All posts in Mike’s Travels

    I promised a review of the new Margaritaville products that I stumbled upon in Florida last week, so here you go:
    Margaritaville Spiked Tea: Kind of a tea-like flavor. Lightly carbonated. On the sweet side. I found it to be quite refreshing. Great right from the bottle or over ice. This product is more like Mike’s Hard Iced Tea than it is like Twisted Tea. If I had to rank it among these, I would put it after Twisted Tea and before Mike’s. I would buy this again.
    Margaritaville Spiked Lemonade: Not as sweet as some competitors. In fact, I found it to have a bitter edge to it. Descent lemon flavor comes through. Lightly carbonated. I didn’t care for the first one I had. I would not be able to drink a few of these in a row. Later in the week I gave it another chance over ice. That was better. Definitely more refreshing that way. Not sure I would buy this again, but wouldn’t turn one down if someone offered it. I would add ice though.
    There you have it. Keep an eye out for it when shopping. Maybe it will be in Michigan soon. I would be interested in your opinions too.

Trip Report
I would like to say that it’s nice to be back, but I would be lying. The truth is, I wish I didn’t have to leave. My kids agree. The wife? Not so much. But then, does this surprise anyone? All around a great trip. Without a doubt the fastest week in my life. Here is a rundown, by topic:

The weather
Hot. Humid. Great. Exactly what you would expect. Only one day with any rain or significant clouds, but that was over in about an hour. The hot, dry weather was great for us, but the locals really need some rain. Florida, nearly the whole state, has been very dry and, like many other parts of the country right now, affected by numerous wildfires in nearly every region. We had heard that the day before we arrived smoke from the fires was obstructing visibility and depositing ash everywhere. This had mostly cleared out by the time we got there, but there still was some visible haze in the upper atmosphere. It was gone the next day.

The town
Treasure Island Florida. Just a bit north of St. Petersburg, right on the Gulf of Mexico. The town itself is in a sort of transitional state. Older resorts dating back to the late ’40s and early ’50s have been giving way to newer resort condo type developments. There is a real mixture here. There were a few sites that looked to be ready for new development — areas where those once quaint old places once stood. One, right next door to our own, was closed and clearly awaiting the same fate. Read more here: http://recentpast.org/groups/treasure/index.html

The hotel
It was in one of these older places that we stayed. An old-style 2-story small resort right on the beach. A nice pool with a recently updated deck area was at the center of the property. The grounds were well kept and the rooms were clean and well equipped. Ours was a 1 bedroom unit with a small kitchenette. Very adequate for us. This type of place caters mainly to locals who head to the shore on weekends. This meant we had the place mostly to ourselves for the majority of the week. Perfect. There was a McD’s, Walgreen’s, gift shops and a number of bars and restaurants within walking distance. John’s Pass, a tourist spot was a few minutes away by car or a long walk for the adventurous.

The beach
Top notch. Wide, long and kept very clean. The gulf water was warm. One day it provided waves large enough to body surf and boogie board upon. My kids were too young to remember surf like this from the time they visited Myrtle Beach a few years back. They were amazed. It was a highlight of the trip.

Restaurants
We went to more restaurants than we planned. It was our original intention to barbecue right there at the resort a few nights to conserve funds. When we made these plans we forgot about how hot it would be down there and how uncomfortable one might be preparing a meal on a charcoal grill. The first night we went to an old family favorite: The Friendly Fisherman, right on the boardwalk at John’s Pass. This place is a ‘can’t miss’ place if you like fresh seafood. Much of what they serve would have been caught that day. I had the local grouper dinner. Fantastic. Everyone else enjoyed their meals as well. Another favorite was The Conch Republic in nearby North Redington Beach. We went there for our Mother’s Day celebration as my mom was there as well as my wife and my sister. All moms. This is a Buffetty place for sure. Buffett music was played constantly. There were photos on the wall and actually laminated into some of the tables. The wait staff claimed that Jimmy himself had been there more than once. I liked it so much I bought a t-shirt. The Floridian was a little Cuban sandwich joint right off the Treasure Island causeway. I never had a Cuban sandwich before, but heard good things. Rightfully so. It was great. We enjoyed ours right outside the place in a covered deck area. 2 for 1 beers that day too. What’s not to like? Also had dinner at Dan Marino’s in St. Petersburg. Nice place in the newer Baywalk district. The food was great there. The whole crew seemed to agree.

The nightlife
Ordinarily, my vacations are spent with my own family or away from civilization. This time, my brother Jim was with us. Jim, being a musician himself, was interested in checking out local live entertainment at every chance. He is also a night-owl who wakes up late and stays out later. I made an attempt to keep up with him on a few occasions. One of the first places we went to was called Ricky T’s right there on Gulf Blvd. Jim had gone there for lunch earlier in the day that day we arrived and had heard there was a good live band scheduled for that evening. I joined him to check them out. The band was called Shark Attack. I didn’t know what to expect. They might have been a Buffett cover band or some other beach-music type band that is popular in the area. But no. These guys were mainly focused on blues and classic rock. They were great. 3 excellent guitarists. In one band. Including the bassist and drummer, this was a 5 piece band in a tiny corner of the fairly small bar. It was interesting to get my brother’s perspective on the band since he is in the same business. Jim too, was very impressed. Especially with their original stuff. One tune in particular — the closer that night — was penned by guitarist/vocalist Kirk Adams ( www.kirkadamsmusic.com ). The song is called (I think) “Mexican Wrestler”. What a great tune. It rocked and was funny too. I’m working on getting a copy of the song. Kirk told me that he might have a live recording of the song somewhere.

Buffett
This is truly Margaritaville around these parts. Nearly every gift store and restaurant had Buffett music playing. One evening, we took a dolphin watch cruise (free beer on the 7pm sunset edition) from Hubbard’s. Buffett tunes were the backdrop of the trip. The cruise departed from a pier at John’s Pass and traveled along the intracoastal waterway there. Dolphins are prevalent in the area, but we only saw one then. We did see numerous million-dollar estates along the water, many with very expensive looking large boats moored behind. Where do these people get their money? One place was owned by the family that founded Brach’s candy company. …I guess that‘s what you have to do to get that kind of money. Anyway, the cruise continued out into the gulf where we finally did see a number of dolphins up close. We have some video clips to prove it. The free beer continued to flow and the Buffett tunes continued to play throughout. In all, it was a lovely cruise.

Activities
Golf. Twice. Once was a course called The Tides. My brother-in-law and I played 18 holes there. It was a nicely laid out course. Considering the dry weather they had been having in the area, I was surprised it was in as good shape as it was. The greens, however, were kind of rough. White sand could be seen between the somewhat long blades of grass. This made putting a challenge. Fast at first, but then the ball seemed to hit the brakes. Strange. When your ball would land on the green, you would see a spray of sand – this is how sandy the surface was. The other golf outing was on a little par 3 course at the Treasure Island Golf and Tennis Club. Very small. 9 holes – you play twice around for your 18. A number of the greens were being refinished so you had to play to temporary greens fashioned in the fairways in front of the real ones. They should have mentioned this before we paid, I think. Still it was nice there and my son Brian joined us this time.
Oddly enough we happened to see more dolphins in the waters surrounding the course than we did on the dolphin cruise we took earlier in the week.

Other highlights
There is a Sloppy Joe’s restaurant and bar inside the Bilmar Hotel on Gulf Blvd. I walked in from the beach entrance one night, but they were closing. It was only 11pm, but that was on a Tuesday I believe. Not much going on mid-week. My sister and her family went there for dinner. Mixed reviews.
We attended a Tampa Bay Devil Rays game on the Friday evening of that week. They played in intrastate rivalry against the Marlins. TB lost. We saw the Marlins hit a grand slam in the first inning. We also saw a Carlos Pena home run hit off the lights in straight away center field. Did I mention that this was an indoor stadium. Tropicana Field. Much more laid back atmosphere than the Detroit Tigers games we are used to. Fun to watch a game in another venue. We left the game early to join the rest of the clan to see a movie in the Baywalk district nearby. Shrek the Third. Not good. Even my kids complained about this. Andrew too.

I finally tried some Landshark Lager. It is about what I expected. It is not a hoppy, full-bodied beer. It is a light lager. I think, intended to be enjoyed ice cold on a hot day. At least that’s the way I enjoyed it. Most places automatically serve it with a lime wedge like Corona. In fact, it appears to be the American equivalent. This is a non-offensive, middle-of-the-road beer. Enjoy it as such.

Had the opportunity to sample a new hard iced-tea product from Smirnoff at a Publix supermarket in Madiera Beach. I was originally drawn near by the attractive blonde working the table, but was interested to try a new tea product. I had low expectations based on experiences with other competitors to my favorite, Twisted Tea, but I was very impressed. There are 2 varieties: Green Tea or regular with lemon. I liked both, but the green tea was most enjoyable. I bought some. It is light and very tea-like. Smooth. No carbonation. I think we have a winner. You must try this in a large glass over massive amounts of ice. Just try not to pound this drink. I dare you. I got a free t-shirt from the hot blonde. My brother got carded by her just to try the sample despite the fact that he might be at least 15 years older than her. At least. This made his day.

I’ve been composing the above bit by bit over the last few days. I’m sure I’m missing some things, but I figure this is enough for now. I can bore you with more later.