Family Visit from Colorado and a Buddy visits from Boston

Tuesday evening one of my older brothers and his clan(wifey, 3 kids, and 3 dogs) arrived at my house after they made a cross country trek to Florida from Colorado in their 35' RV - like s mall house. I had the whole family over, parking the RV in the driveway, and getting Cappy's Pizza with a Large Greek Salad for take-out. Still my favorite pizza in the Tampa area!

Wednesday morning a good buddy of mine flew in from Boston for some good times. We went over to harbour Island for lunch at Cafe Dufrain, it was nice to sit outside along the Channel with great views of downtown Tampa, and an awesome lunch experience of Chicken Rigatoni and the Southwestern Salad, very prompt and friendly service. It was a nice ride back along Bayshore Blvd, getting home just before the thunderstorms starting popping up. The evening had us going to the monthly Hyde Park Music Series, the weather really cooled down due to the afternoon storms, and made it very comfortable outside. We grabbed a bite at the Wine Exchange(service was very weak), some Chicken/Artichoke and BBQ Chicken Pizza's, Cuban Salads, Lobster Ravioli(which was comped because it came out 15 minutes after everyone else ate), and some chilly beverages. Afterwards we went out in the Village, where there were lots of people around, listening to the live music and socializing. Afterwards it was on to Dubliner, great looking crowd for Liter night, then a stop by Taquiero Q for a few tacos, MacDintons, and a taxi back home for a quick one at Green Iguana Westshore.

Thursday, we took the dogs to Picnic Island in the morning so they could run around on the beach and play, and then grabbed some breakfast at the Brunchery on MacDill Ave, which was just ok on this trip, having a Western omelet and Bayshore Benedict. We stopped by the house a grabbed the Tennis Rackets to play a few rounds of Tennis at the City courts on Himes Avenue. A nice lunch followed later at the Green Iguana Westshore - Baja Chicken and a Meatball Sandwhich which was a special of the day, and actually VERY good.
The evening brought us to Ybor City, with some .25 cent wings(Thai and Buffalo style) at Streetcar Charlies - very HUGE wings, crispy and tasty, I believe I found a new wing spot for Thursday nights. We meandered through Ybor, stopping by Spurs and Lounge 714, before retiring at home.

The weekend brings us to the Florida Keys and Key West---be back Monday!