Serengeti Safari

Last time I was at Busch Gardens in Tampa it was to preview and experience the new Cheetah Hunt, a high-speed, triple-launch roller coaster that has everyone talking.

The cheetah called for my return. So did the media office, to take a Serengeti Safari. A train goes around it, a sky-ride goes over it but the jeep Safari goes right through the 65-acre Serengeti Plain. We stood in the back of an open truck with our guide, checking out free the roaming ostrich, antelope, rhinos, zebras and other African animals.

The highlight of the Safari was the giraffes. The tall, beautiful creatures surrounded our truck and dropped their long necks down, looking for treats. Those big, dark eyes and long eyelashes made us fall in love instantly. As our guide educated us on the animals, we feed them lettuce and rubbed their necks. They in turn, drooled their appreciation all over us.

Busch Gardens also offers a Serengeti Night Safari. After the park closes you get to stay, observe the animals through night-vision monoculars and spend time around a fire pit . Appetizers and "adult beverages" are provided before the tour; dessert and coffee afterwards. This looks like a really cool experience.

Something to take advantage of  if you are a Florida resident; a free daytime Serengeti Safari with your park admission, now through December 15.

By the way, I DID ride the Cheetah Hunt again; front row. This time I was brave enough to let go of the harness and put my hands up like a TRUE coaster fanatic.

***COMMENTS: Thanks to all my Facebook friends for posting so many great comments. I would LOVE it if you could also post your comments here on this blog site. I've had dozens of people tell me they posted and it never showed up. Disappointing for us both. So click comment, type your comment, check the box that says "comment as" then hit post. If a word verification box does not appear next (a scrambled word to retype), your comment did not post. Thanks!

Squeamish Squid

I was in Tampa last week for a media preview of the new Cheetah Hunt roller coaster at Busch Gardens. The area around the park is loaded with chain restaurants, diners and fast food. I wanted to try something more local (and healthful) so I stopped at Tokyo Sushi on Fowler. Its just off of  I-75, about 10 minutes from the theme park.

As I walked in I heard the low thumping of music from the Zumba Studio next door. The five dry-erase boards haphazardly hung by the sushi bar caught my eye. They were full of special rolls named after patrons like: The JoJo, Dale, Brenda etc. It would seem Tokyo has a contingent of regulars but none were there when we were. In fact no one was. Its not the first time my party has been the only one in a restaurant but it's usually because we are closing it down. This was 7:00 on a Thursday.

I get a little squeamish about ordering raw fish in a place with no customers. It makes me wonder how long the fish has been in the case. That being said, I didn't try the raw items I would typically order. I went for something safe, cooked. The Nancy & Les had shrimp, crab, avocado and eel. It was good but we were uncomfortable so we paid for our roll and left. Didn't even have a cocktail.

The restaurant was clean and the staff was friendly but I doubt I'll stop next time I'm in the area. Let me know if you do.

A side note about the Cheetah Hunt, it was awesome and I'll be posting a video soon. I've been accused of staling since the video is a bit humiliating, but very entertaining. It is in HD and I've run into some problems formating it for the web, but help has arrived and I'm waiting patiently.