Thursday, July 28, 2016

PWBA St. Petersburg-Clearwater Open


A week ago, I competed in the PWBA St. Petersburg/Clearwater Open. Taking advantage of the nice Florida location, I decided to fly straight from the previous stop in Rochester, NY and meet my husband Drew for a mini vacation prior to the start of the tournament.

Prior to Drew’s arrival, I met up with my good friend John Janawicz for dinner. He took me to this unbelievable steak house that I HIGHLY recommend – Bern’s Steak House in Tampa. The atmosphere was incredible and the steak was to die for! That’s not even the best part. After diner, we got a tour of the kitchen and then headed to the dessert room.  If you are ever in Tampa, at the very least, take a trip to the dessert room! All I can say is WOW!

The Dessert Room

Bern's Steak House

Drew and I were very fortunate to be able to stay at Drew’s uncle’s house for our entire duration. It is such a quaint and comfortable home and conveniently located too! Our first day of vacation, we drove from St. Pete beach, where we had lunch overlooking the water, and then headed along the coast to Dunedin, making our way to Honeymoon Island.  



While we were driving on the island, we came across a turtle in the middle of the road.  Drew went out to help it get across quicker, so it wouldn’t get hit by any cars. To our surprise, it scurried rather quickly across the road and into the brush, when Drew approached it. I guess turtles get a bad rap.

Honeymoon Island

Honeymoon Island

The next day, we drove to Clearwater Beach. We had lunch nearby and walked out along the pier. While on the pier, a tourist speed boat happened to pass by and we were able to witness a few dolphins playing in it’s wake. I absolutely love dolphins, and the dolphins in Florida seem to be smaller in size, but definitely just as playful as our native California dolphins.





The following day I had to get back into competition mode. We had our practice session, after which, I caught this gorgeous rainbow behind the PBA truck. Hopefully it would be a sign of good luck for the week! After the practice session, we had a very nice VIP event at the host center – Seminole Lanes. The manager and proprietor did an amazing job all week with this event! 




This week, we bowled on a 40’ pattern.  I started out strong during the first block of qualifying using my Track Heat X-treme to shot 257 game 1. With the lanes quickly breaking down, I had to switch to my Paradox Pearl and move an entire zone inside shooting games of 195 and 237. I then switched to my New Hammer Rebel and shot games of 224, 225 and 234 for +172 overall, which put me in 3rd place.


The next block, later that afternoon, proved to be pretty difficult. I grinded most of the block shooting only +6 for +178 overall, which dropped me down to 11th place going into the casher’s round.

Needing a good block to advance to the top 12 match play finals, I again grinded and couldn’t seem to adjust correctly. I ended up coming in 18th place overall in the tournament.

After the tournament, Drew and I had another day of vacation and we decided to go to Adventure Island, Tampa’s water park. Drew and I both hadn’t been to a water park since we were about 14. It was a great idea for some fun in the sun and to try and beat the crazy, hot and humid Florida weather.





After the PWBA Florida stop, we had a much needed week-long break from the tour. I was finally able to go home after being on the road for a month. I took the opportunity to see my friends and family, get in some practice, give some lessons and take in some much needed fun and relaxation.

I am now en route to Houston for one of my favorite tournaments of the year - the PBA/PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Luci Mixed Doubles.  Be sure to follow all of the action LIVE on XtraFrame.tv to watch myself and partner Scott Norton.  #letsbowl

Until then!

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