Meetings, Parties, Biking and Football

This past Thursday, me and a friend ive know since 2nd grade(thanks Facebook), had some dinner in Hyde Park Village at the Wine Exchange. Sitting outside was nice with the cooling fans, and we had some of the best and friendliest service from Dion...she was one of the highlights of the evening...the food is almost always good here, Cuban Salad with Blackened Chicken, the large was enough for more than two, and a perfectly cooked Filet. The mistake they made by putting the Gorgonzola cheese sauce on the meat was quickly corrected, and Dion insisted we have dessert on her, and we did, an amazing Chocolate Cake with Chocolate moose inside. A nice walk through the village after dinner made a great ending to catch up with an old friend.

Friday I had a meeting with a friend, we met at the 9 Bangkok restaurant on Central Avenue in downtown St. Pete. It was easy enough to find a parking spot on the street along 1st avenue, there was so much activity going on this night in downtown St. Pete. Excellent service in this small, quaint Thai/Sushi place, the food is the best...We shared some Sushi rolls, all very fresh, although the Spider Roll was sliced a bit thin, and left the crab to fall apart when picking up with chop sticks...and also the Duck special, and a spicy Curry sauce...very very tender, moist and again very good. A nice walk through downtown to the Coffee Shop across from Jannus Landing led to good conversation and excellent people watching...downtown St. Pete attracts ALL KINDS. And it so nice to be able to go out anywhere in shorts and flip flops in downtown St. Pete.

Saturday, a buddy of mine and I were going to check out the new off road Bike Trails at Balm Boyette, but he had never been off road biking, so we went to a place for novices, Wilderness Park Off Road biking trails in New Tampa area off Morris Bridge Road. Been here plenty of times, great trails for the beginner, some technical spots...he mentioned how nice and quiet it was, very woodsy, alot of fun.
Saturday night was the USF Bulls game against Charleston Southern...USF won 59-0, and unfortunately Grothe was finished for the rest of the season due to a torn ACL. Its FSU next Saturday!! A bunch of us went to an annual 'end of summer' party in Port Tampa City neighborhood of Tampa..then escaped to Green Iguana, Baxters and City Side, with a 3am breakfast stop at iHop before calling it a night.

Sunday turned out to be a relaxing day for watching the games, and I met my friend from Friday night, and we went over to Hula Bay for some early dinner..sitting outside with great views, watching the thunderstorms blowing in from the Bay, and enjoying the Mahi Mahi Tacos,,,they provide large portions of grilled or blackened Mahi Mahi..with rice, black beans, lettuce, tomatoes, Guac, cheese, sour cream, and fresh soft tortillas...make em how ever you like them...awesome!!

IM looking forward to heading to Orlando next weekend...Juliette Lewis in concert at the Social in downtown Orlando...good times!