We got up early this morning to fly home. Patrice is a real sport. Not only did she accompany me on this trip so I could learn about tattoo removal and see a baseball game but she was willing to get up at an obscene hour to head home. As usual, I like to use my last post to show some unusual sights that I saw during the trip. This was a short journey so not a lot of photos.
I thought we went to Tampa, Florida? Looks like we are still in Los Angeles.And I thought WOMEN was plural?This was a sign we saw at a flea market at the St. Petersburg Pier. Isn’t all psoriasis handmade, locally?
But this last one has to be my favorite. On my way to the tattoo removal clinic, my Apple Maps instructed me as I exited the freeway, “Make a left turn at the next signal”.
Luckily I wasn’t sleep deprived and fail to realize that a left onto this one-way street would not be a good choice.
Enough for now, I need to get to work so I can pay for our next vacation.
Today it was back to spend some time with Loretta at Erasable Med Spa [4144 N Armenia Ave # 250, Tampa, FL 33607]. I got some more pearls from Loretta and her assistant Laura. This should make my work at Homeboy so much better and I am really excited to get back to my tattoo removal gig. They do all sorts of other treatments at the spa including “Cool Sculpting” (using cold to rid you of your fat), “True Sculp ID” (using heat to rid you of your fat), “True Sculp Flex” (get increased abdominal muscles letting the machine do your sit-ups for you), Avi Clear (for acne), weight reduction (using Ozempic), laser facials, and botox. Hmmm, should I leave UCLA and open a clinic? That is not going to happen but it was an intense two days of learning about tattoo removal here at the Erasable Med Spa. Look below to see with whom I spent the majority of the last two days working.
From left to right: Laura, Loretta, Me, Kyler, Liz, Jessica, and in the foreground, Ashley. It was a tough two days having to be around these women but you know I am so dedicated to Homeboy I just had to do it. Did someone ask about Patrice? Patrice who?
After spending all day with these ladies it was time to go back to my beautiful wife (quick recovery, no?) and do what we do best………….. GO TO DINNER!
We planned to have dinner at the hotel restaurant called Cane and Barrel. This didn’t sound too exciting but if nothing else it was convenient. Since we are scheduled to leave Tampa at 7:25 AM a late night out was just not what the doctor ordered. When we arrived we realized it was more of a bar scene than a restaurant so we decided to take a walk and see if we could find something more appealing. I told Patrice, “It’s good to get out and stretch our legs. Let’s explore the neighborhood!” After one block I had walked enough and we decided to eat at Oak and Stone, a self-proclaimed provider of “Artisan Pizza”. But the real draw to this place was the beer. They offered 48 different beers. You know what a connoisseur of beer I am (NOT) but you have to appreciate the look. See below.
48 different beers. Help yourself.
Here are my favorites.
Funky Buddha: For those who enjoy hip hop while they meditate. Eat My Schwarz: For those, who are stuck in the 70s and studied German in school.
And finally for our golfers
Otter Palmer: Yes, the sea animal who changed golf forever.
Instead of any of these, I had my usual favorite, Dihydrogen Oxygen.
We have an early flight to catch, so see you tomorrow.
Today I got off to an early start because I needed to be in Tampa by 9 AM and I wasn’t sure exactly where I was going nor was I sure of the traffic situation. When we drove there last night for dinner, traffic was crazy (not LA crazy but still quite heavy) and I didn’t want to be late today. So I got straight out of bed and headed downstairs for breakfast. Patrice was still sleeping and I didn’t want to disturb her so I silently slipped out the door and was on my way.
The breakfast buffet was excellent and I had a very luscious meal but I noticed everyone was looking at me in a very strange manner. Did I have ketchup on my chin? I knew that couldn’t be the case since I didn’t eat any ketchup. Did I forget to put on my pants? A quick look confirmed that I was completely clothed. The situation remained a mystery as I finished my meal and started back upstairs. I quietly entered the room since Patrice was still asleep. I slipped into the bathroom to get ready to leave and was greeted by this guy.
No wonder people were looking at me in a strange manner.
The reason I was in a hurry was that I didn’t want to be late for my visit to Loretta Zanetti at her Erasable Inc Med Spa. I met Loretta last year at a meeting in Los Angeles and reconnected when she agreed to give a webinar on tattoo removal for my friends at Homeboy Industries. As I mentioned on Day #1 of this trip I have been volunteering at Homeboy removing tattoos. When I met Loretta it was clear she is an expert in this area and I wanted to learn as much as I could from her. I asked if I could shadow her for a couple of days and she agreed.
I arrived on time at Loretta’s workplace, Erasable Inc [https://erasablemedspa.com/]. The office is beautiful and I spent the day watching Loretta and her staff treat a number of patients. Between patients Loretta and her assistant gave me things to read, showed me some of their cases, and consulted on some of my problem patients. It was the most productive hours I have had learning this new skill. The best part is that I get to go back again tomorrow.
At night it was finally time for baseball. I was all set to watch the Astros end the Tampa Bay Rays 13 game home winning streak. Unfortunately, the Rays had other ideas and are now 14-0 at home this season. Apparently, the citizens of this community haven’t gotten the message because the attendance was less than 11, 000. I would be willing to bet the Dodgers had more fans show up tonight and they didn’t even have a game scheduled. At the game, we were accompanied by our friends Zara and Chuck from Jupiter, Florida, and Loretta’s husband, Mike. Loretta is not what you would call a baseball fan. Mike on the other hand makes me look like a baseball no-nothing. Luckily he is young so I could spout out some information about little-known players from before he was born. It was great sitting next to a baseball fan since it is rare for me to find one. Apparently, they are very rare in Tampa Bay.
One of our grandsons is collecting small bats from MLB teams and we got him one from the Rays tonight. I find it interesting that they put you through a metal detector and won’t let you bring an opaque bag into the stadium in order to prevent anyone from bringing in a weapon. But once you are in the stadium they are willing to sell you a bat. Hmmm, not sure of the logic.
Okay, I am not going to knock in any runs with this thing but I could certainly bash in a few heads.
No head-bashing for me. Instead, it is back to Erasable Inc Med Spa for more education.
The 3-hour time difference hit us hard this morning as we crawled out of bed in order to go to the nearby Dalí Museum. The museum and its bistro were recommended by our friend Loretta and neither disappointed us.
After arriving at the Dalí Museum we went straight to the bistro named Gala (Dali’s wife’s first name) for our breakfast/lunch. The place had a Spanish Tapas ambience so we had a Tortilla Española and Melon Salmorejo with Burrata. The latter dish was described as “Spain’s most popular sopa” (soup). That’s very interesting because I have been to Spain numerous times and never heard of the dish. I messaged our daughter, Erica, who lives in Madrid and she told me that she has seen Salmorejo with watermelon or tomato but never with canteloupe as sold at the bistro. So much for truth in advertising. Whether or not it is the most popular sopa in Spain or not, it was very popular with us. The Tortilla Española was a different story. It was good but didn’t measure up to my standards. My Spanish “Father”, Juan Carlos, makes the best version of this dish and I will accept nothing less.
Melon Salmorejo with Burrata: Its popularity in Spain might have been overstated but it was popular with us which is more important.Tortilla Española: It was good but if Juan Carlos had made it, he would have apologized.
After our breakfast/lunch, we went to the information desk and spoke to a volunteer named Annette who told me what to do. It made me feel right at home since I have an older sister, Annette, who has been telling me what to do since I was a little boy. So, obediently, we headed to the tour, given by a volunteer docent. She was very amiable but seemed a little loose with the facts, frequently making errors about his age when he painted a portrait (how can you get that wrong when the date is on the painting right in front of you?). In addition, Patrice kept cringing every time the docent mentioned the artist’s name calling him Dally (as in dilly dally) rather than “Da Lee” (with the accent on the Lee).
The museum has an incredible collection of Dalí (that’s Da Lee, not Dally) masterpieces and many works by other artists. We saw paintings by Picasso, Magritte, and Jackson Pollack. The patio was lovely and you can sit there while you enjoy your food from the bistro.
Relaxing outside next to a remant from “The Persistence of Memory” by Salvador Dalí.
We had a great time in the museum and we recommend you go there if you are nearby. On exhibit, we were able to see one of the two versions of “Lincoln in Dalivision” (the other being a larger version at the Dalí museum in Figueres, Spain). I know you have seen this picture. Up close it is a myriad of photos and pixels but from a distance, it is a portrait of Abraham Lincoln. An interesting phenomena was pointed out by our guide. She said that if you look at the picture with your eye at a relatively close distance you see the various pixels but if you look from the same distance with your phone’s camera you see the Lincoln image (see below)
When I viewed this with my camera I saw Lincoln but here you see the details instead. This is a very impressive piece of art and worth the trip to see it.
After the museum, we walked around the town and ventured down to the Pier. There, we saw a variety of street vendors and performers. We saw a young person selling shirts with clever sayings on them. She told us she designed this shirt after the Supreme Court reversed Roe vs Wade.
She said this was one of her most popular sellers.
For dinner tonight we met up with our friends Zara and Chuck from Jupiter, Florida. Long-time followers of the blog will recall that Zara and I had first met on the internet in the 1990’s when we communicated about our children with Crohn’s disease. We were each other’s therapists while our kids battled that awful disease. If you are interested in learning about Crohn’s go to this link https://www.crohnscolitisfoundation.org/
Enough about horrible diseases let’s get back to food. Tonight we had dinner at Columbia (2117 E 7th Ave, Tampa, FL 33605), a Cuban restaurant in Tampa (our hotel is in nearby St. Peterburg). As much as we enjoyed the Library last night, the Columbia outdid it. The service was excellent, the food was outstanding, and the price was incredibly reasonable. I even had some sangria. Yes, I drank some alcohol.
Yes, Robert does occasionaly have a drink. This is White Sangria and it was muy sabrosa, oops, I mean very delicious.
Enough food for now, tomorrow is all about tattoo removal and baseball.
I have been asked repeatedly by followers of the blog, “When are you going on your next trip and where are you going?” Well as much as I like to just chill at home and play backgammon on my phone, I do feel an obligation to the readers of my blog. So today we headed to Tampa, Florida. The reason we are here will come later but first I have to tell you about our adventure getting to this lovely city. First, we were greeted this morning by the best Uber driver of all time. We didn’t even have to use the Uber app. Yes, my friend Mike was at our door at 8:55 AM as planned and took us promptly to LAX. He even had his car recently cleaned and supplied us with two water bottles in the back seat. Yes, he insisted on us both sitting in the back.
For this trip, we decided to travel via Delta instead of our usual carrier, American Airlines. We have been mistreated by American one time too many and decided to give Delta a try. I contacted Delta in advance and they agreed to give us high status on a trial basis but unfortunately not their premiere status that would have given us access to their lounge (one strike against Delta and one plus for American). We found all the employees to be very polite and helpful. The flight was smooth and we had the best meal ever on an air flight. I realize that isn’t saying much since I would venture to say I have never enjoyed a meal on an airplane and rarely take more than one or two bites. Since I wasn’t expecting much from the food, I didn’t bother to take any photos. My lunch included a very good Chicken Caesar salad (Patrice had the pasta). I also had fresh fruit that actually tasted fresh and like fruit. Finally, we were given a tasty chocolate chip cookie for dessert. This is a big plus for Delta over American.
Now for the reason for our trip. Those of you who know me are aware that for over two years I’ve spent Tuesday mornings, removing tattoos from the formerly incarcerated and former gang members at Homeboy Industries. In my attempts to get better at tattoo removal, I met a woman who has a thriving tattoo removal practice in Tampa and she agreed to let me shadow her to pick up some tips.
I know there are those of you saying “Robert is not going all the way to Tampa just to learn something about removing tattoos. I have to confess, you are right. As followers of the blog know we are on a quest to visit all 30 MLB ballparks (we have been to 18 so far). Now we get to add Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays are one red-hot team, they are currently 18-3 and have not lost a single game at home. We will see them Monday night. But before baseball or tattoo removal we have the favorite topic of this blog. Yes ……… FOOD!
Tonight we had an incredible dinner at the Library. When Patrice asked if I wanted to go to the Library after our arrival in Tampa I thought she had lost her mind. I do enjoy my Men’s Book Group but Saturday night at a library did not sound very attractive. Well, I am very happy to report that this was my kind of library.
The Library [600 5th St S, St. Petersburg, FL 33701] is a high-end restaurant, located within the property of the Johns (not John) Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. The restaurant design is based on the George Peabody Library in Baltimore. Hopkins and Peabody donated the money required to build the hospital in St. Pete and thus the reason for the design of the restaurant.
The service at the Library was superb as was the food. Patrice and I ordered the same meal: Scallops with Grits and Brussel Sprouts (see below)
Reiss rule of dining: 1. Never order grits north of the Mason-Dixon line. These were spectacular.
The decor of the restaurant was very interesting, giving you the feel of being in a library. Well, not exactly, more like being in a library where is it too dark to read and there is a lot of alcohol being consumed. (See below).
Books and books on several walls throughout the restaurantDon’t try reading in this light.
To add one more touch of library motif see how they deliver the check.
Check brought to the table in a real book.
Now it is back to the hotel to chill and get ready for baseball and tattoo removal. Wait, tomorrow is Sunday and we aren’t doing either. I am sure my tour guide (Patrice) has something special in store for us.
Robert Reiss Travel Blog and Other Ramblings 