MAY 2016 TRAVELS IN REVIEW – FLORIDA

The biggest event for me in May, 2016, was my mom turning 80 years old. For that reason I returned secretly to Florida in early May to plan and prepare a big surprise birthday bash for her.

I’d actually gotten the party ball rolling more than six months earlier while visiting Florida in 2015. I talked about the surprise party and my secret return with family members. When I left for Guatemala in Nov, 2015, I planned my entire 6-month travel route to loop back towards Florida and arrive in May. Things were set in motion.

The whole birthday event went smashingly well, as you’ll see below in my May FB travel updates.

mom with bday cake In addition to planning, preparing and hosting the big birthday bash, during my one-month Florida visit, I also enjoyed plenty of fun activities. Cycling, beach trips, suntanning, yoga, sailing races, ESC meetings, tango lessons, movies in parks and cinemas all kept me busy & active. Just the way I like to live!

Immediately prior to my US return, I was happily exploring Puerto Rico for 2 ½ weeks. I wrote about those adventures in my April Travel Review here.

As for LashWorldTour Travel Blog, during May I published two new photo galleries and three new articles. You’re welcome to go check them out if you missed them previously. Here they are:

NEW POSTS ON LashWorldTour in MAY:

Lake Bacalar – Yucatan – Mexico

PHOTO GALLERY: Stunning Yucatan Peninsula – Mexico

I recently spent a very extended time exploring Mexico’s wonderful Yucatan Peninsula. Nearly 3 months, in fact.

I wasn’t even ready to go after all that time when my pre-booked flight to Puerto Rico dashed me away in mid-April.

Turns out Yucatan is one of the most magical places I’ve visited on Earth to date. Full of diverse & gorgeous natural places and wonderful historic towns, I really loved it all.

Find out why Yucatan is so amazing… SEE PHOTOS OF YUCATAN

El Morro Walkway circles the base of El Morro Fort in San Juan – Puerto Rico

PHOTO GALLERY: San Juan’s Gorgeous Forts – Puerto Rico

If you’re heading to Puerto Rico, be sure not to miss El Morro and San Cristobal Fortresses in San Juan!

Gracing the rugged peninsula on the edge of Old San Juan, the two historic forts add an impressive backdrop to the colonial Spanish city… and also provide amazing panoramic views of the city and sea.

SEE PHOTOS OF SAN JUAN FORTS HERE

LashWorldTour at Sian Ka'an Reserve - Tulum

Lash at Sian Ka’an Reserve – Tulum

April 2016 Travels in Review – pt 1. Tulum – Mexico

Here’s a round-up of my travels in early April, while still in Mexico.

If you’ve ever wondered what Yucatan is like, or what kinds of fun activities & places are available, here you go…

READ APRIL TRAVEL REVIEW

My Review of Blacklane Airport Transport Services

I recently returned to St. Pete, FL to surprise my mom for her big 80th birthday this week…. She turns 80 on Thursday!

Thanks to Blacklane, I got to arrive at her home in a sleek black Cadillac with chauffeured driver! Great impact!

Completely aside from that bonus perk, I was very impressed with their services and greatly enjoyed my professional airport pick up & delivery experience.

READ MY BLACKLANE STORY HERE

My Bacardi Rum Factory Tour Review

One of the funnest and most interesting things I did in Puerto Rico earlier this month was take a Historic Tour of Bacardi.

I’ve been a huge fan of Bacardi Rum for years, so I was really excited to check out their facilities…and get a free cocktail to boot! :)

Here’s my review of the tour –

READ BACARDI REVIEW

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FLORIDA

toasting my Florida visit with a frozen mojito

TRAVEL UPDATE: Surprise! I’m in Florida, USA!

Recently I left Puerto Rico to fly to Florida…

…to pay a surprise visit to my mom… because…

My mom turns 80 this week! A big surprise visit and Bday party are in order!

I have to admit that it’s great being back in wonderful St Pete!

I’ve already dug into activities: meeting with friends, yoga classes, sailing races, cycling, tango lessons, sunsets on beaches…and more, of course. :)

More fun stuff coming up from sunny, wonderful Florida!

TODAY IN TRAVELS QUESTION:

Did anyone watch Kentucky Derby on Saturday? May 9

I watched it on TV! I even voted for the winning horse – Nyquist -( ah, hem!)

Who else here watched Kentucky Derby? From where did you see it? Anyone attend THE Derby in person?

What did you think of the event and the winning horses?

sailing in St Pete -Florida

TRAVEL UPDATE FLORIDA: Wowie! Exciting sailing races on Fridays!

Every time I return to St Pete, I join St Pete Yacht Club’s Friday casual races. It’s sooo much fun!

This year I was super excited to hook up with the same boat & team I sailed with last year: Captain Kirk & Captain Kyle.

We had a super adrenaline racing last Friday – heavy winds, lots of boat heel (tilting), 7 crew leaning way out the side to balance d boat, and super fast speeds. Yippie!

Thanks so much for having me again guys! Love it! See you each week I’m here.

TRAVEL UPDATE FLORIDA: Here’s Lash as a city girl…

While I’m traveling the world, especially in the tropics, I rarely get dressed up. I always wear casual beach attire or sport clothes.

So very few people in the travel world have ever seen me in my city clothes.

Well, here you go. This is me in d city, when I’m not out lounging on beaches, cycling, hiking or otherwise playing sporting world traveler.

TRAVEL UPDATE FLORIDA:

Check out these gorgeous views of ST Pete at sunset!

I photographed these views from the sailboat out on Tampa Bay, during races.

Friday evening races usually wind up at sunset, just as the sun is setting behind ST Pete skyscrapers, providing amazing panoramic scenes from the bay.

Wowie, St Pete looks beauteous at this vantage point!

TRAVEL UPDATE FLORIDA: I started taking Tango lessons!

Wowie – this is F U N !

So much fun that I’m going to lessons every week I’m in Florida…

…and I vow to become a great Tangera! (female tango dancer)

Obviously these are not the best photos. Lol. But at least you get the idea.

I’ll try to get better photos next lesson. :)

TRAVEL UPDATE FLORIDA: My mom’s 80^th Birthday party(ies) success!

We actually did 2 full-day parties!

Day 1 – on her actual birthday – was a foil for the 2^nd, bigger, party over the weekend, when relatives flew in from all over the US to surprise her.

Here are photos from Day 1…. decorated house, Bday breakfast, boat trip to a nearby island, dinner at Grazzi’s Italian restaurant, cake, presents….

mom’s 80th surprise birthday party

TRAVEL UPDATE FLORIDA: My mom’s 80^th Birthday party(ies) success!

We actually did 2 full-day parties!

Here are photos of Day 2 – The BIG surprise party…

We managed the classic surprise Bday party – a bunch of relatives hid in the house and jumped out to surprise her when she came home….

of course with house decorations, balloons, noise-makers, presents, flowers and massive platters of food.

We also made my mom wear a crown, sash and badge. She looked so cute!

All the relatives flew in from out of town to surprise her. She had NO clue they were here or that a 2^nd party was in the works…until the big “Surprise!” on Sat.

Yippie, we pulled it off!

TRAVEL UPDATE FLORIDA: Day trip to Ringling Mansion in Sarasota…

My cousins and I drove down to Sarasota to visit the huge park-like grounds of the Ringling Brothers’ Mansion and museums.

Ringling, of Circus fame, built these marble mansions in the 1920s right on the water, with stunning panoramic views.

The grounds, mansions and other buildings have been converted into museums about the history of Barnum & Bailey Ringling Bros. Circus.

We arrived near 4 pm, so we skipped visiting the museums and just enjoyed the gardens & views. I’ll have to get back one day soon to get inside the museums… apparently free entry on Mondays!

Has anyone else here visited these mansions?

TRAVEL UPDATE FLORIDA: We took a ferry trip to Egmont Key…

…as part of my mom’s 80^th birthday party. She’s been wanting to do that ferry trip since she moved down here in 2011. So this year we gave it to her!

We saw lots of dolphins, a falcon nest with hatchlings and beautiful fluffy white sand along surprisingly aquamarine sea water.

I greatly enjoyed suntanning on the beah while everyone else took a stroll in the shade.

Anyone else here been out to Egmont Key?

TRAVEL UPDATE FLORIDA: We went to gorgeous historic Tampa Theater

…to see stand-up comedian/actor Marlon Wayans (50 Shades of Black) as part of my mom’s 80^th birthday festivities.

His comedy is bold & raunchy. Wheeewwwie! All sex & relationships. Funny stuff…

Meanwhile, check out the stunning Tampa Theater!

Anyone else here been to Tampa Theater?

Tree of Life Yoga Studio – St Pete – Florida

TRAVEL UPDATE FLORIDA:

Check out the gorgeous yoga studio where I take classes nearly every day!

Tree of Life Yoga is just a 10-minute bike ride from my mom’s house in Gulfport. Very easy for me to get there.

And what a place to hang out, work out, relax and unwind. Enticing, eh?

I got a 1-month unlimited membership, so I’m there nearly every day doing one yoga class or the other + meditation classes. I also tried pilates, but didn’t care for it so much.

Thanks Tree of Life & Jill, Jim, Randi, Jamie, Gail, Cathy & Paula for all the great classes! I’ll miss you all when I leave next week.

Entrepreneurs Social Club at NOVA – St Pete

TRAVEL UPDATE FLORIDA:

Thurday nights are ESC meetings (Entrepreneurs Social Club)

I attend these fun meetings every Thurdsay evening at NOVA in St Pete whenever I”m in town.

Fun, informative with a fantastic group of like-minded independent entrepreneurs and our fearless & whack y leader, Mike Novilla.

Thanks everyone for a great month of fun gatherings! Will miss you all when I leave again next week…

See you next time around. Cheers, Lash

TRAVEL UPDATE FLORIDA: Time to leave Florida again!

Yep, I am heading out into the world again…In fact, I fly tomorrow, Tuesday, June 7^th. This time back to magical Yucatan, Mexico.

I’ve had a wonderful 5 weeks visiting with family & friends and plunging into all sorts of fun activities…

The primary reason I was here was for my mom’s 80^th surprise birthday party, which went exceedingly well. Thanks to all the relatives who flew in from around the US! You guys were awsome. :)

Besides that I’ve kept myself busy sailing, cycling, visiting beaches, taking daily yoga classes & meditation, tango lessons, gardening and weekly ESC meetings.

Thanks everyone! Great to see you all again! Hasta luego! See you next time around!

….off into the world again. Yucatan here I come!