dancing for Ouzo. Not to mention my favorite fried balls (stuffed mushrooms) and Athenian Fish. The night we were there, the mayor of Tampa was there as well.
In Ybor the nightlife is just revving up at 11pm. We went to the Double Decker for karaoke and beer (which is served in DAS BOOT!) Mitchman brought the house down with his version of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance." And then, of all people, we bumped into Raul (our waiter from Miguel's) who immediately recognized me as the lady with the broken, bloody ear. The night lasted into the next morning, memories are a little fuzzy, but...what happens in Ybor stays in Ybor.
We spent the remainder of our weekend in Treasure Island at the Bilmar hotel. We had a 6th floor balcony room that overlooked the beautiful Gulf of Mexico. I think it took us the rest of the weekend to recover from our night in Ybor, and what better place to relax than on the beach? We listened to live music from the restaurant band, and the one song that sums up the memory of our girls weekend for me is "Toes" by the Zac Brown Band:
I got my toes in the water, ass in the sand, not a worry in the world a cold beer in my hand; life is good today. Life is good today.
Can't wait till the next blue moon.
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