As we headed out of Tampa on Saturday the skies opened up right about the time we got on SR60 and headed over to Clearwater Beach. I hate being in the car in the rain, but knowing Florida, I figured that it might not last long. I was right, because by the time we got to the island, the rain had pretty much stopped.
We checked in for our next two nights, my birthday and Father's Day, at the Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort and Spa. The hotel was nice enough, in a very populated area of Clearwater Beach, with public beach access across the street on the back side of the hotel - which I wasn't expecting. The hotel itself was nice, the rooms were all very large, and the prices were the standard exorbitant levels one should expect to see at a water front facility.
After dropping our bags we immediately headed out, on foot, for about a 7 minute walk to
Bar Tiki. That was the one birthday thing I wanted to do and since the rain had stopped it seemed like a good time to get out and about. I miscalculated. The rain only intensified the humidity, and once the clouds passed it heated up like someone turned on the oven. When we got to the bar I figured out that it was a rooftop place - cool. But ONLY outdoor seating. Oops. With my MCAS I am not good in the heat. But it was my birthday and we had walked there, so I knew we had to walk back. I figured I could sit under an umbrella, with a cold drink and get cooled down - then we would head back to the lovely air conditioned hotel. Wrong again.
As soon as we sat at the table the breeze stopped. Like someone shut it off with a switch. At this point it's about 4pm, full sun, 112% humidity, I'm already too hot and now I'm cooking on a roof top. I don't do great with alcohol and try to limit it to small amounts and special occasions only, and in this instance I really, REALLY wanted a Pina Colada. So, Brian ordered a Zombie, I took the Pina Colada, we both got some water and ordered a grouper quesadilla to split - which was my next mistake.
The quesadilla was great, and the drinks were EXCELLENT - I can't recommend Bar Tiki enough for the ambiance, food and drink. But, at this point I felt like I was almost dead. Between the heat and the alcohol I went into a severe MCAS flare and had to head back to the room immediately, for a cool down, many medications, lots of water and rest. Just what I want to be doing on our first of only two days at the beach. I ended up spending several hours in bed, trying to recoup, then was able to rally and make it to the beach for an hour.
Boy, I'm so glad I did. It. Was. Beautiful. The water was about the same temp as the water and it was a very strange feeling as the waves lapped up my legs and met the warm, humid air in the middle. We did a little shell hunting, and only found little shells, so I didn't get any souvenirs. We ordered a DoorDash dinner which triggered my MCAS again and I went to bed about midnight absolutely miserable. At that point I was hoping for a better day on Sunday.
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