Well we did it again. We just had to make the trip to Florida to see the babies.
We spent 10 days there. Tons of baby time.
We were in Tarpon Springs, New Port Richey, Tampa, St Pete, and Clearwater. We did so much that I will need to break this down to two or more posts.
Let me start with Tampa first.
We took the babies to Busch Gardens. I had not been there since our children were little. When I lived in Florida, I must have visited this place 50 times. I was lucky, I had a very good friend who worked there. I got in for free.
It has changed a ton since I was there. Going there during the week in January is a good time to go. There weren’t many people there. The lines to the rides were small compared to peak times. The times are limited. They are only open from 10 AM to 6 PM during the winter. Our babies are way to small for the rides except a couple. But my little guy loves animals. All of us had a blast with the two babies and our daughter. After about seven hours, everyone was worn out. Tracy and Tif think we walked at least 10 to 12 miles. Who knows? What I do know is it was a perfect day to make the trip. Little cool, bright and sunny.
Things that have changed at Busch Gardens. You can now do close encounters with animals. Obviously, there is a fee for this. You can go out to the giraffes and feed them. Spend time with the vets, feed many animals. When the little ones get older we will make another trip.
Many more roller coasters. My favorite, the Python is now gone and has been replaced with some awesome coasters. When the Python opened, I rode it that opening day. Somewhere I have the button that says, “I conquered the Python”.
I really enjoy riding in the gondola. It takes you all over the grounds. They say there are over 10,000 animals and I believe it. The train is fun, get to see many animals on the ride.
We did not go on the rides, shows, or other activities. Our trip was just to see the animals.
Oh, one good thing they do now. They offer a set up where you can have digital photos taken of you on these rides. I think it is around $30 for this. They also offer a one price for all day meals. You are limited to a couple of items per seating, but you can eat all day for one price. Going as a family, this could be a cost saving program.
If you enjoy animals and going to the zoo. Tampa has a very nice zoo called Lowery Park. I used to take dates there when I was in High School. Back then it was free. I think it is around $40 per adult per day. If you plan on going there multiple times, they have a great year long package. The zoo is not far from Busch Gardens. They have expanded it with more animals. Also they offer back of the zoo programs for close encounters. We went there a last year and had a great time. Trust me, there is plenty to do to make it a full day.
While in Tampa we highly suggest Bern’s Steak House! I took Tracy there for her Prom. And we went there a few times prior to us moving to Texas. Since our babies have been born, we have attempted to make reservations when we visit. Unfortunately, we have not been. This trip Tracy tried to make reservations, but they were booked for two weeks. She kept calling and finally there was a cancellation. Was she ever excited!
So here is the story of Berns. It has been around for over 60 years. They have their own farm and raise some of their vegetables. Their beef comes from Nebraska. They age their beef in house. Your beef is hand cut when you order. You order your steaks by thickness and weight. They fly in fresh seafood every day. For you to be a waiter, you have to work at their farm, then work the kitchen, and end up in the dining room. Once you have waited tables for a period of time, you become a full-fledged waiter.
They will ask you two things while there. Would you like to tour the kitchen? And would you like to reserve a room in the Dessert Room? The answer to both is yes. Trust me, it is an experience.
When we arrived, we were asked if we were celebrating anything. Well yes, my birthday was a few days away, Tracy’s birthday was a couple weeks ago, and we celebrated our anniversary a month ago.
We sat in a small room with about 6 or 8 tables. Tracy enjoyed a couple glasses of wine and since I was driving, I had my standby iced tea. I drink gallons of it.
Tracy ordered Filet Mignon 8 oz, and I ordered Special Chateaubriand 9 oz. We didn’t want to over do it because we wanted to head up to the Dessert Room. We also ordered a goat’s milk Brie cheese as an appetizer.
Included with your steak order is a fresh salad, French onion soup, these little crackers with a melted cheese.
The Brie cheese came with green apple slices and walnuts on the plate. The brie was very creamy. When you placed on the toast with apple and nuts, totally different flavor! They make their own dressing. The French onion soup has four different cheeses. They even cut up a strawberry into a rose.
Sorry for the quality of the photo. Was using my cell and I didn’t want to use the flash to disturb others.
When our steaks arrived, the plate included a baked potato, fresh vegetables, and thinly sliced onion rings. The steaks were so tender you almost didn’t need a knife. We really enjoyed our meal.
After we finished our waiter asked if we would like to tour the kitchen. We had never made the tour before, so we said yes. We were then asked if we would like to reserve the Dessert Room. Well Ya!!!
He took us to the kitchen and were waiting for our guide. Man is this place huge! People everywhere on a constant move. Our guide explained each station as we walked by. We watched the butchers cut and weigh the steaks. There was a salad section, cheese section, soup section, even a bar with two bartenders making drinks for the dining patrons. The Lounge area had their own bartenders. We then walked into their wine cellar. This cellar houses 100,000 bottles of wine. They said they have the world’s largest wine cellar. Across the street they have over 500,000 bottles of wine. The oldest was 1847 and is still in perfect taste according to them. The most expensive is $45,000. We were at awe of the 100,000 bottles.
During our tour we saw a ton of people moving about. I asked our guide how many they employ per day to keep this place running. He said there are 350 people working each day. It is a well-oiled machine.
Oh, did I mention they have steaks up to five pounds? They sure do. Apparently they will cut these gigantic steaks for large groups. They have suggestions on how to have it prepared. This way some people who like medium has a cut, medium rare and what ever. I cannot imagine someone walking around with a 5 lb steak and placing it on a table.
Off to the Dessert Room upstairs. You can either take the elevator or take the stairs. We took the stairs and enjoyed all the old paintings and other art along the way. There is art everywhere for your enjoyment.
The Dessert Room has about 50 small rooms. Each of these rooms has a stereo system and a phone. If you want the piano player to play a certain song, all you had to do is lift up the phone and make the request. We sat in the room that housed the piano player. We were the only ones in that room. Very romantic.
The dessert menu consists of over 50 desserts. They make their own ice cream. And there are hundreds of choices of drinks and dessert wines. We ordered Baked Alaska and Taste of Bern’s which is sample size portions of Macadamia Decadence Cake, King Midas, Banana Cheese Pie, Chocolate Cheese Pie, and Vanilla Cheesecake.
Tracy had a Cafe Con Leche’ Bern and I had their regular coffee. Did I mention they have two coffee roasters? Yep, they roast their own coffee. Both roasters are about 100 years old. I can honestly say that was the best coffee I have had in years.
We just sat there enjoying our coffee, incredible desserts, listening to our own piano player serenading us. We felt like royalty sitting there all alone.
Again, if you are in Tampa or close by, we highly recommend you experience Bern’s Steak House.
My next post will be about our trip to St Pete, Clearwater, and Tarpon Springs.