First 2 days in Tampa

Well, it has been an interesting few days. I arrived in Tampa at 10.30am yesterday. It was a very long 2 flights. I didn't get any sleep so in 3 days, I was running on 5 hours sleep. I was exhausted when I arrived but had to stay awake until later in the day. So after getting talked into upgrading my rental car (seriously, a full size is a little big for just me!), I went driving around downtown killing time. I stopped by the University of Tampa, formerly the Tampa Bay Hotel from the 1900s. It was very pretty and it was nice to walk around the park along the river. Tampa Downtown was pretty as well but I stayed in the car when it started raining.

Next up was a pretty sweet thing - I went on a tour of Raymond James Stadium, the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was so cool. Got to go behind the scenes and see the locker room, the field, the club area, a suite (with an insanely expessive price tag), the pirate ship and the security room (with jail cells). It was really interesting to see the stadium in person.

And then I began the drive out to Ruskin. It is actually 40 minutes south of Tampa. Once I got out there, I went to checkin and they had cancelled my reservation. Not cool. Thank god that I am uber-organized and I had printed all email confirmations and had them with me. After a few minutes, they had my room ready. Good thing - they wouldn't have wanted to deal with a tired and cranky me.

And.... I love my condo. It is so pretty and relaxing. I am right on the harbour so I can have my breakfast on the patio and look at the boats. Very nice. So last night, I went to bed early and got 11 hours of sleep. It felt wonderful!

This morning I was up and ready to go to Busch Gardens for the day. I got there at 10.15am and stayed for 8 hours. And I didn't even see all the animal exhibits (I missed out on the gorillas - they closed early) and I didn't go on any rides (I am not a ride person). But from what I did see, it was incredible. I got to feed kangaroos and wallabies, check out the flamingos, lories, elephants, hyenas, lions and ride the Serengeti express, a steam train through the park. But the highlights were the tours I did extra: the Jungala Insider took me behind the scenes in the orangutan and tiger habitats. Seeing them up close was incredible and worth it. They are really incredible animals. Then I went on the Sunset Safari: a ride on the back of a jeep through the Serengeti exhibit where we got to feed giraffes and see the zebras, hippos, rhinos, gazelles and other animals up close. It was so amazing and a great end to the day.

So now I am "home" with my feet up and a few coolers in hand. Tomorrow, a day of nothing to do! I've posted pics from my trip so far on facebook so feel free to check them out.

Lisa