The Tampa/St Petersburg metro area is a great place to visit on the Gulf Coast in central Florida. I have lived here for several years now and enjoy taking visitors to a lot of fun places in the area - I've always loved being a tourist in my own city!

Fine Dining

• Bern's Steakhouse - Tampa
• Oystercatchers at Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay

Casual Dining

• Crabby Bill's - Indian Rocks Beach
• Hott Mess Cafe & Food Truck
• Nico's Arepas Grill & Food Truck
• O'Maddy's Bar & Grille - Gulfport
• The Refinery

Tacos, Tacos, and MORE TACOS!

• California Tacos
• Chronic Tacos
• Don Julio's Mexican
• ​Fuzzy's Tacos
• Loli's Mexican Cravings
• Rocco's Tacos
• Taco Bus - check out the original Bus in Tampa!
• Tijuana Flats

Sweet Treats

• ​Haze Ice Cream including allergy friendly options, like dairy free/sugar free/gluten free ice cream and gluten free cones!
• Strachan's Ice Cream
• Sweet Divas Chocolates

Have more places you love to visit in the area? Comment below and be added to the list!

It's been a whirlwind few months and I apologize for my blog getting put on the back burner.

I literally just got home from an AMAZING trip to Disneyworld - my very first trip to Disney EVER! I did shed some tears when it was time to go home... it truly was magical and I can't wait to go back! There was still so much left to do and see, food to eat, and places to stay. I will greatly miss the warm Florida sunshine too!

Here is my Top 10 list of things EVERYONE should do at Walt Disney World - please be sure to add your favorites in the comments below!

7. Go "underwater" without getting your hair wet for the "Under the Sea" ride with Ariel's crew in Magic Kingdom... as well as "Turtle Talk with Crush" at Epcot (I am still trying to figure out how they do it, dude!)

5. Explore "Living with the Land" at Epcot and see some awesome techniques they are experimenting with to grow food in some crazy ways - many are harvested to be served in the Disney restaurants around the parks!

4. Eat and drink your way around the World Showcase at Epcot. (We had a fabulous "dinner & show" at the Teppan Edo hibachi restaurant - so fun and delicious!) !The park was beautifully adorned with the flowers and topiaries of the International Flower & Garden Festival during my visit (early May 2015), which added some extra vibrant pixie dust and fragrance. Be sure to stop by The Kunstarbeit In Kristall in Germany for your sparkly crystal tiaras and beer stein souvenirs - they'll even ship your fragile items home for a very reasonable flat fee.

3. See "Finding Nemo - The Musical" at Animal Kingdom - this colorful performance is entertaining and breath-taking for the whole family!

1. Get to Magic Kingdom before 8:30pm and park yourself in front of Cinderella Castle to get a prime seat along the parade route edges (score a FastPass+ preferred seating area if you can!) for the evening's Mickey's Electrical Parade and Wishes fireworks show! 


Not a night owl? During the day, around mid-afternoon, you can also find a spot along the "Move It! Shake It! Dance & Play It! Street Party" parade route through Adventureland and Main Street USA in the Magic Kingdom. The "Fantasmic" show at Hollywood Studios is also a great lights, water, and fireworks show for later evening entertainment!)

Again, this was my very first visit and there are still many things on my list for the next time... open to suggestions from others on what they love too! (Also note that my stomach doesn't handle rollercoaster style rides, so I did only the "Any Height" rides!)

A lot of families head to Wisconsin Dells in the summer to splash around at the waterparks, play mini golf, ride some rollercoasters, and just enjoy the sunshine while it graces Wisconsin for a few short months!

What happens when the day of your long-planned family fun finally arrives... and it's 50 degrees outside... or raining? Avoid being cooped up in a hotel room with grumpy kids or turning around to make the long drive back home - there's a hidden gem just down the road in a little town called Rock Springs.

That's how we stumbled upon the Wisconsin Big Cat Rescue & Educational Center a few summers ago. It ended up being a fantastic turnaround to what could have been a miserable day.

We checked in at the little booth and it was fairly quiet, so we ended up getting a personal tour with Jenny, one of the owners. They had just moved Daytona, a 3-month-old tiger cub, outside from living in their house and she was quite the entertainer. I would have loved to jump in her cage and snuggle her but she probably already outweighed me - and those claws still looked pretty long and sharp!

Jenny introduced us to each and every one of the dozens of big cats that live in the rescue. Many cats enjoy the luxury of their own personal sanctuary, some share a space. Every pen is huge, filled with toys and things to climb on, and surrounded by extremely tall metal fences. If one of the large felines decides to be "friendly" and come up to the fence, you are literally standing within 6 feet of them... absolutely amazing! (Just a helpful note that we learned: If a big cat starts to turn and lift their tail or leg... be sure you run the opposite direction as fast as you can, so you don't get sprayed!) 

And when that mighty king lets out a roar, it shakes you to the core!

We had noticed a "menu" of treats you could purchase for the cats when we checked in. The option of a whole chicken stood out and we went ahead and got one for a beautiful white tiger named Isis. One of the staff - usually Jeff, another owner - will lure the cat into a small house at the back of their fenced area and lock it up temporarily, so he can go into the cat's pen and leave the gift for the cat to find... in this case, an entire chicken, frozen solid! The cat paces excitedly, waiting to be released (once the staff member has safely exited the pen) and then it is on the prowl to hunt its prey as soon as the door is opened! Be sure to have your camera ready to go - they have such an amazing sense of smell... that chicken was found and fully devoured in under two minutes flat! 

Each cat has a story - some have been rescued from zoos that closed or bad circus environments, others were illegal "pets" that the owners could no longer handle.

The rescue runs entirely on donations and sponsorships; none of their funds come from government support. Right now they are in the process of building a new Vet & Educational Center on the property, so they can take care of surgeries and routine care onsite. The cost to erect the building itself was covered by a foundation in Minnesota, but the rescue still need funds to complete the project. Consider making a donation - click here! As their site says, "Your donation makes a roaring difference!" Thank you!


*Wisconsin Big Cats Rescue & Educational Center is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.