Tampa was an interesting place. I went there thinking there was absolutely nothing to do outside of the conference. I was wrong. The city followed up a weekend of Superbowl craziness with their annual Gasparilla festival. Apparently, a Spanish pirate named Jose Gaspar used to pillage and raid southwest Florida, including Tampa Bay. Finally, the villagers of Tampa revolted and killed the pirate. Since then, every year they would celebrate the demise of Gaspar by sailing "pirate ships" into the bay and shooting water balloons, beads, and coins at the ship.
It made for a fun weekend. The convention center was downtown, so I got to watch the parade on my way from the hotel. I also got to ride a real, authentic trolley on my way to Ybar to celebrate our last night in Tampa. The only complaint I had was that it was below freezing half the time I was in Tampa, and I had brought nothing warmer than a light jacket!As much as I love to travel, I realize that I don't always travel well. I shared a double room with 3 other people (yes, 2 per bed) and went a bit stir crazy by Saturday. I had no alone time between the conference, socializing/schmoozing, and having 3 hotel roommates, no quiet time, and no time or space for yoga.
I guess I'm learning how to set up bounderies. On one hand, we're suppose to live missionally, and be willing to thrive under all sorts of conditions. On the other hand, there is something to be said about retreating and taking care of yourself so that you have something to give. I wish I said I was a most gracious, loving person the entire trip, but perhaps the only way for me to be that way is to set up an hour or two of alone time each day on the trip. Perhaps I need my own bed (that did make the trip a lot easier last year!).
Regardless, it feels soooo nice to be back in Austin. Looking forward to staying put in one place until spring break =)
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