Life of the Traveling Wife

Hey friends! Bobby finished his first travel nurse assignment on May 28th and started his second assignment on July 5th! The time in between we spent applying for other state nursing licenses and still were waiting on approval from Tennessee. Bobby had applied for the Tennessee nursing license before his first assignment was up, but after six weeks of still waiting to hear back if we would be approved for Tennessee, we started looking into some jobs on the travel agency websites for other hospitals in the Tampa area. Two weeks after Bobby’s assignment was completed we accepted a job offer in Clearwater! We are really excited about staying in Tampa and the apartment we are currently living in and felt a little relief in knowing that we have more time to explore and experience all that the Gulf Coast has to offer.

St. Petersburg, FL

[May 29] We went to Fort De Soto for some fishing on the pier. Bobby caught a Ladyfish that really gave him a hard fight. One guy on the pier said they were tasty fish to eat, but that they have a ton of little pin bones in them that makes the eating process more work than it would be enjoyable, so we decided not to keep it. However, we were determined to have a night where we could catch and cook the same day. We also saw a barnacle covered manatee swimming under the pier. And at the end of the day we watched the sun set beyond the Gulf.

[May 30] We went to the southern part of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge pier, and I caught two Spanish Mackerel that we took home in our cooler to cook up for dinner! That night there was a really crazy storm brewing and I managed to catch these two fish on my last casts of the night one right after the other. We were so excited, as were the guys to our right who cheered and were so happy that someone had finally caught something that day. Ha!

Florida Keys

[June 1] We took a 5 hour drive down to the Florida Keys, having our final destination at the Postcard Inn Beach Resort and Marina. This trip was to celebrate our 3 year wedding anniversary that was on May 26th. We drove down the Gulf Coast then through the Everglades and saw several alligators on the side of the road. Up until this point we only saw one other alligator here in Florida. We made a stop in Key Largo for lunch and then made our way to Islamorada. We used our first day to relax and enjoy the resort. As we were walking near the marina, we looked into the water to see the most pretty rainbow fish, just like the children’s book. We couldn’t believe that they were actually real! We had been watching the fish in the water for a while, which prompted another couple to come over to us and say that we had intrigued them enough to ask what we were looking at.

[June 2] We woke up really early to go outside and watch the sunrise. Then we had breakfast and took a drive to check out some fishing spots we had previously found in our research of the area. We tried a few spots before ending up at the Channel 2 Bridge. We had several fish chasing our bait, but we weren’t able to land one. The interesting thing about the Keys is that the water in some places is super blue and clear (like Channel 2) and in other places it is filled with so much algae that it reeks. And if we are being totally honest, both Bobby and I said we probably wouldn’t go back to the Keys because of it. So here’s a heads up if you plan a trip to the Keys- there are manmade beaches and some areas with decaying smelly algae! Ha! After fishing for a couple of hours, we grabbed some lunch and decided to make our way up to Miami a little sooner than later.

Miami, FL

[cont. of June 2] Miami…we loved Miami! We started in North Miami at a fishing pier. We fished for a little while until a crazy rainstorm passed through. We waited out the rain by going to check out Aventura Mall. Talk about bougie…this 3 story mall had every high-end luxury brand with its own store, many we had never even heard of, indoor/outdoor dining options, and more. We enjoyed two cappuccinos and two heavenly Nutella stuffed pastries as we people watched. The rain let up, so we made our way to the South Pointe Park Pier at Miami Beach. The water was so incredibly clear that you could see all the fish swimming around. And we saw the sunset of the CENTURY setting behind the tall city buildings from the pier. We couldn’t believe how vivid the pink and orange colors were in the sky that magnified even more so onto the water. The pier closed after sunset so we headed over to Time Out Market, similar to Armature Works here in Tampa, this was a collection of 18 eateries under one roof. Most of the eateries were closed though so we ended up getting a few slices from a hole in the wall pizza joint down the road. That night we stayed over at a friend’s house just outside of Miami.

[June 3] After breakfast we headed back to Tampa because another rainstorm was going to come through. But there’s one thing for sure, we will be back to Miami to check out more of the city!

Back Home in Tampa, FL

[June 6] We went to the Sunshine Skyway South Fishing Pier for evening fishing. We caught a few fish and Bobby caught a Spanish Mackerel that we brought home to filet and cook up too!

[June 8] We checked out Rustic Steel in Tampa. It is a 20,000 sq ft. metal fabrication studio for local professional artisans to come use the shop to do restorations and create sculptures, signs, furniture, railings, etc. Afterwards, we checked out a really cute coffee shop called Lady and the Mug. There were a few different modern work spaces and a table surrounded by swing set seats! Then we checked out an antique shop. Later that evening, we went back to the Sunshine Skyway South Fishing Pier for night fishing! We had a great time meeting a few people next to us on the pier who were fishing and catching crabs with nets.

[June 9] We went to Emerson Point Preserve because Bobby found it on Google maps, so we decided to check it out to see if it could be a good fishing spot for the future. But, just like the Keys, the water in this preserve was still and lined with smelly seaweed. We walked around to check out the fishing spots since the area itself was nice, but left after 10 minutes or so due to the smell and rain coming in. That night we went over to our friend’s house for a game night!

[June 11] We went to two of the Banana’s Records Stores both in St. Petersburg. Banana Records is the largest record store in the U.S. that houses over 3 million vinyl records! To say we were in heaven was an understatement. We recommend visiting the store to browse records and merchandise. Their warehouse was also really great, but only a select amount of aisles are available for customers to browse. Since they have the largest collection of records, they need to keep a good system on where records are, so if you are searching for something in particular, just ask and they can go grab it for you! Afterwards, we walked around a few stores in St. Petersburg.

[June 13] Bobby and I went out on a private fishing charter with Precision Backcountry Charters. We went through Irma’s Pass, Shell Key Preserve, and an oyster bar. We caught several new species for ourselves. We both caught snook and jack fish, and I was able to catch a shark! At one point during the day we had a mama dolphin and her baby come right up to our boat. Usually when you are fishing and you see dolphins, you know they will just try to take your bait or go after the other fish you might be trying to catch, but this wasn’t the case today. They were so sweet and playfully twirled in the water for us. Our captain said he had never seen the dolphins come this close to his boat and act the way they did when he was taking people on a charter before. So, we consider ourselves fortunate to have gotten a show up close and personal from the dolphins in their own home. Take a look at these fun photos of our fish! Most of them were caught near the oyster bar, but the snook were caught near mangroves.

Lakeland, FL

[June 15-18] We spent time in Lakeland, FL dog sitting for our extended family members while they went away. Bobby and I took care of a bunch of computer work that we wanted to do for Modern Day Faith Podcast and my Etsy shop, Ooh Dolly. (Click the links to check them out if you haven’t yet!) We relaxed by the pool and took their jet ski out too! On Saturday, we went into Downtown Lakeland to check out the farmers market that spread over a few streets.

Let’s Get Connected

Thanks for reading along! Coming Up- A special visitor comes to Tampa, we attend Yankee games (in more than one city!), and we surprise our special visitor with fun travel news! If you haven’t already, SUBSCRIBE down below. It will be the best way for you to stay up to date with all our travel details that you might not see elsewhere. And for the next few months I’m happy to continue to say, Signing out from the Sunshine State. 🌞🌴

Madison Basile

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