Weekend In Tampa

It was such a refreshing weekend back in Tampa. My feet were mad at me, my scalp is sunburned, but all in all -- it was a great time catching up with old friends. When we were moving down here, the drive was consistently around 3 hours.... but by myself without large items in my trunk, I made it there in two. That's not bad! I have no more excuses for why I can't visit more frequently. ;)

When I first pulled into town, I was on a MISSION. You see, the Old Navy in Tampa is one of the few that has maternity items in the store! I was dying for a maxi dress. I found one, hooray, and can't wait to wear it for our pictures that we are taking tomorrow. After indulging myself in some maternity wear, I met up with friends at a bar I used to love in the Hyde Park area. We were scoping out the scene as it is the location of our Co-ed Baby BASH. There's a nice large shaded patio, lots of tables, bars, and pizza. That's all that matters. Win.

We had cupcakes across the street (great idea!) and I picked the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

Yes, I definitely devoured it. I might not be able to drink... but food... why yes.

Next up was a spot I hadn't visited before -- The Lodge. We claimed a large corner booth and got to eating, drinking and talking.

After a day running around Hyde Park, it was time for the "main reason" of this trip! One of my oldest friends is now, apparently, a doctor. Why are we old? Anyway, he is moving for his residency soon so there was a graduation party going on for him at a family member's house...complete with a taco bar. Cinco de Mayo was in full effect as I had been craving tacos!

Now... what's a preggo to do at 10pm on a Saturday night? Well, I couldn't just go to SLEEP that would be boring. I somehow found some energy and headed to Ybor City -- one of my old haunts. An Irish bar I used to love recently reopened in a new location so we headed there for two hours. Yes, an Irish bar on Cinco de Mayo... but it was still a blast.

Jen! She let me sleep on her couch.

There were glow sticks...

Little people...

New doctors...

Unusual beers... fire crotch?

and a very, sleepy pregnant girl. We ran through the McDonald's drive thru at 3 am (it wouldn't be a night out in Ybor with that) and I passed OUT. How I was awake for almost 24 hours is a mystery and a miracle.

Sunday morning we were up early as we had a food festival complete with concert to go to! Jen is a ridiculous Dashboard Confessional fan and well, I used to be. I sort of fell off the Chris Carabba wagon two albums ago. But, at one point he was my favorite so I knew we had to go!

It was seriously the hottest day in recent memory and I thought for sure I was going to die out there. I toughed it out with 30 bottles of water and some food, and then we were ready for the show!

The best part was that it was a solo acoustic show (who needs the band anyway?!) and as it used to be back in the day -- everyone sang along loudly. Perhaps the most hilarious part was that Chris himself was snickering during songs. I know he wanted to laugh. The lyrics that at one point "defined my youth" are certainly cheesy and ridiculous to me now. Even the guy who wrote them thought so too.

Sweaty, sunburned, swollen!

So, yes, I survived a weekend solo in Tampa. I ended up swollen, exhausted, and broke but I must do it again soon! Just, ya know, minus the outdoor concert. Yowza!