Tampa

A few weeks ago, Bobby and I went to go visit my good friend Melissa (aka Mel) and her boyfriend Kip up in Tampa.  Mel and I met our freshman year of college.  Her dorm room was right next to mine.  We became best friends along with 4 other girls from our dorm- Penny, Lisa, Makenzie, and Tara!  Our sophomore year Mel and I lived together and had a great time having dance parties and watching lots of movies.  Mel moved to Florida to go to grad school at the Mofitt Cancer Center in Tampa and is being a brilliant scientist.

It took about 3 1/2 hours to drive to Tampa and Bobby was able to see his first alligator along Alligator Alley.  It was fun to explore the west coast.  It looks quite different then where we live, there are more trees  and the vegetation is thicker.

It was so good to catch up and see familiar faces.  We went to the Tampa Aquarium, had a nice dinner, watched a Christmas Tree light show, and saw little kids ice skating on fake ice (only in Florida).   

The tree lit up to Trans Siberian Orchestra songs

On Sunday, Mel ran in a 1/2 marathon and so Bobby, Kip, and I went out to cheer her on.  It was near the beach, but unfortunately the fog was so dense you couldn't even see the ocean.  Mel ran a great race and it was fun to see her do so well!  Bobby and I had such a nice time and hopefully we will see them soon!

 

A lake they ran by

pine trees

The finish line

 

YEA Mel!