This weekend was exhausting. Exhausting in a good way, but also in that way that reminds you that you’re dangerously close to 40. So. very. close.
Hubs, the bestie, and I drove down to Tampa on Friday afternoon for a couple shows we were seeing at the Florida State Fairgrounds. We checked into the Red Roof Inn across the street from the amphitheater – our usual spot to stay when we see shows there. But this time it was different.
Those rooms are nasty. Why did it take me until now to notice all the hairs in the bathroom (that were not ours) and the stains on the comforters (also, not ours)? We’ve stayed there five times and this is suddenly news to me. It also took me until now to realize there were four other better hotels right next to it. So valuable lesson: don’t stay at the Red Roof Inn and pay better attention to surroundings. Check.
We hung out in the hotel room and had some drinks and a photo shoot before we walked over to the show. We now have 50 variations of this picture.
Once we got there, I randomly ran into my cutie patootie friend, Kim, from high school (she’s the one in the Air Force shirt). I had no idea she was going, so for me to run into someone I know at a sold out concert of 20,000 is pretty impressive. Though, I am taller than most of the world so I’m kinda easy to spot.
We also got the only photo evidence that hubs was with us the weekend. That one likes to evade my camera.
Anyway, the first show of the weekend was Maroon 5. I love them. Their music is catchy as hell and only someone with a cold, black soul would say otherwise. We were in the lawn section so we were far back. Real far back.
The acoustics aren’t great on the lawn since it’s in open air and if you need to go to the bathroom, you have to wade through a sea of people to get there. Not ideal but the concert was still a lot of fun.
Kelly Clarkson opened. She is crazy adorable. I super love her, even more than Maroon 5, so I could have gone for another hour of her music. I was sad when her set was over. She needs to headline her own tour.
Maroon 5 is a hit machine and that’s basically what they did. Hit after hit. I could have gone for several songs that they haven’t released but I guess when everything you release is popular, that’s what you do.
The next day, our friends Jimmy and Linda came into town from Orlando. Originally we were planning to go to the zoo, but we ended up on a mall shopping spree instead. Poor hubs and Jimmy had to walk around the mall together like bro-friends while Linda and I tore it up in Papaya.
We all tried a Japanese shaved ice while we were there. Linda insisted it was amazing and that it “tastes just like Chinese shaved ice.”
None of us had a clue what she was talking about. I know what a sno-cone is and that’s about it. But she was right, it was delicious. I got the Tsunami, which tasted like melon with kiwi and honey drizzled on top. Delicious.
After our shopping spree, we got ready for Depeche Mode on night #2. That means drinks in the hotel room, a quick stop for dinner and drinks at Wing House beforehand, and then a walk back over to the amphitheater.
I only took one picture of Jimmy and Linda the entire night which probably isn’t appropriate for the internetz, so instead enjoy another more appropriate picture of Lisa and I.
We had seats for Depeche Mode, but were still pretty far away.
This was my fifth time seeing them and the first time I didn’t care for their show. I didn’t love the set list and they usually have a much cooler stage set-up. I mean, they always sound good but they’ve just been so much better previously. I guess it’s just wasn’t worth the travel to Tampa and the hotel cost this time. Plus, they always seem to play the only song I hate from them (< — haha, that video is mesmerizing). It’s like they do it on purpose to torture me.
Later that night, we ended up at the Hard Rock Casino some how where we ate our faces off, gambled an entire dollar, and then took a cab back to our hotel. It was a great weekend with great friends but I am wiped out and I think my liver needs a vacation.
Eat:Watch:Run 