Life of the Traveling Wife

Quick update before we dive into this weeks blog: We are currently starting our thirteenth week in Tampa, which means that this is the last week of Bobby’s first travel assignment!! We have loved our time in Tampa and all of the memories that we have made here! And it’s looking like we are going to stay through the month of June while we sort some things out and accept our next travel assignment. We had some hopes of returning to Nashville, where we had spent our honeymoon, but there aren’t as many travel assignments in Tennessee right now as we had hoped. We are thinking about revisiting the Philly area to be a little closer to my family on Long Island, and eventually hope to do a travel assignment in Georgia or Texas. Lots of variables are up in the air right now, but we are flexible and know that God will place us exactly where He wants us! Please pray that the right doors for us would open and that the wrong doors would stay shut. And for us to have ears to hear and eyes to see where God is leading us in the next part of this travel nurse adventure! Now, let’s jump into what we were up to a few weeks ago!

Week 9 Adventures

[April 25] Monday night, date night! Who said Monday’s weren’t great?! We had the best date night at the Rusty Pelican. There was nothing rusty about this restaurant! It’s located right on the water with formal dining and we were given a window table with a great view! We dreamed up some big dreams of what we’d like to experience in the future and talked about trusting in God’s plan as life unfolds before us.

[April 26] We checked out a local bait and tackle shop called Gator Jim’s Tackle near the Skyway Bridge fishing pier. It was an awesome shop with affordable fishing gear and bait. We decided that we wanted to try frozen shrimp in addition to the live bait that we catch and use. After getting everything that we wanted to try out, we drove over to the Skyway Bridge and got a great spot in between markers 18-19. While I was catching bait fish for the day, I ended up reeling in a Spanish Mackerel on the Sabiki rig we had set up on our lightweight rod. This fish was just over a foot long, so had we owned a cooler at this point, we would have been able to take it home to eat!

[April 27] We went to Redington Beach to meet up with our cousins Roy and Anissa. We spent the day lounging together in cabanas on the beach and swimming in the water. (Had too much fun and forgot to take photos! Whoops!)

[April 28] Bobby and I spent most of the day at Fort De Soto fishing off the pier. We made another stop at Gator Jim’s to get a lure for each of us that we wanted to try out. Bobby ended up catching a big Spanish Mackerel, but right as he was about to pull it out of the water a dolphin came out of nowhere to take it and swim away with a lot of his line too. We have learned so many lessons in regards to dolphins. Although they are beautiful and so fun to see come right up to you, they will steal your bait and also take your catch of the day. After spending most of the morning and afternoon fishing at Fort De Soto, we decided to check out another location that one of Bobby’s coworkers had told him about. So we packed up our stuff and headed out of the beach and park area to a bridge nearby.

[April 29] We went out in the morning for Boba tea and then it began to rain, so we came back home for a rainy movie day until Bobby went in for work.

Week 10 Adventures

[May 3] We went fishing in the early afternoon at the Courtney Campbell Causeway. This was a really cool spot in between two bridges, but we weren’t getting any bites and it was super hot out. We were trying out some new lures, but kept getting them caught on the rocks. Ha! Not every day can be a successful fishing day! That night we had a game night at our friends house and they taught us how to play a card game called Citadels. I also brought over a taco dip that I made. As luck had it, none of us had eaten dinner before we came over, so we all devoured the taco dip within a few minutes.

[May 4] We went to Honeymoon Island!! This was such a stunning little beach separated naturally with different cove areas to allow you to not feel like everyone at the beach is set up on top of each other. It felt very nice and secluded. We spent most of the time in the water because the sun was so hot. Bobby and I both had our sandwiches attacked by the seagulls. One bird came overhead of Bobby and its tailfeathers actually hit him in the back of the head. He successfully used his football training from his younger years to tuck his sandwich into his chest. I, on the other hand, wasn’t as fortunate to keep my sandwich protected when I was watching the birds to the front and right of me while one from behind swooped down and took a chomp of my sandwich right near where my thumb was holding onto it. Thankfully, we were able to get a second lunch at the restaurant hut right on the beach. Afterwards, we decided to drive through Dunedin again to revisit Lane’s Dairy Bar. Bobby got a vanilla and orange swirl again and I decided to try their pomegranate lemonade, which was so fresh and delicious!

[May 5] We celebrated Cinco de Mayo with none other than… going out for Japanese food! Ha! Not the traditional way to celebrate, but we had a craving and knew that there would be no wait. So, Japanese it was! Afterwards, we went over to Ballast Point Park. We took a walk down this pier to check out all the possible fishing spots for the future. The park itself was super cute and had everything from a splash pad zone for kids, playground fit for older kids, places to barbeque, and benches that can swing right near the water. Across the street from the park is Perennial Farm. We walked over and watched a few people ride horses around their outdoor equestrian center.

[May 6] We took a drive out to Lakeland for a Hot Air Balloon festival at Lakeland Linder International Airport. We were able to check out a few aircrafts that they had on display at the entrance, watch a space themed daredevil circus act, browse the different artisan booths, and listen to live music with some of our friends that met us there! There was a little too much wind for the hot air balloons to take flight off of the ground, but a few of the balloon envelopes did inflate and had a “glow up” show for everyone that was there. We learned that hot air balloons need the most ideal conditions and practically no weather to take off.

[May 7] We had an early lunch in downtown Tampa at Chez Faby, a French restaurant. Then we took a walk to the Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park where the Tampa Riverfest was going on. There was live music, street food, and dog races set up. We couldn’t believe how many people had brought their dogs and entered them into a quick race for prizes.

Week 11 Adventures

[May 8] Bobby and I went back to Ballast Point Park to go fishing off of this really long pier. Pictured below is a Spadefish that Bobby caught! One man at the end of the pier caught a small shark. We also got to see a few stingrays swimming along.

[May 10] We left Tampa to head to the east coast of Florida to visit some of my family, Johanna, Steve and their son Matthew in Boynton Beach! Bobby, Matthew, and I took out our fishing rods and threw a few casts into the lake behind their house. Then the three of us took a walk around the lake and ended up finding a coconut that fell right from the tree. We brought it back to the house and Steve put a hole through the top so we could all try its water. We all had a delicious dinner by the pool that night. Then after, Bobby, Matthew, and I had a movie night together!

[May 11] We chilled by the pool in the morning then Johanna and Matthew showed us a few of their favorite spots around Boynton and Delray Beach. We started at the Ocean Inlet Park and walked across the street to the Boynton Beach Inlet Pier. The waves were crashing one right after the other into the pier spraying us as if we were on the Maid of the Mist. Then we took a drive on A1A (Beachfront Avenue 😉) to check out the awesome architecture of the mansions right on the water. Once we arrived in Delray Beach we had lunch in the Delray Beach Market. It was an awesome modern food court. Then we took a walk down Atlantic Avenue, “The Ave”, to browse some of the stores. That night we all went out to dinner for Steve’s birthday at a restaurant on the water called Two George’s. Then we all went back to their house and hung out by the pool and played a few instruments that they had laying around.

[May 12] After having such a fun couple of days with Johanna, Steve, and Matthew, Bobby and I headed out to drive north to West Palm Beach! We made our first stop at the iconic clocktower at the end of Worth Ave near the beach. Then we strolled into the high end stores, art galleries, and sophisticated alleyways to see the street art. Afterwards, we drove to Mounts Botanical Garden, zoned the only tropical botanical garden in the United States, according to the lady at the front desk. Then we made our last stop for a late lunch and high tea at Serenity Garden Tea House and Café. We highly recommend dining here if you visit West Palm Beach. It was absolutely delicious and the perfect pick-me-up for our drive back that night to Tampa.

Let’s Get Connected

If this is your first time visiting this blog website and you’d like to stay in the loop of what’s to come for us in the future, SUBSCRIBE! I’ve got a few things planned for this blog while we are in between travel assignments, so you won’t want to miss out! And I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment down below to say hello or share with us where you’d like to see us in the future! Signing out from the Sunshine State! 🌞🌴

Madison Basile

Long Island, NY> Lynchburg, VA> Pittsburgh, PA> Tampa, FL 🏡