Welcome To Shay's World

Late Sunday night, I returned from some much needed R&R in St. Pete, Florida. A week ago I wrapped up our big fundraiser at work and I needed to get away and relax. BTW...the fundraiser is to blame for the lack of and inconsistent blog entries. The event was a huge success, but I am happy to report that I am now back among the land of the living. So, on to Florida.

I jetted to Orlando Thursday afternoon to meet with Shelly (in from New York) and Cindy (in from Dallas) to stay at Shay's house in Longwood (just outside of Orlando).

For some reason I have this preconceived opinion of Florida and those who reside there. It may be partially because my favorite Floridian transplant has brainwashed me, but I have to say she is mostly right. Upon arrival I immediately noticed that Florida must be the capital of men in cut off jeans and women donning tattoos that are no doubt the regret of a drunken spring break in Daytona some time ago...but I digress.

We spent the night at Shay's on Thursday night and got to see her darling little ones Mason and Mary Beth before hitting the road for the two hour drive to St. Pete Beach.

With the gas tank full, our bags packed, and the Morse kiddos safe and sound with the sitter we headed out to the coast. One problem....in my haste to get out of Austin I forgot my bathing suit. Minor hiccup though. I'm nothing if not solution focused...so I enlisted Ashley back in Austin and she had a suit over-nighted to me and waiting for us upon check in. Now that's service.

We made it to St. Pete's in one piece and checked into our fabulous hotel the Don Cesar Beach Resort. Upon arrival we learned that the hotel was host to the 2nd Annual Tampa Bay Wine and Food Festival...which proved to add lots of entertainment throughout the weekend.


We were settled into our pool-side lounge chairs by noon and enjoyed a beautiful afternoon of sunshine with a couple of refreshing cocktails. Since the wine fest was at our hotel, we got free tickets and we decided to head into the tent to see what all the fuss was about. I think I'd equate the inside of that tent to the cheesiest club I've ever been to...body painting, vodka shot ice sculptures, a DJ blaring, shot girls, etc, etc. There was lots of great food and wine to sample, but we highly preferred the luxury of our pool-side spots. So we headed back to our post where we watched the wine tasting guests stumble out late in the afternoon. Highly entertaining.


Friday night we went to the roof top bar at Hurricane's to watch the sunset over the ocean with a pre-dinner cocktail. From Hurricane's we walked down the street for dinner at a darling little place called The Black Palm where we dined on delicious Latin inspired cuisine and sipped on refreshing Sangria (some of the best I've ever had). Since this trip's intent was rest and relaxation, we decided to call it an early night and we retired to our room.


Saturday morning we ventured out from the hotel again for a well recommended breakfast at the historic Seahorse Restaurant. We ordered a little (or a lot) of everything and it was delicious. I was particularly taken with the cheese grits! Delisch! After breakfast it was back to the pool for more sun. Late Saturday afternoon as the Wine Fest crowd staggered out we befriended Nancy and John...a sixty something year old couple who had had one (or 5) too many glasses of wine. Ask me about them next time I see you.....there are a couple of great Nancy and John stories that are much better shared in person.

After the pool we headed to the room to get dressed. Of course I had my iPod in tow, so we busted out some of our old school faves....and inevitably "Ghetto Shay" comes out. I hear Ghetto Shay and don't get to see her near as often I'd like since she moved oh so far away from me. Ghetto Shay can always be counted on to bust out with a heartwarming performance of "Gimme That Nut." Classic!

Saturday night we ventured into downtown St. Petersburg for dinner at The Table. Delicious, self described "Atlantic Rim" flavors and fabulous cocktails. For apps we had some of the best ceviche I have ever had. But their little bread rolls....oh my...these are little bits of heaven that I will not soon forget. Saturday night's dinner was an all night affair, so we headed back to the hotel for night cap before retiring for the evening.

As all good things must do, our trip came to an end Sunday with hearty lunch at the Sea Critter Cafe (the name is far more unfortunate than the food). I have to say I was a little suspect about heading out to the Florida beaches (mainly b/c Shay is a card carrying member of the "I hate Florida club"), but I really enjoyed myself. Great beach, great pool, great hotel with great service, and great company.

Cheers to a great trip girls. I can't wait for the next adventure.

P.S. We reinstated the quote list on this trip, although Shelly took over as historian so I could give my fingers a break this time. Here's a bit of what was overhead from the beaches of St. Pete....

"Welcome to my world." SM

"I can't be asked to _______." SH
"I can't imagine trying to date in this state." SH
"There are a lot ho's here." SM
"Is that the colonel?" SH
"That's suntanning gone bad." SM
"Did she dye her hair merlot for the wine fest?" LE
"It smelled like fried fish in there." SM
"Do you think he picked out his best mickey tank for tonight?" LE

"Should I put it in my purse?" CZ
"Critters in your pants? Like the pool boy?" CZ
"I'll take sex on my bed for money." SH

"(Circa 1:00pm) I'm drunk!" SH
"I don't want to nurse it, I just want to hold it." SM
"Are those her panties?" LE
"She's a stage six." LE
"I noticed in the bathroom that my loins are pink." LE
"What happens after 17 minutes? I'd want to kill someone." SH
"That probably hurt as bad coming out as it did going in." LE
"Magna crom laden." SH

Click here for more pics from our girl's weekend in St. Pete.