Sheikra (aka Shriek-ya!)

Wednesday morning I had a doctors appointment in St. Pete and was unable to volunteer at the library (instead I went on Thursday). After my appointment, Bill and I decided to head to Busch Gardens to ride the roller coasters. When we went to Busch Gardens in October, we rode all of the coasters except one -- Sheikra, which is supposed to be the best. Last time, just as we got to the entrance of the ride, it started raining and there was lightning in the area so they closed the coasters. This time we were determined to ride. Sheikra is by far the best coaster that either of us have ever been on. Your feet dangle, you go virtually straight up, then dangle before plunging 90 degrees straight down. It felt like we were parachuting. Awesome. We rode the other coasters too and saw a few of the animal exhibits before heading back to St. Pete. Unfortunately on one of the coasters Bill's sunglasses flew off. They are currently sitting somewhere at the bottom of the tracks, smashed into pieces I am sure.

Wednesday night we were very graciously invited to Jennifer and Emmanuel's house for dinner with Mary Alice. We had a great evening. First we had a walking tour of their amazing neighborhood (the historic Driftwood neighborhood in St. Pete) and waterfront. Jennifer and Emmanuel have a chocolate lab named Max who is basically the perfect dog. He is so well trained and can do the most amazing tricks. Of course we were in heaven.... And dinner was amazingly delicious (Emmanuel is a chef and owner of the Garden Bistro restaurant in St. Pete). Wow.

Thursday I volunteered at the library while Bill played golf. We had dinner (and Skip-bo) with Mary Alice Thursday night and came back to Sarasota Friday afternoon. Instead of driving back on the highway though, we took the long way through Bradenton, Anna Maria Island, Longboat Key, and Lido Key. We also took a ride over to Siesta Key and visited the beaches. Beautiful.