Ad 2 Tampa Bay invites you and your friends to join us and 'walk the red carpet" at Ad Bash 2007!
This hollywood inspired event will take place at Hyde Park Cafe on Friday, November 9th from 6-10pm. Old and new celebrity attire requested - including baubles, bangles, and bright shiny beads. Proceeds benefiting Wheels of Success non-profit organization.
$5 tickets can be purchased in advance at www.ad2tampabay.org $10 tickets per person at the door.
First 50 guests get free goodie bags filled with great things from our sponsors! Drink specials will run all night long and free pizza will be available for our early guests! Come after work for a Happy Hour drink and start your Friday night of fun with Ad 2 Tampa Bay while helping out a great cause!
Hyde Park Cafe is located at 1806 Platt Street West Tampa, FL 33606 For more information please visit www.ad2tampabay.org. A huge thank you goes out to our wonderful sponsors! Hyde Park Cafe, Malibu, OnDemand Printing, and TBT
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
AdCast: Episode XIII
I suppose I didn't realize I should have been especially fearful of this month's episode - dreaded number thirteen. But really it wasn't bad at all. Remote show this time, from Tampa Bay Brewing Company (next door to Tampa Digital Studios' new offices in Ybor City). And to further mix things up, Jessica McDonald was out hang-gliding through the Amazon, opening up the coveted co-hostess spot for Ad 2's own Robin Adkins. And what a show it was...
• First, Cris Vatalaro and Mai Tran were on the show to catch us up on Ad 2 happenings. They discussed AdBash (which is coming up November 9, 6-10pm, and should totally rock, Hollywood-style) and the Student Media Tour (November 8, 9am-6pm – also likely to rock). For details on those events and everything else, you can always check out Ad 2's website at www.ad2tampabay.org
• Next up, Mike Compton was on the show with Susan Jacobs to announce this year's Ad 2 Tampa Bay public service client – a great cause called Wheels of Success. Great things to come on that front; Wheels' has an established identity, a sound plan, and a lot of potential for a great public service campaign for us. Anyone that's interested in helping out, toss Mike an email as soon as ya can. VIEW NOW
• Unfortunately the head honcho Larry Thompson couldn't make it out to the show to speak on the Sarasota Design Summit, but that didn't stop us. At the last second, we pulled a major community player, Mr. Peter Kageyama, President of Creative Tampa Bay and partner with Sextant Marketing. We had plenty to learn about the Design Summit, and honestly his talk changed my perspective on the whole thing. SDS is a new approach to the "design" conference, inviting people that aren't designers to find out why it's so important. VIEW NOW
• The next segment was a great learning experience for me, considering I didn't know what the Film Commission was until Lindsey Norris came onto the show to tell us about it. It's not really what I thought at all - these are the people responsible for the luring, caring, and feeding of any and all film production outfits visiting Tampa Bay. VIEW NOW
• It wasn't our first segment on advertising to the Hispanic community, and at the rate the population is growing, it won't be our last. This time we had a very tuned-in guest, live on the air with us. Pedro Perez has been working in the industry for 14 years, and came on to talk about his company Nuevo Advertising and how they reach out to such a diverse audience. VIEW NOW
• The Night of the Iguana. It just sounds fun. Sure enough, the details Melinda Dale revealed to us made it sound even moreso. This is a charity event for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, founded and firmly supported by Tampa's own Green Iguana restaurant, and it's going on November 16 from 7:30-11:30pm. VIEW NOW
• Was it all for the illiteration? The phrase "Hike for Hospice" is actually what they use to describe a pretty cool 5K race that supports Gulfside Regional Hospice, and special events coordinator Jennifer York was on to tell us all about it. VIEW NOW
• We wrapped things up with another edition of tbt* Rising Stars. I'm really glad we're doing this segment; it does what we always wanted to do with "Young Professional of the Month," but uses tbt*'s reach and resources to really pick out the best of the best. Then we get to have them on the show; keep an eye out for this being a really fun segment as this relationship moves on. This time we had Patrick Donlan of EdgeRock Technology Partners; great story there. VIEW NOW
And that's how we did it. Robin did a great job in her first attempt at hosting, especially considering she thought we'd have a teleprompter on the set (sorry Robin we're not all high-tech like that). The venue was quite honestly pretty tough to deal with as we were going along... I mean seriously, since when do so many people go to the bar on a Wednesday... but regardless, it all came out well. The clips look great, Tampa Digital Studios' team did great, and our sponsors are just generally great for the things they do for us (La Casa Dolce, tbt*, and TDS of course).
Let's do it again next month!
Make Good Choices.
• First, Cris Vatalaro and Mai Tran were on the show to catch us up on Ad 2 happenings. They discussed AdBash (which is coming up November 9, 6-10pm, and should totally rock, Hollywood-style) and the Student Media Tour (November 8, 9am-6pm – also likely to rock). For details on those events and everything else, you can always check out Ad 2's website at www.ad2tampabay.org
• Next up, Mike Compton was on the show with Susan Jacobs to announce this year's Ad 2 Tampa Bay public service client – a great cause called Wheels of Success. Great things to come on that front; Wheels' has an established identity, a sound plan, and a lot of potential for a great public service campaign for us. Anyone that's interested in helping out, toss Mike an email as soon as ya can. VIEW NOW
• Unfortunately the head honcho Larry Thompson couldn't make it out to the show to speak on the Sarasota Design Summit, but that didn't stop us. At the last second, we pulled a major community player, Mr. Peter Kageyama, President of Creative Tampa Bay and partner with Sextant Marketing. We had plenty to learn about the Design Summit, and honestly his talk changed my perspective on the whole thing. SDS is a new approach to the "design" conference, inviting people that aren't designers to find out why it's so important. VIEW NOW
• The next segment was a great learning experience for me, considering I didn't know what the Film Commission was until Lindsey Norris came onto the show to tell us about it. It's not really what I thought at all - these are the people responsible for the luring, caring, and feeding of any and all film production outfits visiting Tampa Bay. VIEW NOW
• It wasn't our first segment on advertising to the Hispanic community, and at the rate the population is growing, it won't be our last. This time we had a very tuned-in guest, live on the air with us. Pedro Perez has been working in the industry for 14 years, and came on to talk about his company Nuevo Advertising and how they reach out to such a diverse audience. VIEW NOW
• The Night of the Iguana. It just sounds fun. Sure enough, the details Melinda Dale revealed to us made it sound even moreso. This is a charity event for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, founded and firmly supported by Tampa's own Green Iguana restaurant, and it's going on November 16 from 7:30-11:30pm. VIEW NOW
• Was it all for the illiteration? The phrase "Hike for Hospice" is actually what they use to describe a pretty cool 5K race that supports Gulfside Regional Hospice, and special events coordinator Jennifer York was on to tell us all about it. VIEW NOW
• We wrapped things up with another edition of tbt* Rising Stars. I'm really glad we're doing this segment; it does what we always wanted to do with "Young Professional of the Month," but uses tbt*'s reach and resources to really pick out the best of the best. Then we get to have them on the show; keep an eye out for this being a really fun segment as this relationship moves on. This time we had Patrick Donlan of EdgeRock Technology Partners; great story there. VIEW NOW
And that's how we did it. Robin did a great job in her first attempt at hosting, especially considering she thought we'd have a teleprompter on the set (sorry Robin we're not all high-tech like that). The venue was quite honestly pretty tough to deal with as we were going along... I mean seriously, since when do so many people go to the bar on a Wednesday... but regardless, it all came out well. The clips look great, Tampa Digital Studios' team did great, and our sponsors are just generally great for the things they do for us (La Casa Dolce, tbt*, and TDS of course).
Let's do it again next month!
Make Good Choices.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
AdCast: Episode XII
Episode twelve. We're now one full year older and wiser than we were at the humble beginnings of this whole "AdCast" thing. My, how far we've come. Well this show was another winner, with another great selection of guests.
• We started things off with the general Ad 2 business. Cris Vatalaro and Mai Tran were on the show to update us on the AdBash plans: Let it be known, we're doing it on November 9th at Hyde Park Cafe, 6-10pm. Next, Vinny Tafuro and Mike Compton brought us up to speed on our public service campaign... we've narrowed it down to the final three, and we're definitely still open to volunteers that want to handle the creative and account duties with our yet-to-be-named selection. VIEW NOW (MORE)(EVEN MORE)
• We had a couple new faces from Big Cat Rescue with us next. This time it was Jessica Allen and Jennifer Bush there to tell us about this year's (already sold out!) October 12 Fur Ball and, of course, all the other great things they do over there at Big Cat Rescue. VIEW NOW
• Nancy Kipnis is the PR Director for ARTE 2007, a major event celebrating the culture of the Americas in venues throughout St. Petersburg. As she said, ARTE really allows you to go in and basically create your own experience, offering "a la carte" events all around the area from November 2-16. VIEW NOW
• Greg Rollett handles the Marketing and Communications duties for a big 'ol rock show in Orlando with a great cause. It's called Rock for Hunger, and as its straight-forward name implies, it's a collection of bands rocking out to aid the homeless and hungry in the community. It's going on this November 10, and they're looking for volunteers (and of course attendees) to make it all as great as it can be. VIEW NOW
• John Rosser is the Executive Director for the Gasparilla Film Festival. With the festival several months away, you might be wondering what he was here to discuss. The festival actually holds other events throughout the year, including the big Children's Day in Hyde Park Village this November 18. VIEW NOW
• Big new segment on the show this time around. It's called tbt* Rising Stars, and it highlights some of the most prominent and accomplished up-and-coming young professionals in the Tampa Bay Area. We didn't have any of their selections on the air (as we will in the future), but we were able to talk briefly about who made the cut. VIEW NOW
• This month's Advertising Insight covered a pretty broad topic, and I'd say we covered it pretty well. It's called The Future of Television and Advertising, and we talk about some major issues facing TV today and in days to come. For instance, how will TV advertising survive if everyone TIVO's their way through the commericals? And what about people buying TV shows off iTunes? Or *gasp* watching them on YouTube. What's it all going to come to? VIEW NOW
So that was how twelve episodes came to a close. I enjoyed the show... hey when DON'T I? Thanks as always to our great sponsors. La Casa Dolce sets us up with some absolutely decadent panini and gelatto in the green room – which I would devour as quickly even if I wasn't starving after the show. Tampa Digital Studios is of course the excellent production facility that puts the lights and cameras on us (our guests of course provide the action!) and I should add they do a stellar job of it. Then there's our newest sponsor, a publication we all know and love in the Tampa Bay area... yes of course it's tbt*. And to close it out, of course, I love all of you who watch, and especially those who come to our green show to watch live (everyone should, it's FREE and did I mention the food is amazing??)
You know how I end things off...
Make Good Choices, folks.
• We started things off with the general Ad 2 business. Cris Vatalaro and Mai Tran were on the show to update us on the AdBash plans: Let it be known, we're doing it on November 9th at Hyde Park Cafe, 6-10pm. Next, Vinny Tafuro and Mike Compton brought us up to speed on our public service campaign... we've narrowed it down to the final three, and we're definitely still open to volunteers that want to handle the creative and account duties with our yet-to-be-named selection. VIEW NOW (MORE)(EVEN MORE)
• We had a couple new faces from Big Cat Rescue with us next. This time it was Jessica Allen and Jennifer Bush there to tell us about this year's (already sold out!) October 12 Fur Ball and, of course, all the other great things they do over there at Big Cat Rescue. VIEW NOW
• Nancy Kipnis is the PR Director for ARTE 2007, a major event celebrating the culture of the Americas in venues throughout St. Petersburg. As she said, ARTE really allows you to go in and basically create your own experience, offering "a la carte" events all around the area from November 2-16. VIEW NOW
• Greg Rollett handles the Marketing and Communications duties for a big 'ol rock show in Orlando with a great cause. It's called Rock for Hunger, and as its straight-forward name implies, it's a collection of bands rocking out to aid the homeless and hungry in the community. It's going on this November 10, and they're looking for volunteers (and of course attendees) to make it all as great as it can be. VIEW NOW
• John Rosser is the Executive Director for the Gasparilla Film Festival. With the festival several months away, you might be wondering what he was here to discuss. The festival actually holds other events throughout the year, including the big Children's Day in Hyde Park Village this November 18. VIEW NOW
• Big new segment on the show this time around. It's called tbt* Rising Stars, and it highlights some of the most prominent and accomplished up-and-coming young professionals in the Tampa Bay Area. We didn't have any of their selections on the air (as we will in the future), but we were able to talk briefly about who made the cut. VIEW NOW
• This month's Advertising Insight covered a pretty broad topic, and I'd say we covered it pretty well. It's called The Future of Television and Advertising, and we talk about some major issues facing TV today and in days to come. For instance, how will TV advertising survive if everyone TIVO's their way through the commericals? And what about people buying TV shows off iTunes? Or *gasp* watching them on YouTube. What's it all going to come to? VIEW NOW
So that was how twelve episodes came to a close. I enjoyed the show... hey when DON'T I? Thanks as always to our great sponsors. La Casa Dolce sets us up with some absolutely decadent panini and gelatto in the green room – which I would devour as quickly even if I wasn't starving after the show. Tampa Digital Studios is of course the excellent production facility that puts the lights and cameras on us (our guests of course provide the action!) and I should add they do a stellar job of it. Then there's our newest sponsor, a publication we all know and love in the Tampa Bay area... yes of course it's tbt*. And to close it out, of course, I love all of you who watch, and especially those who come to our green show to watch live (everyone should, it's FREE and did I mention the food is amazing??)
You know how I end things off...
Make Good Choices, folks.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Get Excited! Ad2 Tampa Bay's AD Bash is in the works!
Hey all you honorary actors and actresses!
It's time to get excited because plans for Ad2 Tampa Bay's Annual Ad Bash are already in the works!
Please join us at this year's Ad Bash Friday, November 9th when Tampa's own Hyde Park Cafe will be transformed into a fine Hollywood-themed Extravaganza!
The red carpet rolls out at 6:00pm and the party goes til 10:00pm. So get out there and start shopping for your best Hollywood-themed attire and mark your calendars now. For just $10, you'll have access to a night of fine Hollywood glamour, great food and drinks, and networking with Ad2 Tampa Bay!
A portion of the proceeds will go to a special Ad2 sponsored charity which will be officially announced soon!
So remember:
Ad Bash 2007
November 9, 2007
Hyde Park Cafe
Tampa, Florida
6pm-10pm
Hope to see all of you there!
Look for flyers and more event information, out soon!
It's time to get excited because plans for Ad2 Tampa Bay's Annual Ad Bash are already in the works!
Please join us at this year's Ad Bash Friday, November 9th when Tampa's own Hyde Park Cafe will be transformed into a fine Hollywood-themed Extravaganza!
The red carpet rolls out at 6:00pm and the party goes til 10:00pm. So get out there and start shopping for your best Hollywood-themed attire and mark your calendars now. For just $10, you'll have access to a night of fine Hollywood glamour, great food and drinks, and networking with Ad2 Tampa Bay!
A portion of the proceeds will go to a special Ad2 sponsored charity which will be officially announced soon!
So remember:
Ad Bash 2007
November 9, 2007
Hyde Park Cafe
Tampa, Florida
6pm-10pm
Hope to see all of you there!
Look for flyers and more event information, out soon!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
AdCast: Episode XI
Eleven Episodes. Yes that means next month is our one-year anniversary, folks! No special plans as of yet; just another sweet show of myself and my co-host Jessica McDonald rocking the young professional scene in Tampa Bay. But enough about the future. How about that show tonight?
• Gilberto "Gil" Sanchez was one of the first guests on AdCast, appearing on our first show last September. But his resume does not end there (which I suppose is good for his sake). He owns his own practice – Sanchez and Associates, is the co-founder and a driving member of the Hispanic Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs group of Tampa Bay, and teaches young professionals around the area about how to start their own business. He came on to talk about all that, as well as his *free* lecture series on starting your own business, which starts tomorrow night at 6pm. For more info, check out www.sanchezlawoffices.com.
• Katrina Priore is the Assistant Publisher and Partner Relations extraordinaire for Create Magazine. She joined us to talk mainly about the Create Awards, a mega-huge competition that's underway right now, and also a number of other exciting happenings surrounding the magazine. For more information on everything Create, see the website at www.createmagazine.com.
• Scott Talcott is the Executive Director of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Their group is hosting a big event to keep fans and philanthropists alike busy during the Buccaneers' away game at Seattle. That day, the CFF will host a gourmet tailgate and 4x4 truck show at Raymond James Stadium, also featuring Scott's fellow guests Cory Frisco and Michael Lokey of the Baja 1000 team. Information on that event can be found at the official CFF site.
• We had a tag-team of big-time area event planners on to talk about some upcoming shindigs for the Tampa Theatre. Brooke Palmer of RSBP Events and Tracy Jones of the TBT* discussed their upcoming bashes. Respectively, Brooke is involved in planning "How the West was Wine," a western themed wine tasting, and Tracy is working on "Fast Times at Tampa Theatre," a real deal '80s party. They also both teased me because apparently I was only 8 years old when the '80s ended. My bad. Also, I learned that the asterisk in TBT* is silent. Who knew?
• This month's Advertising Insight was Movie Marketing 101. Our main focus was the big push for Simpsons: Movie, one of the most anticipated films of the year. As we pointed out, they really did it right. From the reverse product placement with 7-11, to the BK partnership and www.simpsonizeme.com, their marketing efforts were huge and it paid dividends. Also of note was Transformers and the GM tie-in that energized a whole generation of youth to fall in love with American-made cars. (yes that's a native Detroiter talking.)
That was the long and short of it. Big props to our sponsors La Casa Dolce and Tampa Digital Studios, and a special kudos to David Hampton for a job well done on the brand-spankin'-new production station. Hang tight until Monday, and we'll have a newsletter out with links to all of these segments. That's right, you can watch "on demand," as the cable channels love to say.
Until next time,
Make Good Choices.
• Gilberto "Gil" Sanchez was one of the first guests on AdCast, appearing on our first show last September. But his resume does not end there (which I suppose is good for his sake). He owns his own practice – Sanchez and Associates, is the co-founder and a driving member of the Hispanic Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs group of Tampa Bay, and teaches young professionals around the area about how to start their own business. He came on to talk about all that, as well as his *free* lecture series on starting your own business, which starts tomorrow night at 6pm. For more info, check out www.sanchezlawoffices.com.
• Katrina Priore is the Assistant Publisher and Partner Relations extraordinaire for Create Magazine. She joined us to talk mainly about the Create Awards, a mega-huge competition that's underway right now, and also a number of other exciting happenings surrounding the magazine. For more information on everything Create, see the website at www.createmagazine.com.
• Scott Talcott is the Executive Director of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Their group is hosting a big event to keep fans and philanthropists alike busy during the Buccaneers' away game at Seattle. That day, the CFF will host a gourmet tailgate and 4x4 truck show at Raymond James Stadium, also featuring Scott's fellow guests Cory Frisco and Michael Lokey of the Baja 1000 team. Information on that event can be found at the official CFF site.
• We had a tag-team of big-time area event planners on to talk about some upcoming shindigs for the Tampa Theatre. Brooke Palmer of RSBP Events and Tracy Jones of the TBT* discussed their upcoming bashes. Respectively, Brooke is involved in planning "How the West was Wine," a western themed wine tasting, and Tracy is working on "Fast Times at Tampa Theatre," a real deal '80s party. They also both teased me because apparently I was only 8 years old when the '80s ended. My bad. Also, I learned that the asterisk in TBT* is silent. Who knew?
• This month's Advertising Insight was Movie Marketing 101. Our main focus was the big push for Simpsons: Movie, one of the most anticipated films of the year. As we pointed out, they really did it right. From the reverse product placement with 7-11, to the BK partnership and www.simpsonizeme.com, their marketing efforts were huge and it paid dividends. Also of note was Transformers and the GM tie-in that energized a whole generation of youth to fall in love with American-made cars. (yes that's a native Detroiter talking.)
That was the long and short of it. Big props to our sponsors La Casa Dolce and Tampa Digital Studios, and a special kudos to David Hampton for a job well done on the brand-spankin'-new production station. Hang tight until Monday, and we'll have a newsletter out with links to all of these segments. That's right, you can watch "on demand," as the cable channels love to say.
Until next time,
Make Good Choices.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Ad2 Tampa Bay wins annual softball game against the TBAF!
Cris Vatalaro writes:
Saturday, August 11, 2007
This year we wanted it to be different. This year, we NEEDED it to be different.
This year the Ad 2 Tampa Bay vs. American Advertising Federation 4th annual Picnic and Softball game graced the town of Safety Harbor. After 3 years of losses for Ad 2’s team, we were finally getting serious. As the Ad Fed’s strolled in one by one, they were surprised to see Ad 2’s team already there and were 20 minutes into their warm up game of catch. Rib City catered the event and was Ad Fed’s way of ‘weighing’ down their competition before the big game. We didn’t let the amazing food and bags of chips mess with our concentration though! The game started off with an interesting flair. You know you’re in for some fun when the Ad Fed right fielder takes a folding chair to the outfield with him. 7 innings later we had witnessed multiple homeruns that were rocked into the trees, dozens of grounders to the infielders and the ever changing leader of the game. It wasn’t until it was 2 outs, bottom of the 7th, Ad Fed still cranking in the runs and only down by 1 when Ad 2 got a little worried. Thankfully their 3rd and last out was not one of the younger ringers they had brought. Ad 2 had finally pulled out a win and victory never tasted sweeter. The Ad Fed’s were great competitors and a ton of laughs. We ended the picnic by taking group photos then heading to the bar for some victory burgers and drinks, starting off with pitchers of water (reminiscent of the kayaking trip!) It was the perfect day. Funny stories, a victorious softball game, time in the sun, new Ad 2 baseball hats and bragging rights for the next year until we get to do it all over again!
Saturday, August 11, 2007
This year we wanted it to be different. This year, we NEEDED it to be different.
This year the Ad 2 Tampa Bay vs. American Advertising Federation 4th annual Picnic and Softball game graced the town of Safety Harbor. After 3 years of losses for Ad 2’s team, we were finally getting serious. As the Ad Fed’s strolled in one by one, they were surprised to see Ad 2’s team already there and were 20 minutes into their warm up game of catch. Rib City catered the event and was Ad Fed’s way of ‘weighing’ down their competition before the big game. We didn’t let the amazing food and bags of chips mess with our concentration though! The game started off with an interesting flair. You know you’re in for some fun when the Ad Fed right fielder takes a folding chair to the outfield with him. 7 innings later we had witnessed multiple homeruns that were rocked into the trees, dozens of grounders to the infielders and the ever changing leader of the game. It wasn’t until it was 2 outs, bottom of the 7th, Ad Fed still cranking in the runs and only down by 1 when Ad 2 got a little worried. Thankfully their 3rd and last out was not one of the younger ringers they had brought. Ad 2 had finally pulled out a win and victory never tasted sweeter. The Ad Fed’s were great competitors and a ton of laughs. We ended the picnic by taking group photos then heading to the bar for some victory burgers and drinks, starting off with pitchers of water (reminiscent of the kayaking trip!) It was the perfect day. Funny stories, a victorious softball game, time in the sun, new Ad 2 baseball hats and bragging rights for the next year until we get to do it all over again!
Thursday, August 2, 2007
It was smooth sailing for Ad2 Tampa Bay during group Kayaking Trip
Cris Vatalaro writes:
A day like July 28th will go down in the history books. After the Ad 2 Tampa Bay Board Retreat, most of the board plus a few extra friends arrived at the Dunedin marina for an afternoon of crossing the intercoastal waterways. Carolina Mike was there to prep the experienced ones as well as educate the newbies on the rules of the sea. We all strapped on our life jackets (some equipped with snazzy whistles) and boarded our ships.
The sun was up, the mosquitoes were out in full force and away we went! I myself was a second-timer; with no paddling skills at all but was able to pull up the back of the pack as we paddled our fast 30 strokes across the ‘high speed zone’ while I secretly hoped we would all make it out alive! As we reached the island, the beautiful sight of dolphin fins were breaking the smooth surface of the water. The closer we got, the more breathtaking they were. After pulling up to shore, we quickly got out the refreshments and snacks and enjoyed the tiny island and each others company. Carolina Mike set up the grill and dinner was served! The sun started to set and we all climbed in our kayaks again for the ride home. We were lucky enough to see some of Florida’s creatures; including Sea Urchins, fish and even a Sea Horse. The paddle back to the marina was stunning. The sun had begun to set and most of the boats were sleeping for the night at the marina already. We beached ourselves at the marina and captured a few last group photos before the sun set. Special thanks to Carolina Mike for being a great teacher and for providing the snacks and refreshments during our Sangria Sunset paddle!
A day like July 28th will go down in the history books. After the Ad 2 Tampa Bay Board Retreat, most of the board plus a few extra friends arrived at the Dunedin marina for an afternoon of crossing the intercoastal waterways. Carolina Mike was there to prep the experienced ones as well as educate the newbies on the rules of the sea. We all strapped on our life jackets (some equipped with snazzy whistles) and boarded our ships.
The sun was up, the mosquitoes were out in full force and away we went! I myself was a second-timer; with no paddling skills at all but was able to pull up the back of the pack as we paddled our fast 30 strokes across the ‘high speed zone’ while I secretly hoped we would all make it out alive! As we reached the island, the beautiful sight of dolphin fins were breaking the smooth surface of the water. The closer we got, the more breathtaking they were. After pulling up to shore, we quickly got out the refreshments and snacks and enjoyed the tiny island and each others company. Carolina Mike set up the grill and dinner was served! The sun started to set and we all climbed in our kayaks again for the ride home. We were lucky enough to see some of Florida’s creatures; including Sea Urchins, fish and even a Sea Horse. The paddle back to the marina was stunning. The sun had begun to set and most of the boats were sleeping for the night at the marina already. We beached ourselves at the marina and captured a few last group photos before the sun set. Special thanks to Carolina Mike for being a great teacher and for providing the snacks and refreshments during our Sangria Sunset paddle!
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