My Florida Trip
Sunday, October 30, 2005

My trip to Florida was wonderful. On the way to Florida, I sat next to a fun couple, Jan Tally and Richard Bryars. Jan and I had fun all the way to Florida, cracking up. I laughed so much that my stomach hurt when we landed. She and Richard had "Billy Bob" teeth and were playing around with the flight attendants. It was hilarious. Jan and Richard live in the Houston area and now I am having dinner with them soon.

When I arrived in Tampa on Wednesday, October 26, I checked into my hotel, La Quinta, which is right next to the University of South Florida campus. A friend of mine, Dee Blackwelder, called and invited me to dinner. So I quickly took a shower and had dinner and drinks with Dee. Dee is retired and lives in a gorgeous retirement community just outside of Tampa. It was great to catch up with Dee (whom I met at a booking conference a couple years ago).

The next day, Thursday, October 27, my friends, Gene and Laurie Toncray, drove up to Tampa to see my show. They live in Fort Myers. Hurricane Wilma pushed a tree on top of their roof and they didn't have any electricity so they decided to stay a night at the hotel. They accompanied me to my gig at USF, where I was telling ghost stories (a gig referred to me by America's Ghost Storyteller, Diane Ladley).

The event was fabulous. It was a little chilly and the Campus Activities Board had the whole evening well organized. There was a fire pit where students roasted marshmallows and made S'mores. They had caramel apples and apple cider. It was so cozy. I told the true ghost story of King's Tavern in Natchez, Mississippi, the Monkey's Paw, and one for fun, The Viper. I had a blast with the students. It was a wonderful event.

The next day, Friday, October 28, Gene, Laurie and I decided to visit Clearwater Beach, which is right across the bay from Tampa. When we arrived at the beach, it was warm and sunny. We decided to eat lunch at a beachside cafe' (the food was delicious!) and when we were finished, we were surprised with an overcast sky and chilly winds. The weather had changed that quickly! Still, because of my love for beaches, I was determined to have some time at the beach. We walked to the shore and I dipped my toes in the water. It was pretty cold. I was amazed to see that there were a lot of people swimming. We met and spoke to some wonderful and interesting people like the "Connecticut Cabana Girls." These four women had been friends for over 30 years and were vacationing sans husbands. They were playing cards under a blue and white cabana. Then we met a family whose young sons were scanning the sand for hidden treasures with their metal detector. This metal detector was so fancy that it could distinguish between foil, pennies, nickles, and other coins.

Gene, Laurie and I walked to the pier and met a family at the end of the pier, fishing. They were from England and were in Florida on holiday. As we were leaving a pier, I met a street artist. He made objects out of palmetto leaves. He had grasshoppers and roses. The huge grasshoppers were sitting on the ground and they looked so real that I jumped back as we were walking by. Since I would looking for an "unusual" souvenir for my girls, I bought a rose and a grasshopper from him.

We got stuck in some major traffic on the way back to the hotel. We played mind games in the car and Gene and Laurie taught me a new one. "I like poodles but I don't like dogs." "I like noodles but I don't like pasta." "I like kittens but I don't like cats." "I like Hubba Bubba but I don't like Juicy Fruit." Can you guess the puzzle? I was unable to guess the puzzle but when I shared it with Soleil, my 15 year old genius, she figured it out right away. The answer will be at the end of this blog...

I convinced Gene and Laurie to stay with me in my hotel room since they were still without electricity. Here I was,"an evacuee housing evacuees." It was funny. I was glad that I could help out a little.

Another friend of mine, Pat Fenda, who is in the entertainment business called me and we met for dinner. Gene, Laurie, Pat and I ate at TGI Friday's. I hadn't been there in a long time and the food was delicious. We had a marvelous time visiting.

On Saturday morning (October 29), Gene and Laurie left to return home. I was on my own. That morning, I had a radio interview with WMNF 88.5 FM community radio. I appeared on The Women's Show. It was so much fun. The interview flew by. We talked about my storytelling and my hurricane experience. Then I was given a tour of the facilities. It is by far the most gorgeous community radio station I have ever seen.

Afterwards, I decided to visit the beach in St. Petersburg. I had lunch at Flipper's, a seaside beach cafe'. Then I rented cabana and just watched the ocean. Finally, I decided to take a walk along the water's edge. The weather was perfect. It was in the 70s and not too hot. A million diamonds sparkled on top of the turquoise water as the sea reflected the sun's rays. I picked up a few cool sea shells to bring home to the girls. I met a nice family from Oklahoma, who had two girls, ages 5 and 9. We played in the water and the little one kept bringing me sea shells to put in my bag.

Upon returning to my car, I found a little gift from the City of St. Pete - a $20 parking ticket! I thought I had parked in a free public lot but I was wrong. The parking was only $5 and now I have to pay $20. I already sent in my check and learned my lesson. Read all the signs carefully!

When I got back to the hotel, I planned to go into the city and go dancing or see "Guavaween," Tampa's annual Halloween celebration with festivities and floats much like Mardi Gras. It is called "Guavaween" because Tampa's official fruit is the guava. After talking to my family on the phone, my body began to whine about how tired it was. So I decided to stay in and watch a movie on demand (War of the Worlds) and order pizza. So much for kicking up my heels.

Tampa is a wonderful city to visit and there is so much to do. I really want to take my family there for a visit. It was great to have some fun after all the stress of the storm.

The answer to the puzzle: My cousin, Heidi, told me the name of the game is Fanny Doodle. Fanny Doodle likes double letters as in "oo" in poodles and noodles or the "tt" in kittens. Did you get it right?!

Until next time...

Warmly,
Dianne