So… Saturday night. Let’s say I had a pretty awesome time celebrating my good friend’s final hooray as an unmarried woman. Disappointed that I had missed her bridal shower while in Ethiopia this year, I wanted to be sure to contribute in FUN to the highest degree possible. But get your head out the gutter. Being the beautiful, classy and oh-so sophisticated ladies we are — there wasn’t anything too risque at this bachelorette party. Or was there? I am not to be held responsible for the cake. I did eat a slice.

We started the night with dinner at Ceviche’s, then moved onto Cepha’s in Ybor before wrapping it up on the dance floor at Aja in Channelside. It was a fairly diverse mix of locations and none of which I’d been to before. (I’ve dined at Ceviche’s in St. Pete, but never Tampa.) The food at Ceviche’s TPA was consistent with what I’ve had in the past, but I prefer the atmosphere of the St. Pete spot. Open-air island / reggae spots are a winner no matter what — so Cepha’s was cool. It was only a pinch strange that there was no one there when we arrived, but who cares? The night was about us ladies having a good time with the beautiful bride-to-be. Aja isn’t a club I plan on visiting again. The DJ downstairs on that particular Saturday night was garbage if you ask me and the crowd, eh-eh. I danced regardless.

No more talking though. Good times and photos below to prove it. Looking forward to the wedding next weekend.

This evening I went out for some free Argentine Tango lessons in the Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park up in downtown TPA. I refreshed my memory of the basic “ocho” and took off for home shortly after. I do believe I could be fairly good at Tango if only I enrolled in a few classes and dance is always a better alternative to running. I’ll have to do something soon. I’ll just have to see if I can get the husband involved. What a bonus that would be and we could stay right here in Tampa. No exotic trips to Buenos Aries necessary, but it would be nice to taste some of the delicious ice cream again. :/

Exit daydream.

Anyhow, my plate will be pretty full as 2010 starts to come to a close, but I’m looking forward to it all right here on the home front. Saying that makes me feel odd for some strange reason. Can’t place my finger on it, but now may be the right time to switch gears. We’ll see.

Turn your speakers up folks. What can I say about this past weekend that can’t be seen in the lickle photo gallery above? Friends? Check! Sun, sand and surf? This is Florida. Fun times? For certain!

I was lucky enough to finagle myself into a three day weekend from work, so my celebration started on Thursday. One of my most awesome co-workers popped into the office on her day off to surprise me with a white cake. Mmm. It was mighty thoughtful of her and totally made my pre-celebration all the better.

Fast forward to Friday, my birthday!!! Kristen and Annette had made it in the previous night so we were only waiting on Latofia to make it in from Bama. We spent the morning killing time with the likes of brow threading, shoe shopping, laser hair removal (uh yeah – for my chin) and you get the picture. I had a few calls and appointments I had to attend to and by the time Latofia made it in I was out for a moment. My mom managed to entertain the women with some of her infamous quotes.

That night we dined at Cheap in SoHo, breezed through Hyde Park Cafe and unexpectedly got in a little live hip-hop at the Orpheum. My first night out at Cheap was superb. I nabbed some of the tapas, sipped sangria and feasted on a delectable tres leches cake for dessert. Felica gifted me with pretty flowers and Chinyere was awesome enough to gift me with beautiful blue Nigerian style lace material. The presence and good company of my friends was the greatest present of all. Glad my bro and Marci made it. Sorry that my boo couldn’t have made it sooner, but we’ve got the rest of our lives to hang.

Cut to Saturday morning. Woke up and headed out for mani/pedi time after a big breakfast from the mothership. From there we jetted over to Olga’s to pick up my wedding gown and had lunch at the Queen of Sheba, all in South Tampa. I suspect that the Queen of Sheba wasn’t as big of a hit with my friends as I would have liked for it to have been, but a woman can’t win them all. Another mall stop before the core four finally made it back to the house to prep for O-Town. We’d be joined by Latasha and Chinyere later that night for dinner and dancing at Bob Marley’s at Universal City Walk.

For Sunday’s finale we started with breakfast at First Watch and proceeded to the outlets. I discovered Marni and quickly had to get out that store before retail stupidity kicked in. From the outlets it was back to the west side of I-4 and over to Siesta Key Beach for sunset and dinner.

This morning I was greeted with complete exhaustion causing me to ponder whether I’m too old for all this fun.

Nope. Don’t think so.

P.S. Nothing was too wild either. I did see a lot of brides-to-be out on the streets Saturday and Friday nights. How did I know this? They had the blow-up man and tiny penis ornaments in their hair and everywhere. Not my style!

Funny how some free attractions can offer far more to the visitor than those which charge a fee. TECO’s (Tampa Electric Company) Manatee Viewing Center is certainly worth getting off I-75 at Big Bend Rd to check out. Now that I’m practically in the neighborhood and with temperatures being a cool 41 or so degrees outside this morning, it all made perfect sense: go see the sea cows! Oh, and did I mention the attraction is free?

It’s hard to imagine why any creature would spend the winter soaking in waters beside industrial smoke stacks, but apparently the manatees like warm water. (And apparently the water temperature today was in the 60′s.) There are plenty of manatees floating around and unless they pop their heads up for air, their backs resemble large stones in the water. The best place to spot them is from the large observation deck where other marine life can also be seen.

Smoke stacks, smoke stacks, manatees, manatees, smoke stacks, manatees. Photos: Adrienne C. Wilson

If you watch them long enough they do back flips in the water just like whales do. I kid. A manatee will not be twirling in air, but there are some fish springing from the water. Photo: Adrienne C. Wilson

Yup, that’s me. I practically rolled out of bed, strapped on my camera bags and ran out the house. It was sort of a now or never situation in joining my mother. Please donate to the sea cows. Photo: The Mothership

When you can’t feel your hands anymore and it gets too cold, go inside to the museum to warm up and read up not only on the manatees, but on TECO as well. The museum isn’t huge, but it has enough information for adults and enough entertainment for children to keep everyone please for at least a good 20 minutes or less. Inside the museum, I learned that genetically, a manatees is closely related to an elephant, ardvark, and hyrax. That’s super crazy considering they all looking almost nothing alike.

Manatee bones in the museum. Photo: Adrienne C. Wilson

If you’ve got the time to kill continue outside of the museum and down the trail to see more of nature’s splendor like red mangroves, coastal berm, and various bird life. My mother and I took to the tidal trail, but my battery didn’t have much more go and so it died. Next time, Gadget, next time.

Wat Mongkolratanaram, Tampa’s Thai Temple sits, off of State Road 41 just over the railroad tracks and along the Palm River. I’d heard over and over about the the wonderful Sunday Thai brunch, but never had the opportunity to go until yesterday. I took a few pictures, but mostly chilled with the fam and got down on a really delicious Thai crepe. (I was too busy eating to take a picture. Sorry.) This will definitely be a place I return to in the future. There was soo much food to choose from and I rally wanted a soup. I would have been over doing it to have had it with the crepe. Next time for sure!

Fried bananas. Photo: Adrienne C. Wilson

Dining by the river. Photo: Adrienne C. Wilson

It was a dark Halloween night and… nothing. I would entertain dressing up or hanging with friends on this ghoulish evening, but responsibilities still plague me. As you may have guessed I am dressed up as my ole’ usual scary face self. I do have a mud mask on now. Anyhow, do be safe and have a howling time where ever you may be.

Oh, and the last picture is just a shot of my delicious green tea boba smoothie from Kaleasia Tea a couple days ago. I could surely go for seconds.

Veer left off exit 17 from Interstate 4 and you’ll discover a land where dinosaurs are very much alive. I’d been trying to get someone to tag-a-long for a quick trip to Dinosaur World for as long as the Mesozoic Era. Without having ever visited the roadside attraction myself, I just couldn’t shake the notion that something magical was hiding behind the walls. Dinosaur World doesn’t disappoint.

The Stegosaurus (STEG-oh-SAW-rus), having always been my favorite dinosaur, was a real treat to see in the flesh. Okay, wait! If you haven’t already guessed by now, none of the dinosaurs were truly alive, but in my imagination they were. So, the Stegosaurus was amazing! The T-Rex was way overrated and the Triceratops always gets props from me.

It is easy to get lost on the grounds. By lost, I mean in a land before time when “terrible lizards” covered every inch of the Earth. The Florida fall temperatures also make for a pleasant past noon activity for family, couples, or the kid at heart. The displays aren’t cheesy either and the grounds are well manicured. Every turn proved surprising and just when I thought we were almost through touring Dinosaur World a new path presented itself.

I spent close to two hours at Dinosaur World with Dayo and we didn’t even have a picnic, watch the video or check out the Fossil Dig and Bone yard. Honestly, I think we may have been too big for the later two, but I highly recommend the road side attraction for any one in the area or passing by. It was a real nice Sunday treat to say the least. The dinosaurs still live!

Big ups to my friend Noriah for picking up a copy of the coloring book! Photo: Noriah’s fam

On a suggestion made by Ms. J Marie, I headed out to MacFarlane Park today for the 3rd annual Pastors on Patrol Octoberfest. Armed with books, coloring books and audio books I set up a table just in time for the gospel competition. All I got to say is “amen” and “thank you Lord.” What more can a woman ask for on a Saturday afternoon? I had sunshine, good music, grand conversations, and support for my book. I could ask for more, but that would be just too greedy now.

For everyone who picked up a copy of Isaac and the Bah Family Tree the book or coloring book, thank you for your support. Also, I’d like to thank everyone who came out to the Border’s book signing last weekend. You rock it too!

You are invited to not one book signing, but two in the Tampa Bay, FL area! I’m so excited!

Please join me for one or all of these special events. Bring a friend, a family member and warm smiles. I will be signing copies of my children’s book titled, Isaac and the Bah Family Tree. The event details are as follows:

When: Sunday, October 4th from 2:00-4:00 p.m.
Where: Borders
909 N. Dale Mabry
Tampa, FL 33609
813.874.5722

When: Saturday, November 14th from 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Where: Barnes & Noble Booksellers
23654 US 19 North
Clearwater, FL 33765
727.669.1688

If you already have a copy of Isaac and the Bah Family Tree, please spread the word or pick up a copy for a friend.

Check it out and see you there! Thank you soo much for all your support so far!

While the event was considered a success by many including myself, I’d love to see more agencies involved and more people being served. There must be a way for Hillsborough County to offer transportation for this one day event to help get more homeless patrons there. This isn’t the only area I’d like to see improve, but it is certainly one of the more important ones. One of my personal event highlights was having the barber cut hair and with such an amazing spirit. Having said that – working at the coalition for the summer will always be memorable. I will be keeping in touch.