Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Day Four: Early Morning Sunshine (of course)

I set our alarm to go off early so I could run down for one last visit with the beach, weather permitting. Of course the sun was shining brightly since it was our last day in Siesta Key, but I couldn't feel too betrayed since it also meant I could squeeze in one more hour of tan time, water time, and general frolicking on the beach time. Besides the hardcore deeply-tanned local beach joggers, I was one of the first people on the beach, snagging a beach chair and a prime spot to enjoy the panoramic view of the ocean. I finished my book, snapped a few final pictures, and collected two of the most perfect shells I've ever seen - they washed up right next to my beach chair, so really, they found me. The water was more clear today than ever before, and I waded around before returning to my chair to bask in the sun until the last minute possible. I took it all in and then returned to the room to find Starbucks waiting for me while I packed. (Thanks, hubby!)

We leisurely made our way up to Tampa and stopped in at the International Plaza Mall, which is my new favorite! Lunch at Champp's and shopping at the Apple Store for J, Forever 21 for me. Let me just say I scored majorly in the fashion department - yay! :-) We checked into a hotel for the night and took in an IMAX movie at MOSI, Roving Mars = way cool. We ventured down to Ybor City for beer and some of J's all-time favorite fabulous pizza at Demmi's Market on 7th. After returning to our hotel to doze along with the HBO movie channel and reading in the cabana by the pool, we hit Bennigan's for a late dinner to split a sandwich and dessert - no less than Death by Chocolate to serve as our vacation grand finale meal, oh yes. Then we cozied up and watched Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer...predictable, but decent. Tomorrow brings the journey home, whether we are ready or not.

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