Life of the Traveling Wife

Hey, friends! If you didn’t read the update in the last blog, we are staying in Tampa for the next few months as Bobby accepted his second travel nurse assignment working in Clearwater! This allows us to stay in our apartment and continue to explore Tampa and the surrounding cities! We are so grateful to have friends and family like you joining us on this adventure!

The fun continued on in June! Remember that special guest I told you we were going to have stay with us… it was my mom! She was able to come down to Tampa for four days so that the three of us could go to all three NY Yankee vs Tampa Bay Rays games at Tropicana Field. We had never seen the Yankees play at Tropicana Field. So, we were able to check off another stadium on our quest to see the Yankees play in all the Major League ballparks (and then some)! Before my mom came down to Tampa, Bobby and I called her to say that there were three seats remaining on her flight back to NY and that we bought two of them! We purchased one-way tickets since they were very reasonably priced and a few days later we booked even cheaper return flights back to Tampa! We were able to spend 10 days in NY getting to visit with her, family, and friends.

Tampa 2022 Baseball Trip

[June 19] We drove back to Tampa from Lakeland to pick my mom up from the airport. We all went back to our apartment to hang out for a little while. Then, we went out to Perry Harvey Sr. Park just north of Downtown Tampa. This park has really unique 12-16 foot tall dancing sculptures at the entrance, a history walk that uses changing picture tiles to talk about Central Ave’s history that leads to a statue of Perry Harvey Sr. himself; then, the park ends with a concrete walk through of layered metal portraits of those who left their mark on the city. That night we all revisited Hyde Park Village to go to Forbici Modern Italian for dinner. We specifically wanted to go back here for the delicious food and affogatos that are out of this world.

[June 20] The next day, the three of us went to Lettuce Lake Conservation Park in the morning. It has a 3,500 ft. boardwalk and observation tower over a section of the Hillsborough River, home to many alligators and turtles that we saw! It was such a cool experience getting to walk along the boardwalk and be surrounded by nature. After, we took a short field trip to a Bass Pro Shop in Brandon. THEN, we drove over to Tropicana Field to catch batting practice before the Yankee vs. Rays game started. Bobby even almost caught a practice Home Run ball, but it hit the tip of his glove and bounced backwards. We learned that the Rays have the lowest ballpark attendance, but the highest viewership on television. They also used to have the worst rated concessions, but recently everything had been redone. During the game I made it onto the jumbotron!

[June 21] We went to the Sunshine Skyway South Bridge Fishing Pier. My mom wanted to see some of the spots that we go fishing so she could have a visual of where we are when we talk about the places we frequent the most to fish. We are so glad we brought her there because she loved it! She even did her part by picking up a bunch of fishing line and leftover things that other people hadn’t thrown away on her walk down the pier. We all went for a late lunch at Tijuana Flats, a first time for all of us, because we thought we could get our free tacos since we went to the Yankee game the night before in which the Rays pitcher had 10 strikeouts. But, we didn’t realize that we needed to get vouchers from another place before going to the restaurant. So, now we know for the future. Ha! We enjoyed our favorite food anyhow- tacos! After freshening up at our apartment and getting changed for the Yankee game, we made our way over to Tropicana Field for the second time. We met up with our cousins Roy and Anissa who joined us for the game!

[June 22] We spent the morning at our apartment so that Bobby could work a few things out for his new assignment coming up. Then we all went to the Lady and the Mug coffee shop for cappuccinos and croissants. After that we walked across the street to the Henry B. Plant Museum that is inside one of the University of Tampa buildings. The building itself is super fun looking, sort of like the Willy Wonka Factory. My mom had pointed out that each room contained proper etiquette rules in different places which had us laughing. Then we went for lunch at the Oxford Exchange. This place is a definite MUST if you are ever in the Tampa area. The Oxford Exchange is a sophisticated European styled bookstore, restaurant, coffeehouse, and shop all in one, but in their own designated spaces! Then we checked out the St. Pete Pier. We can’t believe we missed this part of St. Petersburg the last time we were down here. It has an awesome playground, hang out areas, docks, and a restaurant on the water only accessible by walking or taking their extended golf cart shuttle. Then we left for Tropicana Field to finish out the three game series between the Yankees and the Rays. This was an incredible game to be at. AND if you listen back to the end of the game interview with Jose Trevino…you can totally hear us and our section cheering for him!

Long Island, NY

[June 23] Travel Day! It was the best feeling in the world for us to be going back to Long Island after so many months away! Bobby and I were so glad that we got the last two out of three seats available on the same flight as my mom back to LaGuardia Airport. While we were in the airport, Bobby started looking at Yankee tickets for June 25th’s game. The tickets were an unbelievable deal for field level at Yankee Stadium, so he got them!

[June 24] We spent the morning walking around Port Jeff. One of our very favorite places to be on Long Island, a super cute main street along the water. And then we made our way to Cedar Beach. If you’ve never been to Long Island, just know that the North Shore beaches are rocky; perfect for finding sea glass, doing water activities, and watching the sunsets. The body of water is called the Long Island Sound and you can see Connecticut in the distance. We walked the nature walk at Cedar beach and then sat in the sand by the water for a little while. Then we headed to McNulty’s Ice Cream Parlor in Miller Place, home to the best hard served black raspberry ice cream! 😋

[June 25] I know, I know. Weren’t they all just in Tampa to see the Yanks play three games? Yes! We are those freak fans that go whenever the opportunity presents itself! Thank you to my mom’s good friends who gave us their tickets for the game! It was just sooo good to be back home in the Bronx to watch our guys play…even if they didn’t give us a hit that day.

[June 26] Smith Point Beach Day with Bobby, my mom, and friends! There were about 15 of us at the outer beach set up with our chairs, blankets, tents, and tables! We had a delicious spread of food and lots of fun hanging out and playing some beach games and playing in the sand.

[June 27] If there is ever a rainy day on Long Island, Bobby, my mom, and I like to go eat at JT’s Cafe. It’s always the perfect fix for breakfast or lunch. Their Louisiana French Toast is generally my go-to, a croissant French toast with slices of bananas and homemade whipped cream. That night we went over to some of our favorite long-time friends, Mel and Ben’s apartment. We had dinner, dessert, caught up on life, and played some games to end the night. They have always been some of the best company and we consider ourselves very, very blessed to have them in our lives. ♥️

[June 28] The three of us went on Popei’s annual private charter fishing trip out of Port Jeff. We had an incredible day of fishing and catching a bunch of porgies, sea bass, northern kingfish, and my mom along with a few others caught sharks! It was a smooth sailing day with Popei’s staff and customers, who’ve always been more like friends and family to us. Bobby and I caught the first fish on the boat that day too! And that night we went to our SECOND Yankee game since being back on Long Island. That night we watched the game from the cushy seats on field level and the win through the crazy 9th inning umpire calls couldn’t have been a more perfect ending to a summer night.

[June 29] Bobby and I went out and got a few fishing rods for us and my mom to use whenever we come up to NY to do some saltwater fishing. That night, Bobby and I brought dinner over to Chris and Lila’s house where my mom joined us after work. Chris and Lila are part of the village that raised me. And I couldn’t be more grateful for the role that they played and still play in my life, even though life looks a little bit different lately. Getting to visit with them felt like another piece of me came back home as we reminisced about all the silly things I did as a kid at their house. And Chris and Lila had us in tears from laughing so hard at stories of Chris’ faithful Ford Explorer that just keeps on trucking.

[June 30] My mom, Bobby, and I went to West Meadow Beach, another north shore beach, to walk a nature trail together and to check out the inlets. Most of the path is paved, but there are several cut outs that you can walk to get to either side to see the water. We walked along the beach for a while too and saw a ton of horseshoe crabs in the calm water. Then we headed over to Stony Brook Harbor to check out the Marina and grab wraps for lunch. My mom went to work that night, so Bobby and I headed back to Cedar Beach’s pier for some fishing with our favorite NY and Floridian boy, Matthew. So glad we got to spend some time with him and that our trips to NY overlapped!

[July 1] Bobby and I went fishing at Stony Brook Harbor in the morning. That afternoon, we went golfing with my Uncle Craig! Uncle Craig bought me my first driver when I was younger and taught me how to swing at driving ranges growing up. It was so fun getting to play on a new course. That night we went back to his and my Tante Wendy’s house for a family barbeque night and a dip in the pool. (Fun Fact: Tante is Norwegian for Aunt, so that’s what my cousins and I call our aunts.) So glad to have gotten to spend a fun night with everyone grilling up the fish that we caught from Tuesday’s Popei’s fishing trip, playing a game, and just enjoying each other’s company. 🥰 [Pictured Below: my grandma, Anne; Lou; Tante Heather; Tante Wendy; Uncle Craig; Tessa; my mom, Kelly; Johanna; Matthew; Bobby; and myself]

[July 2] Bobby and I went to a coffee shop and worked on some things for his assignment starting July 5th. Then we had a movie night with my mom for our last night on Long Island.

[July 3] Travel day back to Tampa!

Let’s Get Connected

Thanks for reading along with our travel adventures, we had an incredible June and can’t wait to explore more areas in the near future. If this is your first time reading, Subscribe down below to stay informed of our whereabouts! Signing out from the Sunshine State. 🌴☀️

Madison Basile

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