Post 4th of July in Tampa...Shopping, Mexican, and Sand Dollars

Had a GREAT 4th of July with Family..the Pyrotechnical display my brother and I produced was awesome! Only had one bad mortar, but no incidents as in St. Pete Beach or Treasure Island(scary)..anyways, Friday after work went to Home Depot to start shopping for tile, as Im having both my bathrooms redone, finally getting rid of the 60's motif(older home in South Tampa)...I thought there would be more of a selection, but guess I would have to go to a Bathroom Tile showroom for that...I did find a perfect tile for bath walls and floors..now the work just needs to be done. We then went to Intl Plaza, what a great shopping area(I still hate shopping), but there are so many great stores, and layout to the mall, plus BayStreet is always happening with the numerous eateries and drinkeries, and outside seating to enjoy people watching. We decuided on my favorite Mexican place, Algusto's on Kenndy Blvd, for dinner. Again, consistently the freshest Mexican, we had the Fajitas for two, and Guacamole dip. I tried the Sangria and was pleasantly surprised at the amount of wine to fruit in this large glass.

Saturday, my friends from Orlando came down for a trip to Fort Desoto Beaches. We found a very pristine spot on the beginning part of North Beach, it was a bit of a walk from the parking area to where we wanted to go(left towards the Pier, across the inlet), but hardly anyone in sight, lots of shade from trees right on the beach. With plenty of drinks and food, we spent most the day, laying on rafts in the 87 degree crystal clear waters, and snorkeling for sand dollars. We made sure we only caught the dead ones, and through back the live ones(fuzzy hairs are on the live ones). There were plenty to be found, and some of the largest Ive seen(picture below). Saturday evening my buddy Darin had a BBQ poolside with some friends at his tower apartment building along Bayshore Blvd. It was great to relax in the evening after the day at the beach in the pool, and BBQing with the beautiful Bay, and downtown Tampa in the background. As the sun went down, the lights shown from the high rises along Bayshore and downtown on the Bay, which gave an impressive scene to an already perfect day and night in Tampa Bay.