Swenson Adventures Goes to Tampa Bay for the Superbowl!

Well it was a whirlwind weekend heading south on Friday to Tampa Bay with all of the Arizona and Pittsburgh fans. There was cheering on the planes—three legs and two stops on the way there—people dressed in team attire, and Mardi Gras beads and handouts in Tampa International Airport.

Dad picked me up at the airport and we headed back to Zephyrhills. We got there in time to unpack and sit down for a few minutes before heading out to dinner. Friday is usually fish night for Dad so we tried getting in to the Mainely New England restaurant—a favorite we have been to other times—but the lines were so long it would be at least 90 minutes before we would get a table. We went by a couple of other places and the lines were equally long, so we settled at the Village Kitchen restaurant, a place Dad had not been to before but wanted to try anyway. He was able to get his fish and since we were in the south I settled for Chicken-fired steak.

We got back to Dad’s in time for me to load Skype onto his computer and get the system set up. Then we connected with Cheri back in Connecticut on a video call. We still had some bugs to work out of the system, but it was a good call anyway.

Dad gets Netflix and had a new movie for us to watch—Bounds. After about 15 minutes we both agreed that it was less than a B movie and maybe we should see what was on TV. We started to watch the Return of the Mummy (with Brandon Fraser) and part-way through we ended up connecting by Skype with Sarah in London. By the time we finished the call we couldn’t really connect with the movie, so we watched the end of the Celtics game and headed off to bed.

Saturday we slept in and then lounged about reading books and the paper. Dad got called in early for dialysis so I took him in and then did some shopping to make dinner later that night.

After picking Dad back up we went back to his place, watched a little golf on TV and worked on supper. I exposed Dad to Polenta with a Tomato and Sweet Italian Sausage gravy. His plate was pretty well cleaned up so I think he liked it.

We were able to connect with a movie on TV Saturday night—The Chronicles of Narnia – The Witch, The Lion, and The Wardrobe. It is an enjoyable movie and the only downside was the commercials took a two hour movie and stretched it to three.

Sunday morning we were up and off to Church. Dad sang in the choir and they did a great job and sounded really good. Deb met us at church for the service. Afterwards we headed out for lunch at Outbacks. The meal was good and it was nice for the three of us to get out together. The dessert in front of Deb wasn’t the only one, the other plates had already been taken away.

Dad and I watched the Superbowl that night—see I did go to Tampa to see the Superbowl. As you all know it was a good game right up until the end. Dad and I were cheering for Arizona, so the outcome wasn’t the best, but we did enjoy the game.

Monday was cooler and overcast so it must have been time for me to head back north. We did get out for a brief walk to the Community Center in the morning and to see Harvey and Ruth Ann before it started to rain. Then it was off to the airport and getting back onto flights. Fortunately it was only two legs this time—Tampa to Chicago, Chicago to Providence. It would have been great except the flight out of Chicago was an hour late in leaving so it didn’t get into Providence until almost midnight. It just meant I had more time to sit and read.

All in all it was another good adventure and it is always enjoyable to spend time with your Dad.