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. 

Fun Kenosha Places to Check Out

 Hold My Beer

   Hold my beer has a wall of self-pour craft beers to choose from. People also go there to do axe-throwing, but you don't have to, to try the craft beers. I haven't gone myself, but think it's somewhere dad might like to try. (Located in downtown). 

https://holdmybeerkenosha.com/

Scoops IceCream

   This is Kenosha's go to place for icecream. There are tons of flavors to choose from for a cone or dish. You can also get a pint of ice cream to take home. (Located downtown) 

https://scoopskenosha.com/

LuLuBirds 

   LuLu birds has refurbished furniture, antiques, and other unique house items. (Located downtown)

https://www.facebook.com/LuluBirdskenosha/

Frank's Diner 

Famous breakfast spot, but you have to get their early because there's usually a line to get in. (Located downtown) 

https://www.franksdinerkenosha.com/

Vintage Underground

Probably the best antique spot in Kenosha. (Located downtown) 

https://www.vintageundergroundkenosha.com/

Indoor HarborMarket and Kenosha Public Market located at the Kemper Center during the winter months.