Last time we left off with an adventure spanning two days around Fort DeSoto Park and Egmont Key State Park.
The next half of the week started off with a tough lesson in ocean paddle-boarding. The lesson involved two variables, one being a combination of wind and current strength and the other that of a small person on a large foam surfboard-type thing. In this case, it became less of a matter of which variable would win out but rather how far down the coast you can make it ten minutes.
I think my record was about three football fields away from our umbrellas. Our resident sandcastle engineer had the nerve to correctly paddle around and show off his seaworthy skills. I wonder if he knows the key is to actually just go with the flow.
With aching legs, backs and impressive new sunburns from fighting our way against the current the previous day, we woke up early the next morning to adventure around the concrete and metal jungles of Tampa’s Busch Gardens.
The rides and food were typical amusement park-type deals, but it’s the fact that the park combines a zoo with rollercoasters that sets Busch Gardens apart from other amusement parks.
For an additional $40 plus tax, you can take a trip on their “Serengeti Safari tour,” an open-air truck ride that takes you through their 65-acre enclosure. The 30-minute trip allows passengers to see zebras, rhinos, wildebeest and giraffes, among other African wildlife species. You even have the opportunity to feed the giraffes some lettuce, if you like.
All in all, it doesn’t sound like it’s really worth the money on paper, but when you really get out there, I can assure you it’s worth every penny, especially when it comes to the giraffe part.
You don’t really realize how inquisitive and intelligent these long-necked herbivores can be until they come sauntering over for a few leaves of lettuce. At some point during the experience I had to remind myself that the animal standing behind me was not a domesticated animal, like my horse, and that it probably wouldn’t be the best idea to reach up and pet it. It was a good call.
Now we’re getting to the slower, mainly food-oriented part of the seaside escapade.
Sure, beach trips usually involve an over-indulgence of surf on the turf, but occasionally it’s nice to try something different. Enter the Aloha To-Go food truck and restaurant.
Like the ice cream shop, it was only a short walking distance to this Hawaiian barbeque restaurant, so we decided to give it a try. We were immediately greeted by a friendly cashier who gave us tips on what we should try, bringing our attention to the sampler plate, the Big Kahuna Combo. In addition to this, we tried the spam musubi, a slice of grilled spam with rice all wrapped up in nori, or seaweed. The closest thing I could think of when I first saw it was a sort of cooked spam sushi.
Our meal provided a nice change of pace from the typical fish and shrimp dinners during our stay. My recommendation is to try the Ono teriyaki beef, a dish of thinly sliced teriyaki-marinated beef served with rice and macaroni salad. As for the spam musubi, it tastes a lot better than I make it sound, trust me.
The final day of our trip we spent roaming around the streets of Saint Petersburg. We had heard talk of an old large bookstore in that area and thought about checking it out.
The store, Haslam’s Book Store, has been around for over 80 years. They boast over 300,000 books, with some rare and collectable titles mingled about in glass cases around the store. They even have some resident cats roaming around that you can pet.
Around this time in the evening we got a hankering for something to eat. Again, we were itching to try something different, so we looked around for a hole-in-the-wall place, so to speak. Our search brought us to Chief’s Creole Café, a spot just across from Tropicana Field on the other side of Interstate 275.
I felt a bit out of place, with my sandals and shorts, in such a nice atmosphere. That feeling didn’t stay long, however, as the folks there made you feel welcomed. It didn’t hurt that they brought out complementary fried okra either.
The menu offered the usual Creole fare: jambalaya, gumbo and etouffee, salads served with dinner. I aimed my sights on the gumbo, expecting the typical medium-sized shallow bowl restaurants usually give out. Instead, I found myself peering down into a large, deep bowl of the Creole stew, topped with a small red crawfish.
A large bowl of gumbo from Chief's Creole Cafe in Saint Petersburg, Florida.
I got about half-way through the bowl of gumbo before I had to tap out. Not because it was overly spicy, but because I was already full. You wouldn’t think a few spoonfuls of roux could fill you up that fast, but it does. I felt bad that I couldn’t finish it off, but then again, I’ve never really been a member of the clean plate club anyway.
With our hunger for adventure satisfied, we packed up the next day and drove back weary, yet content. The beach is alright, but when those Tennessee mountains start calling, it’s hard to not come back.
Kelly Alley is a junior studying Journalism and Electronic Media. She can be reached at [email protected].
Columns and letters of The Daily Beacon are the views of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Beacon or the Beacon’s editorial staff.
