I enjoy winter. Sometimes. Occasionally, perhaps. But what I like even better than a nice snowy day is a warm, sunny day, things you will not find in Michigan in January. Thus, the missus and I headed to St. Petersburg, FL. With inexpensive, direct flights from Traverse City (TVC). In just a short time, you can join the other hundreds of thousands of Michiganders who are visiting - or have moved permanently - all the time.
We arrived in sunny Florida happy to see the sun. It was cool for Florida, but the mid-60s weather was still better than the single digits we had just left. Our Uber driver whisked us to Hyatt Place right in the heart of all the partying that goes on in St. Pete, though our room on the twelfth floor, and to the side of the building, was very quiet. And we had a wonderful view of an attractive parking ramp! We had that blue sky and a smidge of a water view - good enough.
But the Hyatt was a very nice place to stay. The staff were pleasant, the breakfast was good and, as I mentioned, the location was outstanding.
By the time we were settled in the hotel, it was mid-afternoon. Too early for dinner, but just right for happy hour. Our Uber drive had given us some recommendations and one of them was Ceviche, a tapas restaurant on Beach Street. I learned later that Beach Street used to be on the beach, but later dredging and landscaping put it well back from the water. Sure, the name of the street feels like a lie, but the waterfront parks and paths are very nice.
Anyway, Ceviche. We sat at the bar and snacked on tapas, tuna ceviche and the loaded potato chips. One must eat their vegetables to live a healthy life, after all.
We had three drinks at Ceviche. Don't judge. We were on vacation and a kid two rows ahead of us on our Allegiant flight screamed the entire trip. We had palomas (that's the picture below), sangria and caipirinha, a Portuguese cocktail I had never heard of, but oh so good and very much like a margarita, the reigning champ on my cocktail leaderboard. It wouldn't be the last of the trip.
With dinner at Ford's Garage, that pretty much completed our first day in Florida. Fine with me. A little relaxation before more active relaxation tomorrow.
