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!
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| The Dessert Room |
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| 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.
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| Honeymoon Island |
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| 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
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