Busch Gardens

I finally got my chance to go to Busch Gardens! I haven't been to a large roller coaster park since I was little and too scared to ride them. This time I wasn't going to say no to any ride!

We got in the park and saw Cheetah's running around playing! It was so awesome, they are super fast kittens :]

My first upside down roller coaster included seven inversions. The lines were so short that we rode it two times in a row, just hopping to a difference seat.

Next was Sheikra. It went 200 feet up in a slow ticking steading progress up the ramp, then dangled us on the verge of a 90 degree drop for four seconds, then down the drop we went. The ride goes more than 70 miles an hour and has some loops along with another vertical dive, an underground tunnel and another twist to finish. When we looked at the pictures afterwards, I looked scared out of my mind. The 90 degree drop is like being in a freefall. It was so thrilling and amazing!

We stopped for lunch when some rain clouds approached. We had some delicious food while sheltering from the rain and watching giraffes parade around outside. Also had some of the rare yet delicious dippin dots!

Cheetah is the new ride of the park. It is a three minute ride, which is super long for a roller coaster. It accelerates to 60 miles in hour in two seconds with the growl of a cheetah or as they say, "Go from zero to cheetah." Unfortunately we waited in line for an hour and a half. The ride kept breaking down and then they'd fix it and run tests and it'd break again. It actually got quite stressful, but we finally made it on thankfully!

Then we took a ride on a classic wooden roller coaster which was quite jarring. We also rode two water rides and got pretty soaked on both. On the rafting ride Ashley got stuck under a waterfall and somehow the random people on the other side managed to stay perfectly dry, it was ridiculous.

Next we took a ride that looked like a ski lift, only with big blue buckets. It lifted us slowly around the park so that we could gaze down on all of the animals. It was awesome to see all kinds of foreign creatures just grazing about.

The last ride that I went on was an Egyptian themed ride where your legs are dangling the whole time. It was my favorite!

We walked around the park a bit to see the animals from the ground as well. I was watching hyenas pacing around separated simply by a glass panel. Next to the hyenas there were some lions of course! I also was able to look into a sleeping white tigers mouth through a little glass bubble in the ground that the tiger was sleeping up against.

All and all I really loved the parked in both it's animal and ride components! Would go back in a heartbeat!

Hillsong United

Last night I headed out to the Tampa Bay Forum to go see the group Hillsong United in concert for their Aftermath tour.

The hockey arena holds a capacity of 21,500 people for concerts and that place was packed with a select amount of seats open. My seat was very far back in the third tier and off to the side, but it was still enjoyable all the same! I had completely forgotten that they were Australian until they started talking! They all had really long hair, silly Australians! :]

They played almost every song that I had hoped for! They opened up with the song Go! They also played Mighty to Save, Hosanna, The Stand (just the chorus), Shout Unto God, Aftermath, Break Free, Take Heart, Rhythms of Grace, Search My Heart, From The Inside Out, Like An Avalanche, Nova, Bones, Take It All, All I Need Is You, Your Name High and a few others that I didn't know. As much as I loved hearing their wonderful voices singing I also loved when they would stop singing and I could hear the thousands of voices singing!

I loved the woman singer, I have always loved her voice, so incredibly beautiful! And of course, they all were amazing singers live! They had five different singers who would lead in different songs and two different drummers who played at the same time which was interesting. This is because they started as a normal worship band at a church who made it big. They danced around the stage a lot which made me smile.

The best part of the concert was being surrounded by 20,000 other people all singing these powerful worship songs in unison to God. Looking around and seeing thousands of hands stretched up in the air, it was fantastic! The band did little short talks in between the songs as expected. The thing that stuck out the most to me was when he said something along the lines of, we can try and work our way closer to God our whole lives, but we will never be any closer than we are now because God came to us.

The last song that they played had a chorus of Ooos in it. When they left the stage the crowd cheered for an encore and then we all started singing the Ooos to call them back! They came and played three more songs! Although I didn't know them, the build up in them was so incredible, it was a great finish!

R&R Day: RMS Beach Blast!

Yesterday our office held an R&R day where instead of going to work, all of the employees went to a resort called the Sheraton Sand key which is located near Clearwater beach.

When we arrived they had brunch laid out for us. There were booths where you can have a spray paint shirt or hat made for you. I got one with a tree that says Whitfield. They also had a fake tattoo booth where I had one sprayed on. The sun is supposed to tan through them, that is yet to be seen...

My kitty tattoo :]

After that we headed inside for the lunch buffet. They had an open bar so most people started drinking right away. (11 in the morning, I wasn't so keen) The buffet was delicious although it was hilarious how many employees went for the food at the kids table (Mac N' Cheese, Chicken Strips, Fries) instead of the cajun chicken and steak for the adults. The dessert bar was so beautiful I didn't want to eat anything. They had fruit with chocolate fondu and all kinds of cheesecake and other pastries in miniature squares that seriously looked like works of art.

Ashley eating gummies from the kids table

Next the founder of the company gave a speech. One of my coworkers decided to make a game of it. There were three rules. Everyone had to drink anytime he: 1) Said thank you 2) Mentioned family support 3) Said something pessimistic. (this one occurred a surprising amount considering our company is dependent on the economy) It was amusing to watch a good portion of the table all drinking simultaneously, especially for rule 3. 

Then we headed back outside and I played some ukulele for a bit.

Next they had a corn hole tourney along with some volleyball. I played a little bit of a corn hole and volleyball then decided to be a spectator while enjoying some strawberry daiquiris. 

Corn Hole

My absolute best friend down here!

Once the tournament was done I left the pool area to head down to the beach for my turn on the jet-skis. I was paired up with one of the women from the Paris office who wanted me to drive. I learned that driving a jet-ski on the ocean is a lot harder than on Lake Superior. The waves were rather large making navigation super hard. It was fun though, a nice adrenaline rush! Plus I got to use my French a little! "On y va!!!"

After the beach it was back to the conference room for my massage. It was a perfectly, relaxing way to finish the day. The best part is that now it's still only Saturday!

Reverse Tailgating

This week was one filled with sporting events!

On Monday night we went to watch two of our coworkers Ryan and Adam play for their hockey team championship in Brandon. Both teams played well and in the last minute our team was up 3 to 1. The other team had pulled their goalie and things we getting intense. In the last 20 seconds everyone on the ice broke out into a fight. I have never seen a fight that intense in a hockey game! We all wondered what would happen for the last 20 seconds considering you can't put everyone in the penalty box! They ran the clock without playing to end the game.

Tuesday night we went to watch our company softball team play. They don't have the best record: they have yet to win a game this season, BUT they were playing a team who also had not won a game yet this season. We figured it was the best game to go watch and cheer them on! They lost the game 7-10 although they were up until the last inning.

Lining up for the "Good game" handshakes

Dedicated fans toughing out the heat

Afterwords a bunch of us stayed to grill out in what I call reverse tailgating fashion. Ryan brought his grill and everyone pitched in for burgers, brats and beer.

Ryan with his grill

Parasailing

Well, I finally did it, I went PARASAILING! It was an incredible experience!

Starting from the beginning. Ever since I moved down here I've been wanting to go. Every time I went to the beach I could spot people cruisin about- I just had to find someone to go with me and I would be one of them. When Ashley moved down here she agreed to go. (Although I was forewarned to ignore any cursing thrown my way during the actual experience. ha!)

After speaking about going for weeks, last weekend we finally picked a company and drove out to Clearwater. We were a little worried about the weather because we saw an impending storm on the horizon. In the end we made it just in time, barely missing the rain.

We went out on a small boat with Ashley's Mom, her friend Steven, Ashley, me, three Indian people who were also going parasailing, the Captain and the guy who was in charge of gearing us up. The two employees were kind of jokesters which in this situation, wasn't that appreciated. (Considering we had to sign waivers saying we knew that if something went wrong there was a possibility of major injury or death...)

We went up in a group of three (Ashley, Steven and I) while Ashley's Mom photographed us from below. I was so excited to go and hadn't let myself get all psyched out thankfully. We had picked the longest rope available, 800 feet! (I'd say that the rope was at about a 60 degree angle so those who are good at trig can figure out approximately how high we were.) The crew let out the parachute from the back while we put on life jackets and leg straps then crawled to the back of the boat and sat down. They hooked us up to a bar and then they cranked out the rope to let us out. It was like sitting in a swing and everything was so smooth that it wasn't even scary. If you didn't think about what was going on, it was rather enjoyable. :] (Ashley didn't curse as much as she thought she would. ha!)

Up we go!

The view from up top was wonderful both towards the endless horizon of the Gulf and back towards Clearwater beach with its skyscrapers. I was surprised how calm it was up top. Everything seemed very still. There were only a couple times when the wind jerked us a little and we were reminded that we were suspended in the air with nothing but water below us. The scariest was to look straight down!

Up in the air!

(A very patriotic parachute)

Near the end the Captain started lowering us down closer and closer towards the water. We had the option of getting wet at the end or not, but we couldn't all agree so we told the Captain to decide. He lowered us super close to the water and just when we thought we were about to go in, he snatched us back up into the air. He brought us down again and this time we went into the water.

He let us back out one more time and then cranked us in onto the deck of the boat. We had to hold onto the bar above our heads as they pulled us in. We enjoyed the rest of the boat ride as the other group went. 

And one more thing is checked off of my bucket list :]

Sports Games and Other Such Happenings

Recently I had the chance to attend another Rays game, only this time it was against the Cardinals. They were passing out puppets of DJ Kitties for kids under twelve. Ashley and I wanted one, but unfortunately, we were just a little over the age limit... But due to the puppets, they played DJ Kitten frequently throughout the game which was awesome. Here's a sample of DJ Kitten for those of you who are wondering what I'm talking about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awU9WRiOUnQ

I picked the one that was put to a French song just because I find it hilarious. The Rays won which always makes it more fun. I still haven't figured out what the Rays mascot is supposed to be because to me it looks like a hairy elephant or something... haha

En lieu of DJ Kitty, Ashley won a poster of BJ Sammy, player number 2, so for the rest of the game we cheered him on since he was the only one who's name we knew!

The Unknown Mascot

After the game (There was a free Wiggles concert afterward)

Our next sports outing was to a soccer (or should I say football?) game. An English team from Bolton came over to tour and set up a match against the Tampa team. We went to the field on Saturday only to discover that we had the date wrong. Instead we explored the outside of the newly rebuilt Dali Museum.

The outside of the Dali Museum

Ashley and I with the melting clock bench

I loved the lighting and these pretty glass chairs

Missing Marquette's harbor

The following Thursday, we headed out to Progress Field once more, only this time it was the correct date for the game. The Tampa team had the upper hand in being used to the intense Florida heat and took the match 1 - 0. The game was at Progress Field which doubles as a baseball field. The Tampa team had a group of fans similar to Tech's pep band. They kept up a drum beat and constant cheering almost the whole game. At half time they had a fish and chips eating contest as well.

Lining up for the national anthem

Progress Field

Mascot?

Our next outing was another trip to Clearwater beach which again resulted in sunburns. It doesn't seem to matter how careful I am with my sunscreen, I always get burnt!

Ashley with the turtle statue

Clearwater Beach

This time I brought my ukulele with me to play some beach music. It was super fun to make music on the beach and the ukulele was a perfect fit for the scenery.

Swimming with the Manatees!

Friday night a group of us went out to a country bar called The Bull. When we got there they had a live band performing. Once they were finished everyone went to the dancefloor for some line dancing. It was my first time line dancing, but I loved it! Nick knew all of the dances so we just followed him most of the time. Each song has a combo of moves that just repeats throughout the song, so once you figure that out, you're golden til the next song. Ashley's brother made it his goal of the night to try on all of the cowgirl hats that he saw and had a good success rate too!

This Saturday I had the pleasure of going on a kayaking trip to Caladesi Island with the Sacred Heart Youth Group. The water was nice and smooth and the sun was shining the whole time! We couldn't have asked for better weather!

Most of our group

We kayaked out to the island and went around to the back side of it. Once we were on the other side we saw a kayaker snapping photos of something in the water. We soon learned that there were eight manatees swimming around him close to shore. We quietly paddled over to where he was. Beneath the surface I could see what looked like huge shadows or rocks moving slowly along the bottom. They swam underneath my kayak a couple of times and I was nervous that they'd surface and capsize me, but they were very peaceful animals.

Swimming with the MANATEES!!!

He's so cute :]

After seeing the manatees we pulled our kayaks onshore and went swimming to cool off. Much to our amazement, the manatees came back. They swam right past us. At one point I wanted a little bit of a closer look and instead I ended up getting surrounded. One swam so close to me that I was scared that it would hit me when I realized there was one behind me as well. It was incredibly thrilling.

Throughout the entire trip they kept coming back to visit us. Each time I felt a little braver towards them. I touched one of their tails and then petted one on the back. It felt very slimy from the algae and you could see scars from boat motors that have hit them. Every once in a while they would stick their noses above the water. I loved being right there in the water with them. One of the girls let me use her snorkel to look at them properly underneath the water. They are so huge and beautiful! I felt so connected to nature as I watched them make their way through the water.

Shortly after that we pulled our kayaks back into the water and paddled back to the rental shop. The trip back was a little more difficult because the tide had pulled in so new sandbars had appeared and also the afternoon boat traffic was heavier than in the morning.

Once we made it back we all rinsed off and then went to a restaurant for some food. Once we had eaten everyone was ready for a nap! I tried cuban sangria for the first time which has cinnamon in it. It was really good! Then again, I tend to like all things cinnamon.

Deep Sea Fishing

Yesterday a bunch of employees from my company all went on a deep sea fishing trip. We took a boat out of Clearwater. Friday at work I was told a sunhat and sunscreen were non-negotiables for the trip. Since I didn't own a sunhat I went out and bought your typical oversized Florida sunhat. I never thought I'd own one and now I love it :]

We had an hour long ride to get out to where the fishing is good. The first hour and a half I felt a little nauseous, but after that I adjusted and was good to go- not everyone was so fortunate. We were fishing in water about 150 feet deep in the gulf and the water was pretty calm that day. It wasn't like the cast style fishing I grew up with. All I had to do was put some squid on the hook as bait, pull up the lever on my rod- keeping my thumb on the wire so that it didn't unwind too quickly and let it drop down to the bottom. Then pull the lever back down and wait for a tug. The most difficult part was keeping the bait close to the rocky bottom without catching the hook on the bottom- which I did twice. The boat hands had to come help me get it free again. The boat was pretty crowded so we had our lines get tangled a couple times, but it wasn't anything that we couldn't get undone. (I like to say I caught some frozen squid)

One of my grunts

The most popular fish we caught were grunts which you can keep no matter what the size. There were a few groupers caught, but only one was kept because they have to be at least 20 inches. My total for the day was 10 grunts and one (undersized) grouper. It was a lot more exciting than I expected, probably because I've never caught so many fish in one trip or caught one as big as my grouper who was over a foot long.

One of the groupers

This odd guy is called a mother-in-law (for it's big mouth and ugliness according to our crew)

We were out on the boat for 8 hours in the sun so it was pretty exhausting, but quite the adventure. At the end of the trip they strung up all the fish on lines which were arranged by number and everyone collected their keepers for the day.

All in a day's work :]

Florida Sunsets

One of these days I will actually have my camera on me when I want it! I've taken to walking along the water around 8 at night and watching the sunset. There is a walking strip that has the best view of the horizon. It's a little different from what I'm used to with the sky scrapers, but it's beautiful all the same. Tonight's sky wasn't too colorful, but the sun was a bright glowing red. Just stunning. I sat on the bridge until it set to take it in.

I also experienced my first Florida storm. I compared it to natures very own disco. The lightning was so frequent and lit up the whole sky like a strobe light and the thunder was the booming bassline :]

I live right next to the Tampa Convention Center so I see many oddly themed groups of people around the area for different conventions. This includes old women with matching outfits and as of late, anime characters along with the main character from V for Vendetta. I looked up the event to see what it was for and apparently it's Florida's largest anime convention this weekend. Here's the website:

http://www.metroconventions.com/

I found a new favorite restaurant here. It is called La Creperia Cafe located in YBor. Although the decor isn't very French, the crêpes are amazing! They have both sweet and savory crêpes and both are just wonderful. My favorite is called La French Rivera with chicken, cheese and artichoke hearts. They also have Orangina which is the carbonated orange juice drink that I loved in France so much! I felt like I took a little trip back to France for some cuisine :] Here's their website:

http://www.lacreperiacafe.com/menu.html

Other than that I've been playing my ukulele and enjoying participating in the free classes at the gym, my favorite being zumba!

That's all for now folks!

Clearwater Beach

I finally got my Florida beach experience! My apartment-mate Bryan, his friend Jeff and I went to the beach in Clearwater. The sand was so fine and white compared to the beaches in Marquette! We only stayed three or four hours which was probably for the best since I got the worst sunburnt I've had since the last time I was in Florida! I used sunscreen, but learned that I should reapply it more often!

The water was nice and warm (Unlike Lake Superior) and I stayed in it a long time, although I only went under once because the water is just so salty. (Also unlike Lake Superior) The beach was pretty busy and the water was filled with so many people playing catch, it was hard to know who was involved in which game! No jellyfish or shark sightings although I saw a lot of small sand colored fish. The beach also had a long dock going out into the water so that people can fish at the end beyond the point where people are swimming. Also, seagulls seem even braver here...

Laying in the sun can just be so exhausting :]

Now I'm just sitting on my bed reapplying aloe every five minutes...

Settling In

I've officially been in Tampa for two weeks and I feel like I'm settling in pretty well. I've walked around the area a bit; discovered a coldstone and a starbucks so I think I'll be set :]

I really like the fitness center that all RMS employees receive a membership to. I get three free sessions with a trainer and I had my first one with him last week. They also offer free classes such as spinning, zumba, ab workouts, etc. A bunch of my coworkers go to the zumba classes during lunch break so I've been going to those and it's really fun. It's a good cardio workout where you dance to modern music using a lot of salsa based steps.

My condo has a really nice pool and a beautiful courtyard. We also have the most wonderful view of the sunset from our balcony or there is a strip of sidewalk along the water where I really enjoy walking while watching it as well. The sunsets are just gorgeous here.

The parks around my condo:

They like hockey here too and even know what broomball is!!!

Really cool plants here:

There's my condo:

Inner courtyard:

The church that I've been going to is pretty neat as well. It looks like it's been transported out of Europe. It has a really old style, over 150 years old and is run by Franciscan monks! Here's their website:

http://www.sacredheartfla.org/index.html

One of my coworkers Ryan invited all of the new people over to his place for a memorial day BBQ. I baked some chocolate peanut butter brownies for the occasion which was pretty difficult considering I was very limited in my supplies, but I made it work. (The grocery store is a decent hike, especially in the heat.) It was really nice to just sit and soak up some sun with good food and good conversation! I did get a little sunburnt despite the sunscreen, but what more can you do?

I'm really enjoying work and my coworkers are really friendly! Tomorrow I get to start working on a new project, so I'm excited to see how it goes. I think it's going to be a good summer!