Tampa and The Bay

Work took me south again this winter. An escape to warmer weather mid -February is always welcome! Though the 3 days I was visiting Tampa happened to be the coldest days they'd had in quite a while. Though not the sunny, warm destination I'd hoped for there was still reason to be happy-NO SNOW! The people of Tampa were really very nice and I learned the population is pretty young and there are some big efforts underway to revitalize parts of downtown. I didn't get to venture too far aside from two trips to CVS (just couldn't resists) and a dinner at Rusty Pelican which had a great view and mediocre seafood. (I expected better from a restaurant on the Bay!) I have to say I did enjoy a mighty fine cuban sandwich and chili con carne from a street vendor outside the hotel (and down the street from the CVS.)

I missed out on trying the devil crab sandwich was was the "cart speciality." By the time I arrived for late lunch everyone had taken ordered the supply for the day. The cuban sandwich had nice crispy bread and slightly melted cheese and some little pickle slivers and mayo/mustard combo. It was rich and delicious! Half was plenty for me. The chili might have been Hormel. It wasn't too flavorful but since it was the soup of the day and came highly recommended I imagined it tasted better than it did!

The visit was short and didn't allow for much food or attraction exploration but I made due. At the end of the day a nice little reminder, you don't see a sunset like this in Manhattan!

Way Down Yonder in New Orleans

All because it's Carnival Time! My first time home for Mardi Gras in more than 7 years proved to be filled with excitement and revelry to get me through this mid-winter slump. This year the weather was not so reliable so it ended up disrupting the parade schedule which meant four parades in one night and so we layered up and took to the streets for several hours of parades. The evening started with Hermes and a broken down float meant an early delay but lucky for us the flamboux carriers were stopped right near us and the bands and crowd huddled around them for warmth. (I think the flamboux carriers are an indispensable parade element -given the cooler temps during Mardi Gras in the past couple years. I sure hope they get paid for their work and are not just collecting the coins thrown at them during the parade.) After Hermes starting rolling we caught a few more floats (designed by my uncle-seen above in the window) and then made our way indoors for a king size meal at Zea's. I ventured off my seafood track and had a rack of ribs, grits with roasted corn, broccoli and delicious hummus with feta, sundried tomatoes and fresh tomatoes. Though the food sounds very basic it was the most delicious huge meal I'd had in a long time. As I ate, I watched the second parade roll by and began to regret overeating with several more hours before I got to roll into my bed for the night, so I took some sips of my coke and we ventured into the streets again. The Krewe of Muses (the final parade) is known for their shoe themed throws and all female riders.We ended the night with bows and arrows, beads, cups, shoes and stuffed animals and literally ran for the car!!

Lombardi Gras it was..

It was a cold three hour wait filled with a lots of people watching and a "cameo" appearance on the Fox local affiliate tv station. Waiting for the Saints Superbowl parade will definitely be one of the most outrageous things I'll ever do in my life (especially in the name of sports celebrations.) Armed with a cup a cup of tea to keep me warm and a white chocolate raspberry scone as an afternoon parade route snack. the music was a welcome distraction and i think this team has more songs than any other I know of. Here's a short list: when the saints go marching in, bless you boys, saints go all the way( oh, I believe), stand up get krunck, black and gold to the superbowl and that's just some of them. I know somebody has to have put all these hits on a cd and is selling it somewhere..

It was a really special experience and the time of year -backed up against the other big celebration made it a little more festive. This parade wasn't even about the beads or any of the other plastic throws usually so prized during this time of year.

Just a lot of singing and dancing and celebrating..being happy about this big achievement! And to sum it all up many of the locals renamed this Mardi Gras- Lombardi Gras.

Lemme Hear Ya Say Go, Saints, Go!!

Well it's time to take a little trip back in time, and into the Superdome. For me and my sister this was where we were first exposed to professional sports. New Orleans, when we were growing up, didn't have much success keeping professional sports teams (the Jazz-basketball team-Gone, the Brass-hockey team-Gone.) So no matter how bad, and things often were really bad, we all stuck with the Saints.

But let me be honest here, I mostly enjoyed going to see the Saints because it was something fun to do on Sunday. A day usually reserved for hibernating inside trying to do the last of the homework due Monday. Once in the Superdome, no game was complete without

soggy nachos! (We'd intentionally let the cheese sit on them until they were no longer crunchy and then fight over who gets the most cheese covered chip.) The occasional cheering always caught me by surprise because unless there was the possibility of a touchdown I had the binoculars in my hands and I was looking for the mascot (Zero- (Yes, that was a mascot for a while) or my grandparents (in their seats behind the goal post. )

Well, fast forward to today since I'm not twelve anymore. The Saints have won the Superbowl!! It was a long journey and through much of it I tuned out since it got to be a bit ridiculous and I was convinced it was never really going to happen. I'm so happy for every true die hard fan that watched every game (or almost every game) hoping and knowing the day would come.

As for me, I wasn't in Miami or New Orleans for this very special game but I managed to keep my snacks simple and my focus on the game this time.

(Stay tuned for pictures from the victory parade...NO here I come!)