Where else but a resort hotel would you see a stressed out looking woman rushing to catch an elevator carrying a neon green inflatable tube?

I'm always in a bit of a conundrum when we're on vacation because I get up so much earlier than everyone else. What do I do? I can go out but when do I return? I think I need one of those flashing pagers they give you at restaurants that have really long waits.

Only in a resort town do you see a store sign selling WINGS - SPORTSWEAR. This sounds almost irresistible to me. Hope they have a lot of napkins.

It was too cold and windy to lie on the beach today, so we went to Busch Gardens. It's kind of an odd place, stuck in the middle of a nondescript suburb of Tampa between condo complexes, office parks, and strip malls. It's not quite an amusement park, though it does have rides and it's not quite a zoo, though it does have animals, and if you're going to call it a theme park I defy you to identify a theme. Actually, I know. The theme is Absurdly Expensive. I don't mind paying for stuff, I really don't. But this thing was $75 a person to get in, for a half dozen roller coasters, a few animal attractions, and a teeny little version of Sesame Place with kiddie rides. It wasn't particularly crowded or unpleasant, I just didn't get it.