Summerfest (July 3, 2025) w/Phantom Planet, iDKHOW, and Lovejoy

    When I was first looking through artists that would be playing at Summerfest I was shocked to see Phantom Planet's name listed and then iDKHOW. I'm subscribed to Phantom Planet's Patreon page so we usually hear about things in advance. I read over the names again and noticed that Lovejoy was also a listed artist, and basically dramatically fell to the floor. Not only were 3 of my favorite bands playing at Summerfest, they were also playing the same stage one after the other. A little while later Phantom Planet announced on their Patreon that they would be touring with iDKHOW which cleared up how they would be playing on the same night. Phantom Planet had been Dallon's favorite band, and they had even played a show together last year. Lovejoy also playing the same stage on the same date was just an added bonus. It really felt like someone had looked at my Spotify playlist and then manifested this to occur. The day of was just as magical as I had anticipated for the months since I had found out. (I love how there are so many ways to get into Summerfest free or get free admission tickets. I was given a free admission ticket to be able to go. ) 

   It was in the low 80's and sunny out, and I felt really good the whole day. I made my way to Summerfest around 2:15, and entered the main gate around 3:30ish. I had parked a few blocks away in a parking garage.  The middle gate is actually right next to the Miller Lite Oasis stage, which is the stage they'd be playing on. Since the Phantom Planet account follows me on Instagram as well as one of the members, when you send them a message on Instagram it alerts them like a text would. Your message goes to the top, whereas other messages could easily get buried. I messaged Darren's account (the lead guitarist) shortly after I got there. (I had asked Darren about a week prior if it would be okay to meet up and say hi at the show. Most of their shows have meet n greet opportunities but since this was a festival they didn't have that option. Darren agreed that he would make it happen and quickly messaged back when I got there. I didn't want to cross any of their boundaries either.) There was a fenced off area to the side of the stage where the tour buses, and other employees hung out. Darren had said that the band were all off doing their own thing but he would let them know that I was there. (I originally thought this meant they were off exploring the festival, but it meant they were doing their own thing on the tour bus.) Darren and Andrew came out as I was walking over to the area. (Andrew is the new official drummer). (Their old drummer lives in the Midwest and is busy with being a dad. It would be harder for him to get together with the band since he isn't local, he was originally from Madison.) (Jason Schwartzmann was the original drummer of Phantom Planet before he pursued acting.) (When a band originates in Los Angeles crazy things happen. A now famous actor used to drum in my current favorite band?) I talked with Andrew and Darren for a couple minutes when Chris came out. I had thought I saw Chris before heading to the food vendors, but I wasn't 100% sure, but it was. (Chris is the touring bassist for this tour. Their actual bassist is also a dad, and is in Maroon 5, so he's usually busy touring with them.) I talked with them all for a little over 5 minutes before they had to go check their instruments before the show. Darren was wearing a black denim jacket and black jeans which I said was a crazy outfit with the heat. Since they had mainly been hanging out in an air conditioned bus, and it was much cooler in the shade it made sense though. They also hadn't explored the Summerfest grounds much due to the heat. It did feel hotter than I thought it would, but there were a lot of shady areas that were much cooler.  Darren said that Alex would probably come out, (the lead singer), but that he was currently working on music in the back of the bus. I didn't wait too long before going to explore Summerfest. I didn't want to bother Alex before the show. For most of the year he has been taking care of his mom who actually passed away a week before tour started. A little over a month ago now. I think he is definitely still in the brunt of the grieving process, understandably so, especially since he didn't really have a father figure. I did get to interact with Alex after the show though. Writing music is one of the main ways he said helps him cope with things. 

   I walked around the grounds, and looked at the different vendors. I feel like I remember the Summerfest grounds being a lot bigger/spread out, but it definitely feel that way this time. Dunkin Donuts was giving out samples of their new icecream flavored iced coffees which included: Cookie dough, butter pecan, and mint chocolate chip. I tried the cookie dough which was pretty good. The Dunkin Donuts tent also had mirrors where you could apply gems to your face or put glitter in your hair, and a game set up where I think you could win a Dunkin Donuts bucket hat with donuts all over it. I saw a few people walking around with those on throughout the day. :P. There were so many cool artist vendors as well, including one who carves different musicians into records. You can custom order a record for them to carve into. I just looked at the business card and the company is called Astro Vinyl Art (like my dog). You can check them out at https://astrovinylart.com/. There was also a guy selling different guitar picks made out of different stones/gems, that actually play guitar pretty well apparently. Darren from Phantom Planet used to sell guitar picks similar to these years ago. You can look at the different guitar picks they were selling at Summerfest here: naturalcypicks.com .  There was also a vendor selling custom made hand bags with different bands on them, like a Beatles handbag etc. There was a cute dog products vendor called "Dog is Good." They had shirts that said "Never Walk Alone" with a leash and a dog pictured. Similarly they had a shirt that said "Never camp alone" with a dog with a bucket hat on and a camping stick with a hot dog. You can also find them at dogisgood.com. I will definitely be buying products from them. 

   After browsing around a little bit I got a fresh squeezed lemonade, and eventually a big pizza slice. I sat in the shade by the lake for awhile too. I was going to get icecream too before heading back to the stage, but the line at Cedar Crest was long. I got to the front of the stage at around 6:10 with Phantom Planet starting at 6:30. I hadn't been to Summerfest since before pre-Covid, but for that particular stage it looks like they removed some of the risers in order to make a "pit" area that you can buy special access wristbands for. For the bands earlier in the day you can go up without needing a wristband. I'm glad I noticed this while visiting the guys when I had first gotten there. I was able to get a front row view for Phantom Planet. At 6:15 Phantom Planet came out on the stage and started setting up their equipment and testing the microphones. Usually they have tech people set up the instruments before the band comes on stage, but maybe you just do it yourself if you play earlier in the day. Phantom Planet played at 6:30, iDKHOW played at 8:30, and Lovejoy played at 10:15. For this particular show Phantom Planet was opening for iDKHOW, and iDKHOW was opening for Lovejoy. This meant that the crowd was a mix of each of the fans, as well as people just wandering in while exploring Summerfest. I think most of the fans there at the time weren't there specifically for Phantom Planet. 

  During the set Alex talked about the meaning behind some of the songs. He usually likes to leave the meaning of the songs he writes hidden and up to the listener's interpretation, but I love knowing the actual meaning. "Do the Panic" is about panic attacks. "Drive On" is about driving on the Pacific Coast Highway to clear your head. "Knowitall" is about a blind date gone wrong. Before playing "Balisong" Alex asked about the local laws for butterfly knives. For some reason when he asked that I thought he was going to bust one out and start doing tricks live on stage, but there's probably no way they would have let him have a knife on stage. :P During the set their was a kid in the crowd that was dancing and putting his all into the songs. Alex shouted him out, and said that he would give him a free T-shirt, and signed poster. He was wearing a Captain America shirt and had a pool noodle type of thing. I assumed they had just wandered in from Summerfest, but it turned out that his parents were fans. The look the kid gave Alex after the show was so awestruck.  While Alex was on stage I noticed he had a giant A etched into his guitar. (I think they may have told this story before, but had forgot about it. He borrowed the guitar to one of his friends in 2005 before it went missing. In 2019 he came across it randomly in a thrift shop and had the employee check for the etching, and discovered it was his lost guitar.) Alex pointed out that he was wearing a "Back to the Future" themed shirt in honor of the 40th anniversary of "Back to the Future." (iDKHOW was named in reference to Back to the Future, the full band name being "I Don't Know How But They Found Me). Alex wore his jacket throughout the whole set so he was pouring sweat by the end of the set, and at one point shook his hair while leaning in next to Darren. Darren didn't seem to mind, but he was also covered in sweat at that point too. Phantom Planet played for an hour, and announced that they would hang around at the merch tent for anyone who wanted to talk with them. Phantom Planet also debuted their new song "Friction" which Alex had demo'd for us awhile back on Patreon. 

 

     While waiting near the tent Mary from Patreon noticed me, and came over with her nephew. I had met Mary at the show last Fall at the House of Blues in Chicago. While we were discussing the Patreon another Patreon member named Marissa came over and talked with us. She said that she was more of a lurker on the Patreon. We ended up getting a group picture with the Patreon crew, and then individual pics with each of us and the band. We also talked with the band for 5ish minutes before other people were waved in. Marissa hadn't gotten a solo picture with the band yet, but had taken pictures for other people talking to them. We tried to get back over to do a quick picture, but there was a lady who was kind of mean about it. But to be fair she had been waiting in line for over a half hour at this point and thought we were cutting in line. We felt bad so we just ended up going to the end of the line. We didn't even have to wait very long until we were able to take the picture. By then iDKHOW had just started their set. I talked for a few minutes with Marissa before heading over to watch them. It turned out that Mary lives in a suburb near Milwaukee, and Marissa lives in Northern Illinois. I will be able to actually go with fans of Phantom Planet to the local shows in the future, instead of dragging my friends along who have never heard of them or just know their song "California." California is Phantom Planet's most famous song, and they wrote it as the theme song for the OC. They were the most popular during the early 2000's, but I'm hoping they become well-known again. Although going to small venues to see them has been more intimate and fun, and being able to interact with them. For my solo picture with Phantom Planet I had them do a kick line. One fan the other day had, had them take a picture doing the "Blue Steel" look from "Zoolander." (This was my 4th Phantom Planet concert. They had been on hiatus 2008 until 2020 due to some of the members getting married and having kids. I first saw Alex in person when I traveled to LA to see Ryan Ross in concert, and became a bigger fan of their music in 2020 before they released "Devastator." I was sold after hearing a demo of "Through the Trees" on Alex's Instagram story, which is one of the songs on Devastator. They didn't do any shows that I know in 2021, but had a virtual meet n greet which I bought myself for my birthday that year.) Phantom Planet said that while they were at the merch tent, people on the Sky Glider started shouting "Phantom Planet!" and waved.

     This was my 7th time seeing iDKHOW. (Although I had seen 4/7 shows in 2019 alone). During iDKHOWs set you could no longer be in the "pit" section without a wristband so I found a riser more towards the back. What is also new about Summerfest that I noticed is that they also have a center aisle for the security guards to walk through that they never had in the past. I could still see the band on the stage without them appearing like ants thankfully, but the megascreen was also helpful. I think this was my 6th time seeing iDKHOW? During iDKHOW's set Dallon (the lead singer) splits the crowd in half before having each side sing what he's singing. The crowd was already in half this time due to the center aisle being a thing. The center aisle had metal barriers on each side so fans could not enter. The metal barriers had little ledges on the inside which Dallon stepped on before taking a megaphone and shouting into the crowd. The megaphone was a new addition for this tour. What fascinates me is how Dallon's stage persona is vastly different from how he acts in person. Phantom Planet is sharing a tour bus with them and said that Dallon would never even think of using the megaphone on the bus. He is a very polite person that is a big gentleman. On stage he is cryptic, and mysterious which carries through onto his social media pages. His stage persona makes him so intriguing to watch persona, and I think it would lose it's charm if he wasn't the way he was on stage. Darren described how David Bowie was to Dallon. In person David Bowie was soft spoken, but on stage he was able to command the crowd, and had a different stage persona. In the past while Dallon did a cover of "Debra" at his 2019 shows he would ask you to cover your ears if you were under the age of 27 while he sang the song as a joke that you wouldn't be able to handle the adult content within the lyrics. For this set you had to cover your ears and close your eyes if you were below the age of 25 before they played their song "What Love". I am finally above the age of both 25 and 27 and can freely listen to Dallon sing now without covering my ears. iDKHOW used to be a 2 piece band until 2023 when Ryan Seaman was kicked out of the band for stealing $10,000 from Dallon. iDKHOW is now Dallon's solo act, but currently has three touring members. Anthony the touring guitarist has been touring with iDKHOW since 2021. Usually Dallon performs his song "No One Likes the Opening Band" and then has the opener sing lines of the song in retaliation, but they didn't do it with Summerfest. Probably because iDKHOW was technically opening for Lovejoy that night. The real meaning behind "No One Likes the Opening Band" is the fact that most people don't want to listen to the opening band and are just there for the headliner. The song challenges the listener to listen to the opening band because they just might like what they hear if they give them a chance. It's been fun to see the opener for iDKHOW sing a verse of the song at the shows. 

      When iDKHOW went off stage a surprising amount of people left the area as well. In 2023 Lovejoy was selling out shows, especially in Milwaukee even though they are originally from England. It was very strange to see. At Summerfest people like to get to the stages earlier in the day as well in order to get a closer spot. Lovejoy had also not played a concert all year, and had not been to the United States in over a year I believe. Lovejoy took a break from touring after abuse allegations were made (2024) about the lead singer Wilbur Soot, without any proof backing her claims. Her narrative made it seem like it had been a toxic relationship, and that Wilbur had been struggling with his mental health at the time. He was canceled with no proof after the allegations and lost a ton of followers, and was dropped by some of his influencer friends because they didn't want to lose their fans for "supporting an abuser." (Wilbur was a well known YouTuber before he started his band, which is how I discovered him in the first place.) It made me think about how before the internet we never knew much about a musician's or other famous person's lives. Things they would be canceled for now they never were due to people not knowing. Probably some of the past well-loved musicians have done questionable things but you never hear about it. I was able to get a closer spot to the stage due to this though. Lovejoy started playing about 45 minutes after iDKHOW got off the stage. I was a little closer then I had been with iDKHOW even, and could make out each band member without having any trouble. Wilbur looked really happy on the stage. In recent clips he's done he looked like he had been noticeably struggling, so it was great seeing him looking like himself again. (the allegations really took a big toll on his mental health.) They had arrived in Milwaukee the day before and Wilbur talked about going to a cheese bar, and eating warm cheese curds, and loving it. He said that they would be releasing their debut album later this year after releasing multiple EPs over the years. 

    Lovejoy played until around 11:35, which was a good time to start heading back to my car, due to a lot of people walking out of Summerfest at the time. I was able to walk within the crowd to the parking garage, and I never felt unsafe the whole day despite having gone alone. I got home at around 12:35am. I would have gotten home sooner but missed my exit onto the freeway the first time around. This day was definitely a highlight and probably my top favorite Summerfest memory.   

     

Day 5: Dolphins, Snorkeling, and Egmont Key Island (5/21/25)

    This day was packed with the coolest experiences of the trip that all came in one inclusive package. A dolphin, snorkeling cruise to Egmont Key Island. Originally when looking into this tour I had been least interested in the dolphins. Two years ago when I visited Myrtle Beach I had done a dolphin cruise. We had only seen one dolphin at that time, and it had been windy and cold. I was also a little skeptical that we would even see a dolphin apart from maybe a fin appearing in the water before disappearing which I had been seeing throughout the trip. I was very wrong. The snorkeling was also a lot easier than I thought it would be. 

   We ate scrambled eggs with cheese while watching more 80s music videos and then making the drive to a pier where the boat would take off from. Near our parking spot was an informational poster about Florida manatees. It said that they were endangered due to a lot of them being killed by boats. It also said that most of them had propeller scars from boats on them due to being so slow moving. It started that they were herbivores, and pretty harmless creatures. When walked onto the pier I noticed an animal in the water that I believed to be a manatee. It was crazy seeing the poster and then seeing one in person right away. I stared at it for a long time before asking the guide checking is in it it was in fact a manatee, he walked over to get a closer look. He confirmed that it was a manatee, but that during the morning an 8 foot alligator had jumped onto the pier. The pier was in a marina area with a bunch of other boats and yachts so the manatee was in a bad place if it wanted to avoid getting injured. 

   Whole researching this cruise it said that dolphins loved to play and show off to 1 hull boats which is the type of boat we'd be taking to the island. On some of the informational ads it showed groups of dolphins jumping behind the boat or swimming along side of the boat. I thought maybe they took the best footage they had gotten for the ad to make it seem more appealing, however three different times we had groups of dolphins jumping behind our boat on our way to and from the island. 

   It took about 45 minutes by boat to get to Egmont Key Island. It took us a little longer to get there on the way there due to getting more experiences with the dolphins. The guides knew of certain spots where the dolphins liked to hang out, and purposely drove the boat in those spots. The first 30 minutes we didn't see too much activity, and I wondered if it would be like the dolphin cruise in Myrtle Beach, however when we got to one of the dolphin hot spots, we saw a lot of dolphins and pretty close up too. They would mainly jump behind the boat, and I even saw one jump high with it's whole body in the air. I would say that I probably saw 10 dolphins on that day. The dolphins would usually jump in groups side by side. The guides informed us that the dolphins liked when you cheered for them and would show off more the louder you were. This was such an interesting thing to learn about dolphins. The last group of dolphins that were jumping behind the boat did so for a few minutes straight before stopping due to our yelling and whistling. 

   There seemed to be an influencer couple on the boat with us. They would film each other and talk to the camera or pose, and also take videos of the dolphins. The guides put out the anchor close to shore to the island, and informed us this is where we would be snorkeling, and gave us our snorkeling gear minutes before. They set out a ladder into the water which we would use to climb down into the water to snorkel. They said we could bring our discoveries back to the boat for a small viewing if we found any sea creatures before putting them back into the sea. They said that it was the season for octopuses to be out, little ones that could fit into shells, and to check our shells when we got back to make sure there wasn't any octopuses in them. 

   I climbed down the ladder into the water and put on the snorkel mask and tube. Closer to the boat the water was deeper but only around 4 feet. It got shallower the closer you got to shore. There were areas with sea grass that the guides said would have the most wildlife especially on the outside edge where it met the sand. I had gone to camp for one summer when I was 12 years old, and had taken lessons on something called "skin diving." Diving deeper into the water while in the water, instead of jumping off of a diving board into the water. For one of the days we went snorkeling in the lake. I remember not being able to figure out how to breathe through the tube and having water go into the tube. I was a little scared I wouldn't be able to figure out how to breathe through the tube like back then. However in the ad they showed little kids snorkeling, and said that it was for all skill levels. It took about a minute but when you got it you were good to go. You could just float with your face in the water while breathing in the tube or swim around. I mostly swam around while fish swam under me. I did have a few times where my mask filled up with water and I needed to readjust it but nothing too bad. I pushed around the grass gently and found shells. One seemed to have strings coming off of it and I wondered if maybe they were the tentacles of an octopus like they had said, but whatever it was it came off before I could show anyone. I ended up finding a few shells with one being the tiniest clam shell. I wondered if it were alive. The shells all had green algae sticking to them. I did put some of them back in the water. A person on the boat with us said that they had seen a starfish, and another said that they had seen a blowfish. As one of the guides was pulling up the anchor the rope contained a seahorse. The seahorse wasn't alive anymore, and a little dried up looking, but it was definitely cool to see. The water was the perfect temperature again and would sometimes get cooler as you swam which felt refreshing. 

   We pulled around to the side of the island with the lighthouse. A lighthouse that was still functioning and had been built in 1858. Egmont Key Island also had ruins and gun barracks used during the Civil War. The island had tons of palm trees and old brick roadways. Native Americans, pirates, and soldiers all utilized this island in years past, but now it was a Florida State Park. In videos people had taken of the island there was plenty of gopher turtles. (basically bigger turtles that are native to the island). However we didn't see any turtles while we were on the island. The boat again didn't anchor at the shore so we had to wade a few feet through the water. We only had 45 minutes to explore the island before getting back onto the boat to head back. On the shore of the island were tons of shells washed up. On one side of the island they said it was more common to find conch shells and sand dollars. I found apart of a conch shell while looking through some of the shells. The island was scorching, and probably the hottest I felt on the trip. I was ready to get on the boat and head back at the end of the 45 minutes. I was more content to sit and just enjoy the boat ride instead of looking for dolphins on the way back. 

       On the car ride home I noticed how knotted my hair had become. Apparently the chlorine from the pool and hot tub mixed with the ocean water from snorkeling had messed my hair up. So had the wind from the boat ride. I worked my hands through my hair on the way back, and hoped that maybe conditioner would help from taking a shower when I got back. My uncle was also concerned that I wouldn't be able to do anything with the knot. Thankfully the shower did help, and I was able to brush through my hair pretty quickly afterwards. Even faster than I have in the past when it wasn't as knotted for some reason. I put my hair in a top bun (something I have never done in public) and headed down to the pool and hot tub. (I didn't want to get chlorine in my hair after just having washed it.) My uncle was sore and tired out from the boat ride so he didn't come down to the pool. 

   We wanted to experience another beach sunset so we headed to the beach right before sunset. I looked at seashells while waiting for the sun to go down. It had been cloudier that day, but that made the clouds look breathtaking. After sunset we went back to the beach restaurant we had been to two days before for an appetizer and drink. (Sloppy Joes...the name of the restaurant). They had a guy that looked to be my age playing live music. He played Sublime, Oasis (Champagne Supernova not Wonderwall :P), and other songs, some requested by people watching. We ate grouper nuggets, and I had a pina colada for the last night. It was around 8:40 when we got to the restaurant, and 9pm when the guy's set ended. The restaurant didn't close until 10pm so I had been hoping he would play until then. All the seafood I had in Florida had been so delicious. We walked back to our AirBNB and I washed the shells I had collected that day and did the dishes that were in the sink before going to bed. 

   To end I'll go through what happened on 5/22 (the going home process, not too much to it, and not exciting.) We were planning to leave the AirBNB at 9am. I got up at 6:45 to drink coffee and experience the last part of the sunrise over the intercoastal highway. I finished getting my stuff packed, and getting ready to go before walking down to the ocean for the last time before leaving Florida. I looked out at the oceans and walked along the shore, taking in the beauty before returning back to the AirBNB. A lady passing by said she had saw dolphins while looking way out at the ocean from the shore. We left the AirBNB after going through the checklist at around 8:45 and headed to the Tampa Airport, with our flight being around 11:35am. On the way to the Tampa Airport it started downpouring which made me feel better about leaving that particular day although the rain ended pretty quickly. When I looked up the forecast it said that there had been only a 20% chance of rain, yet it was raining. We got gas on the way to the airport before parking our rented car in the economy lot. Security in Tampa was much easier than at O'Hare. You only needed to scan your ID, not show your ID to every TSA agent. :P We had plenty of time to spare and our plane was on time. There was nothing notable about the flight home. I think I slept for a good half hour at least. We arrived at O'Hare and made it to our gate after driving on the run way for a half hour straight. I spotted my luggage right away this time and it wasn't top down this time. We got a shuttle to the parking lot pretty quickly, and then started driving home. We hit a little bit of traffic around Milwaukee but still made it back to my parents around the time we had been shooting for, and my parents made, sloppy joes. The end. :P 

Day 4: Clearwater Beach (5/20/25)

    Originally when planning this trip, before we knew where we were going to go, my uncle told me to look up Clearwater as well as Treasure Island. Clearwater isn't too far away from  Treasure Island, but seemed more touristy, and had more people. It was a nice place to visit though, especially in the late morning before it got too busy. We didn't go but Clearwater also has a Hulk Hogan shop, because Google says he currently lives there. There is also a party at the pier at Clearwater Beach every night during sunset. This beach contains street performers and craft vendors. I read about it on a sign while at the beach. The party takes place 2 hours before sunset, and 2 hours after weather permitting. My uncle had visited Clearwater in the past, and almost got kicked out of a beachfront restaurant after the bottom fell off his glass. He had been cheersing with his glass and clinked it against another glass when that happened. The staff thought he had been causing trouble on purpose, once he explained though the bartender bought him a drink. We were going to go to that same restaurant, but decided against it. It was starting to get more busy, and we had, had a big breakfast and weren't hungry at the time. The lady I sat next to on the plane ride to Tampa had also recommended the same restaurant. 

     To start off the morning we had my uncle's famous 12 egg omelet. It had colby-jack cheese, and maple ham. It smelled like french toast, and tasted a little like there was syrup on it due to the maple flavoring. After breakfast we headed to Clearwater which was about a 40 minute drive. Clearwater and Treasure Island are both one of a series of cities off the coast of St. Petersburg that look out onto the Gulf of Mexico. You have to take a bridge which is also a highway across Tampa Bay in order to get to Tampa from Treasure Island. When we got to Clearwater we found a parking spot on the street right by the beach. We started off by going to the Ron Jon Surf Shop, and then visited a souvenir shop that was having a sale. We put our stuff in the car before heading to the beach. 

   I will say that I did prefer the beach at Treasure Island more than Clearwater Beach, but there was also much more people in Clearwater. Both were extremely beautiful though. The waves were bigger this day, but not overwhelmingly so. I went out into the water, swimming and enjoying the waves before laying down on a beach towel in the sun. Laying out in the sun felt really good. The water at Clearwater Beach was in fact not clear. On the way back to the AirBNB we stopped at a huge GoodWill, and a St. Vinnies. We thought there might be local souvenirs. There wasn't much, but I did find a shirt with a vintage car on it. 

   We headed back to the AirBNB after this. We went down to the pool after arriving back. The college-aged gang was at the pool once again. Along with a young family. There were 2 ducks at the pool this time. One looked like it had a tag on its stomach. Later that night the two ducks were swimming in the pool together. We went to Ricky T's for an early dinner. We had grouper nuggets which is a local group of fish. It tasted like cod, but sweeter, which I really liked. We had snacks at the AirBNB in the evening before watching Petticoat Junction, which  I had never seen before. It's a TV show from the 1960's. 

    

Day 3: Busch Gardens (5/19/25)

     A well known amusement park near were we were staying is called Busch Gardens. Busch Gardens is unique in that it also has animals throughout the park, like a zoo. Busch Gardens also used to have a Busch brewery located on the grounds. My uncle said he had gone there when he was around my age and there had been an alligator roaming the grounds. Alligators no longer roam the grounds. :P 

   I had originally been interested in visiting Universal Studios. Universal Studios would have been 1.5 hours away in Orlando. Since Orlando is inland the temperature would have been close to 100. It also turns out that the price of admission would have been $150 per person. Apparently that's also how much Busch Gardens admission is, but they were having a half off sale for Memorial Day. We also got 1 admission ticket free from the AirBNB we were staying at for Busch Gardens. Busch Gardens seemed like the more intimidating pick at first because it looked like it had mostly big rides. It turned out that Busch Gardens was the better choice anyways since Universal Studios probably would have had bigger crowds, been hotter, and was more expensive. It was a Monday so I was hoping an amusement park would be less busy, but by 1:00 it seemed like more and more people crowded in, but we were done riding rides by then. 

   Busch Gardens was about a 40 minute drive from our AirBNB. After eating breakfast and coffee, and deciding we were definitely not going to Universal Studios we headed over, and made it to Busch Gardens around 11am. At Busch Gardens there's a shuttle that takes you from the parking lot to the front gates of the park. We started off by going into the kangaroo exhibit before trying to find one of the water rollercoasters. I thought I had found a water rollercoaster but was deeply mistaken. The rollercoaster did in fact splash down into the water but it was not a water rollercoaster. The tracks of the roller coaster also seemed tame enough so I decided I wanted to give it a try. (It was not a tame roller coaster, at all.) When looking up the park it is actually ranked as the 2nd most intense rollercoaster at the park. I have been on scarier rides before including Raging Bull and Batman at Six Flags, but this was not the type of ride I was expecting or prepared for. 

   The Sheikra goes straight down from 200ft up in the air while going 70mph. You also go upside down before plunging into the water towards the end. None of the riders get wet, but it splashes water out at the people around the coaster. I tightly closed my eyes during most of the roller coaster, especially during the drops. I am glad I did it, but maybe something a little less intense would have been better. :P The Sheikra is floorless, and the bars didn't fit tightly around my shoulders, so you definitely felt the sense of falling more. We were also in the back row which might have made it feel more intense as well, although not as intense as the front row. Thankfully my across the shoulder bag didn't come off somehow. You could buy a picture that was taken of you after the ride was over using a QR code, but the digital download would have been $20 for a collection of your photos. I just screenshotted the photos with the lock symbol still on them instead. 

    We next found the line for the Stanley Falls Flume which we were going to ride first, before I saw the Sheikra. The Stanley Falls Flume was a very tame and kid-friendly water rollercoaster. You ride it in a log shaped raft, which at the end splashes into the water. I thought that by being in the front that I would get the most wet, but that wasn't the case. My uncle got soaked while just my shorts got a little wet. The Congo River Rapids which were the last ride we went on was also a kid-friendly water ride. For this ride you're on a tube shaped raft with 9 other people, and go down some rapids throughout the ride. If you go backwards down a rapid then you will get the most wet, we discovered, but you never know which way you'll face when going down a rapid. There is also a waterfall at the end that a section of the raft goes under. Since it was in the upper 80s this day, you're clothes dried pretty quickly and the water actually felt good. There were water misters throughout the park too. There were at least two groups of kids at the park that were visiting Busch Gardens as a field trip. One of the groups were all wearing shirts about graduating 5th grade. We were put on the raft with college students from Anderson University in South Carolina who were all wearing Christian themed shirts. 

   The lines had a longer wait time as the day went on, but we were satisfied with the rides we had gone on. We had lunch after going on the rapids ride at a Chick Fil A within the park. The Chick Fil A ended up being more expensive than a typical Chick Fil A but not as expensive as other food options in the park. After eating lunch we went on a train ride through part of the park. The train was called the Serengeti Express. While on the Serengeti express you could see gazelles, giraffes, zebra, etc. Seeing giraffes with rollercoasters behind them was an interesting sight. Throughout Busch Gardens you could pay an extra fee in order to interact with some of the animals in the park. We did not do any of those though. 

  After the train ride we decided that we were done, and took the shuttle back to the parking lot. Back at the AirBNB we showered before going down to the pool/hot tub. The same group of college aged people were down by the pool again. It seemed like they would mostly spend their day by the pool. After spending time at the pool we went to a restaurant on the beach before sunset. The restaurant was called "Sloppy Joes" and my uncle and I both ordered the fish and chips which was really good. I also ordered a raspberry lemonade. Every night they have someone playing live music. This particular guy played mostly music from the 70's. My uncle got him to play "Cheeseburger in Paradise" by Jimmy Buffet which was an item on the menu. I had never heard that particular song before, but in my defense I have heard the song "Margaritaville" plenty of times. During dinner a crow flew down and attempted to steal one of my uncle's fries. It was very startling. The sun started going down as we finished our dinner. We walked across the beach where we could see the sunset better. My uncle found a sand dollar as we were walking. The sunset was gorgeous, and we stayed looking out at it until it touched the water. (I don't think I had ever watched a full sunset before that point.) All along the shoreline people stood looking at the sunset. It truly is so intriguing that something can be so beautiful that happens everyday yet you can't help but stand in awe of it's beauty. 

  We walked back to the AirBNB which was a close walk from the restaurant before ending the night by watching 80's music videos. 

Day 2: Beach Day and Dinner Cruise (5/18/25)

     One of the main reasons I wanted to travel somewhere coastal was to be able to spend time at the beach. Growing up in the Midwest has made me infatuated with the ocean. In 2010 I got to see the ocean for the first time when I visited New York City for a school trip. We went to see Ellis Island and then the Statue of Liberty. However the ocean looked more gray that day, and not as magical as when I saw it 8 years later when I visited California. When I visited California for the first time it was mid December. I was able to look at the ocean but not go into it. I wasn't really able to do much swimming either when I visited 10 months later in mid October. In 2023 I went to South Carolina, and the first day we were there we got to swim in the ocean. All of the other days of that particular trip had been too cold to go swimming. This trip was perfect for swimming and hanging out at the beach each day. It was always sunny with temps in the mid to high 80's. (The mid to high 80's would usually feel way to hot, but in Florida somehow it didn't feel terrible. I'm guessing it must be due to the humidity???) 

   We discussed what we wanted to do over the trip that morning. Besides wanting to have a beach day my uncle thought it would be fun to go on a dinner cruise. With our particular AirBNB we were able to select a local attraction from a list to get one ticket free. You could get one free ticket per day. We didn't even have to attend a presentation, we just got the free tickets. We booked the tour for that evening. 

   Before heading to the beach after eating breakfast and having coffee in our AirBNB we headed down to the pool. I went into the hot tub, and then sat out in the sun on one of the chairs by the pool. A crow decided to come and stood on a ledge inside the pool. 

  We went up to the room to grab some beach chairs that were provided by our AirBNB as well as beach towels. The ocean was just across the street and the sand felt soft on my feet. We set our chairs down before venturing into the water. The water temperature didn't need any getting used to. There was a natural levy a few feet in where it was shallow, before getting a little deeper again. People were looking for specific shells on the shallower part. I found a shell with an iridescent/holographic shine on the inside. It was so amazing being out in the water, even if it meant salt water going up my nose. After being in the water for a little bit we went and sat in the beach chairs to relax in the sun. I applied sunscreen 3x that day and at first only part of my arms seem to have burned but it seemed like more and more red kept appearing throughout the day. I would get new sunburn each day, but thankfully I had a really strong first aid burn spray that help heal it quickly, and took away the pain. 

   After spending time at the beach we went back to the AirBNB for leftover spaghetti from the night before. We rested for a little bit after that, before stopping back down at the pool. At the pool was a group of college-aged kids. We again hung out in the hot tub, and then I actually went into the pool this time. After pool time we got ready for the dinner cruise. 

  The dinner cruise was at a place called John's Pass. John's Pass is a touristy area with a boardwalk on the intercoastal highway. It also has tons of shops, including some quirky ones. We had some time to kill before the dinner cruise so we explored some of the shops along the boardwalk. The ones we went to were gift shops, and not any quirky ones. While walking to the cruise, a fishing cruise had recently got in, so there were piles of dead fish along the pier with people cutting up the fish. Pelicans looked over while this was happening. Near the cruise was a machine with the title "Hurricane Simulator". I guess you're supposed to step inside it and wind blows around? I still think it's horrible to have something like that in the first place, especially after experiencing two super devastating hurricanes in the past year.  

   The cruise was 3 stories. We were assigned to be on the 2nd floor. The first and second floor were enclosed with the 3rd floor being open air. The food on the dinner cruise was buffet style with free beer, wine, and rum punch. You could order other cocktails for an extra fee. I ended up getting a pina colada and a small cup of the rum punch. The buffet food was tropical themed. Some of the foods included a type of rice, teriyaki chicken, baked fish, and pineapple. There was also a DJ on the cruise who played songs with ukulele music within them for the first part of the cruise. There are a surprisingly big amount of songs with ukulele in them. After dinner we went up and sat up on the 3rd level to look out at the intercoastal highway. On one side you could look at the fancy houses along the shore, and on the other side you could look out at the water. On the side with the houses I spotted a dolphin fin appear above the water before disappearing and appearing again. It's so interesting that they swim pretty close to shore. You could also see some of the hurricane damage to the houses. I also spotted a dog playing out in the yard, and going onto the pier of it's house. On the water side you could see pelicans belly flopping into the water. That is literally how they get into the water even when not diving for a fish. They dive face/body first into the water and make a big splash. It's a pretty silly sight to see. The DJ ended up playing different songs throughout the cruise from all different genres. At one point it looked as though there was a whale floating in the water. (Google says that when a whale dies they float on the water before sinking to the bottom). It was gray and appeared to be the size of a small tin boat tipped over in the middle of the water. The cruise was 2 hours total, and the temperature in the cruise boat and on top of it never got cold. The cruise arrived back at the pier right before sunset. I was able to get a picture of it from the car. John's Pass was only a 10ish minute drive from our AirBNB. A cruise you could have also taken while at John's Pass was a boat painted like a pirate ship. Treasure Island really leans into the whole pirate thing. We ended the night back at the AirBNB relaxing for the rest of the night. 

Day 1: Traveling to Tampa (05/17/25)

      I originally had wanted to go on a trip somewhere back in September. I remembered the September before traveling to Europe, and reminiscing had really given me the travel bug, this time within the United States. I had been looking at places in Florida as I had never been before. September was also the time that Astro was ready to come live in Kenosha with me. Having Astro in Kenosha took away my travel bug at that time, due to wanting to spend time with him. I wasn't really interested in leaving him after finally having him here. What killed the traveling bug even more was the fact that Florida ended up getting pummeled by two hurricanes almost back to back around September. The want to travel came back again towards the beginning of the year, and I considered even going down to Florida for my birthday, but decided I would rather go to Florida when it was at least warm enough to enjoy the beach. I considered maybe April, but late April would be when it would be around beach temperature, but it was also Spring Break as well. I finally settled on mid to late May. 

    The friends that I asked to come along were busy with their own travel or couldn't afford to come along. I was just about ready to do a solo trip to Daytona Beach when my mom was talking to my uncle about the trip. He asked if it would be okay if he came along. He had had a hard last couple of months, but was totally okay with me saying no. I agreed and that lead to the brainstorming process of where we'd actually travel to. My Uncle Mike had been to Florida before, and had really enjoyed visiting the Clearwater and Treasure Island area. He also had enjoyed visiting Southern California when he had traveled there in the past so California was also a possibility. When he had heard that I had never been to Florida before we decided on Florida, and then finally Treasure Island where he had found a really great AirBNB that featured a room overlooking the Intercoastal highway, across the street from the ocean/Gulf of Mexico, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and full kitchen with a dishwasher. The room also had a patio you could sit out on. The condo property also had a pool and a hot tub which was a plus. I didn't think I would utilize the pool being so close to the ocean, but I definitely took advantage of both. 

  I dropped of Astro at my parent's house, and that's where my uncle picked me up at 10am to travel down to O'Hare. We ate McDonalds breakfast sandwiches and stopped at an oasis on the way. We dropped off the car, and a shuttle picked us up to take us to the airport in less than a minute of arriving at the Park N' Ride. Since there's a new rule about having your real id for traveling O'Hare was really insistent about seeing it. We were asked by 3 different TSA agents to show them our IDs. (The Tampa airport only asked once.) We got to our gate, and unfortunately our flight had gotten delayed an hour so we got to Tampa at 6:30pm instead of 5:30pm. After landing in Tampa we hung out at the baggage claim for awhile. I was convinced my luggage had not come out onto the belt yet. (it had). It was laying face down so it looked like a completely black bag instead of a red and black bag. We were just about ready to ask about my bag but then I spotted it. Both of these pushed our time back for getting to Treasure Island. Our rental car was thankfully parked at the airport. My uncle had found an app that is like AirBNB where you can rent other people's cars. It was even a newer Toyota Corolla. The drive to Treasure Island was a 40 minute drive. 

    We dropped off our things before going to get groceries and eat dinner. By this time I felt wiped out, and had a slight headache. We had a Publix right next to our AirBNB which was nice. At the grocery store the cashier got distracted while talking to me, and started scanning the person behind us groceries before we had paid. I thought maybe since I had never been to a Publix before that they were able to do that, but nope. The cashier seemed to be high school maybe early college aged and had been looking at me the whole time, so he didn't see that there was a space between our groceries. We got it all sorted and dropped off our groceries before getting dinner. The restaurant closest to our AirBNB was packed and had live music, so we opted for an Italian restaurant a few blocks away. I found it interesting that a touristy area didn't have much open after 9pm. We had spaghetti before heading back to the AirBNB for the night. 

Thrifting/Secondhand Finds Part 1: Plato's Closet

    Recently I've gotten really into thrifting, and for mainly clothing, although I do like to check out the home decor as well. In the past I would barely go to a thrift store to thrift clothes, unless I really needed a last minute item of clothing for something. Thrift stores I thought mostly carried outdated clothes for older women. That is not the case. At least the last couple of years. I've found so many cool, brand-name, in fashion clothing pieces over the last couple of months, and the hunt for such treasures has been thrilling. I'm not the kind of person who has ever cared about the brand of clothing that a piece of clothing in, moreso liking pieces of clothing I personally like. This is still true, but it's also really cool seeing major brand clothing companies on certain pieces of clothing that are expensive for super cheap, usually 70%+ off their regular price for items that look relatively new. Thrifting has also taught me how sizing can be really unreliable, and to look up a few sizes or down. I'm usually a Medium but I have found some pieces I really like in XL or L as well, or even S. Secondhand clothing is also a lot more sustainable. A lot of clothing gets sent into landfills so it also help cut down

on that. You can also try out certain styles of clothing you may not want to pay full price for. For this post I'm going to go into some of my recent finds and where I got them from, and about how much it cost me if I remember, and what a piece of clothing like this can go for. I'll only post the size if it different from my normal size.

  Plato's Closet

   I have gotten so many wonderful, cute pieces from Plato's Closet, and I love shopping there. Plato's is a little more expensive for secondhand clothes since it is specifically newer, trendy clothing items. The prices are considerably cheaper than buying these items new from their original source. 

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This dress is from the clothing brand Blue Blush. It cost around $14 at Plato's and looks so flattering and gorgeous on. You can't tell from the picture but it is also sparkly. It is definitely one of my favorite pieces I have ever bought secondhand. 

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    This is a fun piece that came as a matching set with shorts. It was too cute to pass up especially since it came as a set. I think altogether the set was around $12 and didn't have a brand tag. 

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    I bought this piece back in 2021 so I'm not sure how much it cost, but I did end up wearing it in a photoshoot. The ruffles of the dress are so fun with the added flower details. It is definitely another favorite find. It's a size Small, and came without a brand tag. 

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Plato's Closet had this sweater posted on their Instagram for sale around Christmas time in 2022 and I went out to the store a few hours after seeing it on their page. It felt like the best Christmas sweater to me. The red Coca Cola logo with the classic Coca-Cola polar bear. It's an X-Large and was made by the Coca Cola company. It's a little more loose fitting on me but doesn't over engulf me. I actually found a matching one to this one at the Goodwill bins in a size Large and plan on giving the larger one to my mom so we can match for Christmas. 

 

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I found this dress around Valentine's Day in 2022. It's a red dress with little white hearts. It has ruffle sleeves, and a tie knot in the front. It's actually an X-Large dress from the brand Shein, but fits me well. If I wear it around Valentine's Day, I will wear a white long-sleeve shirt underneath. 

Other pieces I have gotten from Plato's Closet that'll I'll post without as much of a caption. 

-Black Square Neck Floral Dress from American Eagle.

- Black and Pink Button-Up Floral Shirt by the brand Wild Fable. 

           

- Black Fringe Heeled Ankle Boots. I wear these a lot for dressier outfits.

 - These fun patchwork patterned pants from the brand Kinsie. 

 -Two-Piece Cream and Blue Floral Matching Set. This is a super cute set with ruffles and little flower details. I wore it to a wedding last year. It was another piece that was pictured on Plato's Closet's Instagram that I went to go find, so were the pants above actually. This is a Size Large from the brand Shein. 

- White, Blue, and Pink Cropped Striped Sweater from the company Blue Rain.