My turn:
A whirlwind visit to Tampa. I've now more than doubled the number of F/Ters I've met. And let me say, I'm pleased to have done so. The friendship and welcoming nature of this crowd is truly heart warming. New faces for me included dgolds, auH2O, Scott the Flyer, Punki (and her wonderful sister), PremEx, Honeybear, and Mr. "between the lines" himself - QuietLion. Moments after arrival at Gate 87 I spot the familiar faces of Catman and essxjay coming to meet me. A brief visit to the US Airways Club for some bitters, beers, and some planning for the rest of the day. Then off to meet Quiet Lion and Honeybear for a trip to the Krispy Kreme to capture Quiet Lion's first sample of KK's glazed. Sugar highs and sugar lows followed. On our trip out to Clearwater half of us were wide awake and others were half (or more) asleep.
Clearwater was a nice diversion from the snow and ice of DC. Essxjay ran into the surf, we browsed a cigar shop and snapped a few shots of the birthplace of L. Ron Hubbard's empire (thanks for the 'enlightenment' QL
). Then it was back to the Hilton for some and that full service hotel, the Sheraton, for QL & Honeybear.
Four days of the flu earlier in the week and a late night on Friday sent me directly to bed for a much needed nap. An hour and half later, I dressed, showered and tossed back a caffeine laden Mellow-Yellow and it was down to the lobby to meet the crowd to head to Bern's. As has been mentioned in earlier posts, the Gasparilla Festival was in full swing, and cabs were as hard to come by as international upgrades on US Airways (which is to say they do not exist). I rode with Punki, kokonutz, auh2o, and Punki's sister who kindly offered to drive. Along the way we saw a catfight (please ask kokonutz for details, and NO Catman was not involved). Bern's was everything it should have been for a group of steak loving maniacs like most of us. They are as serious about their steaks as we are about our miles... which is to say fanatic. Punki held off on the beef (but availed herself of a wonderful shrimp dish) and the rest of us ordered by cut of meat and by the ounce. What a way to go. I could rant and rave about the wine list but I won't. I could have browsed it for days but opted to go with a familiar wine (see QL's report above for details on all the choices of the table). The after dinner tour took us to the wine cellar where I was tempted to leave the group, wedge myself between two rows of Bordeaux and live out the remainder of my life in that little slice of heaven.
And a huge thank you to auh2o for picking up the dessert tab (I'll pay for that flashlight the next time we're in San Francisco auh2o... deal?
). After the dining experience was over (1 a.m.), kokonutz and auh2o made a well appreciated effort to push the evening into overdrive, but alas, I was unable to rally. Lacking sleep and trying to digest steak, wine and amoxocillin (see flu comment above) did not leave me with the energy reserves such an evening requires. Sorry guys
. I'll rest up for the next gathering and join in ALL the fun. A quick drink with PremEx, Scott the Flyer, essxjay, and Catman back at the Hilton set me up nicely for slumber.
Checking the manifest for the Tampa Gathering revealed that of the 11 F/Ters in attendance, there were at least 7 United 1K's, 1 United PremEx, a Continental elite and one US Airways elite (me).
I had a great time in TPA (a special thanks to Catman for being the ambassador of FT
). And it was truly wonderful to meet more of the crowd that ply the skies. Cheers.
[This message has been edited by geo1004 (edited 02-07-2000).]
[This message has been edited by geo1004 (edited 02-07-2000).]