last day- it's still all about the food!

did i mention that shea ran out of toothpaste just before we started our weekend adventures? no worries, because i had plenty! i don't know that this is important, but i thought it was funny-so on monday i decided that it would be an excellent parting gift, so that she didn't have to use all of lily's person's toothpaste during the week! it's true.

monday morning, shea went to work and it was not a beautiful morning-i had thought about getting up and going to the beach, but it was raining, so instead, i got some stuff done and took a quick trip to for some items for the flight attendants (if they so happened to be amazing), and so it was that i met hobby lobby and target of bradenton. while i was at hobby lobby, i got a txt from shea-that meant she was free and ready for lunch. so i set WAZE to take me to IMG to pick her up. she gave me instructions for the gate and where to go after that. the only problem, was that WAZE took me to the back entrance. so the gentleman at the entrance looked at me like i was an idiot using some directions app and said, "well, the HR dept is actually on the other side." i wasn't sure because i saw the 'blue tent' that shea said she'd meet me at...but i followed his instructions and turned around anyway to go to the main entrance...it made sense.

i took his instruction and i went to the front gate and the lady there made a little tag for me to put in my window and sent me around to round-about and..i couldn't remember...did the lady say take a spot in the reserved parking area, or did she saygo to the blue tent is in front of the reserved parking area. i opted to pull into a spot, not being certain. then i worried that i was going to get in trouble for parking in someone's spot...and if i was pulled into this spot, how would shea recognize the back end of this rental car? so i decided to pull out and just wait in the loading zone by the blue tent, but i wasn't sure if it was one way or not, and i didn't see any signs. so i sent a txt to ask shea, then i got tired of waiting, so i backed out, and that's when i saw the ONE WAY painted on the pavement. so i pulled out and drove around the parking lot to get back to the bus-loading zone. while i was waiting, i watched a mother saying goodbye to her kids-she must have been leaving them for sports camp. she pulled away, so i pulled forward and waited. within minutes, my thoughts were disrupted by a little tap at the window and a, "look what i found! someone you might know!" when i looked up, there was morgan! (no, not morgan freeman, i know, popularity has it's benefits, but even better, it was morgan, a kanakuk gal!) we had a very brief greeting, then we had to take off so that shea could get back for her appointment.

like 'cheers' only better! 

one of the joints i'd been wanting to eat at was the starfish- a small cash-only, dock restaurant, it doesn't get any fresher than that! so we got a little sampler with shrimp and scallops with hush puppies and an order of calamari. then we found a spot under the roof, as it was still a little wet with possibility of more rain. while we waited, we went around to the little shop up front and i got to see where they sold their fresh fish, and some other fun little ocean-type art and knick knacks.

we got there at just the right time, because it started to get busy right after our food came. fresh sea food! it was delicious! i enjoyed every piece! sadly, i had never enjoyed the calamari and scallops i'd previously had, perhaps due to the fact that it had not been fresh...my take on these items is that they were just naturally rubbery. i am so thankful that i finally got to taste each of these items exactly as they were meant to be! and in the atmosphere it was meant to be eaten in, as well!

the view out-where the fishermen are!

the view in- where the consumers are!

old-man bird

from there, we had time to stop at the sea hagg. this place will surprise you! looking at it as you drive by, which we had done many times, it seems like a junk yard of crazy. shea knew better-she'd been there before. so when we went in, it was like a salvage yard along with some artsy sea-faring type decor. definitely the place to go for unique pirate/mermaid/ship-faring decorating ideas.

medusa mermaid? coral peacock hair...#mermaidproblems

yargh! a pirate's life for shea!

oh my...what's a girl to do when the shark jumps over the bridge to maul your arm? 

you can barely see the scratch gouge from the ripped flesh anymore, but trust me, it was there!

 some stuff was inexpensive, while other items were quite pricey. shea was eyeing some great ship wheels (the steering mechanism), which would probably rip the plaster and dry wall right off the studs if you tried to hang it-they were heavy, but beautiful! and they pics of mermaids that made me blush-apparently not all mermaids are as modest as ariel. #mermaidproblems

we didn't purchase anything, but shea found a back scratcher-tried doing creepy baby hands with it, but the skin type wasn't an exact match...

baby-hands are much more convincing without the pricetag...and when the skin color matches...but i still think it'd be a great item to have available in the office!

we went back to IMG, because shea had to get back to work and i had to make my way off to tpa airport. we stopped at her car and i grabbed 3 shark teeth to prove that yes, we'd really gone hunting! i'd kinda' like to take one in when we go for the boys' teeth cleaning in a couple of weeks and tell the new vet (who i've not yet met), that bruno lost a tooth, and i just wanted to make sure it didn't alter his ability to rip flesh....thoughts?

anyhoo, i drove up to tpa in the rain and i was beginning to miss it already. WAZE was kind enough to spot the traffic and reroute me around it, but i still got to the car rental place about an hour later than i had originally rented the car for-thankfully, the little guy didn't charge me!

if you look closely, the drops on the windshield-they are not rain...they are tears from the angels wishing i didn't have to leave..they know...they feel my pain!

as i got into the shuttle, there was only one other lady, and as i sat down, my google hangouts video called, but i somehow got cut-off and decided against calling back. the gal and i ended up conversing a little about the area and before you know it, we were at the airport and the skycap got me all checked in.

that night, i received the best text ever! i'm pretty sure i got it while i was in stl on a layover, and i laughed! so i must share it- the time lapse! hopefully it will play with the music! (boo- it wouldn't load)

 i guess i'll just have to add this one-just for fun because i found it on my drive!

officially it was over. i knew it was so when the airplane pulled into dallas love, and it took 20 minutes for the baggage to arrive...and i called the lyft driver to take me home at 20 past midnight.

so yes, it's all about the food, but let's be very clear-the food isn't nearly as good nor as fun without the friend/s! having the opportunity to eat and laugh and play with this amazing friend of mine convinced me that perhaps bradenton, fl needs me.

sigh. ready for the next trip!
julie