By now, as you can imagine, I am in and out of quite a few airports and let me say this…Tampa’s is FABULOUS! The first thing I noticed as I walked off the plane there was a huge thatch hut bar/restaurant right in the middle of the terminal called the Green Iguana boasting a famous margarita that I was surely going to have to “test” out before taking off on my trip home. After disembarking from the little tram shuttle train that takes you from concourse to the main building, I noticed that there is art everywhere. I most definitely took notice in the tongue and cheek overtones of it being centered around other “flyers” such as owls and other various fowl. So far, pretty impressed…..and then I got to the main building of the airport where, there is quite literally a mall in the middle where even non-travelers can spend time with their loved ones before take-off…. this is GENIUS on so many levels!

It amazes me that the couple of times I have been to Florida there is always the same feeling of old-school, almost palm desert 1940s type glamour and this was no different. The pool at the property we were at definitely had this feel going on and I was very excited to utilize the facilities to rein in a little of that Florida sun on to my unseasonably pasty white body. As I got ready to pop into my suit there was another type of rein that Mother Nature had in store…RAIN…… and it did…..with a thunder….all. week. long.

So, plan B….the Rays were in town! WOO HOO! Finally was going to get to go to my out of state game…I had been foiled in Minneapolis when the Twins were in Anaheim the dates I was there, eluded in Dallas when it was going to be $200 for the Rangers v. Seattle, so now here it was the Rays in Tampa was going to be my first stop! I checked the schedule, bounced down to the front desk to inquire about a taxi and the cost. They estimated $50-60 each way… WHAT?!?!?! But I had seen the stadium on the way in and it was only like 5 minutes away!!! Cleary amused by my confusion, I was told that unless I was trying to see the Bucs play in June that unfortunately, that particular stadium wasn’t going to be very helpful for me. DOH!
Lucky for me there was in fact a sports bar in the hotel, the NBA playoffs going on and good company around! I did manage to make it out to the mall that was around the way for a brief stint, but otherwise it was an incredibly low key week…….

other little highlights of the trip…fun amenities in the room, having a two bedroom suite, everything about the air reminding me of Jamaica, getting upgraded to first class on the way home, and of course… the famous Green Iguana Margarita…