Zom Hee Chinese Restaurant, Seminole, Florida

“To the ruler, the people are heaven; to the people, food is heaven.”

Ancient Chinese Proverb)

After a relaxing day at the beach, we realize that we are hungry again and wanted some good food that we all would enjoy. We wanted to go to a nice restaurant where we could sit down, be waited on, enjoy a drink or two, and eat some good food. We were all craving Chinese food tonight so I looked up restaurants in the area and found this one. This restaurant had the best reviews and even though it was a little further than we wanted to drive from our rental home in Largo, we decided to give it a try. 

 

When we pulled up to this restaurant, it really didn't look like anything special. It was in shopping center that looked like it may have been on the decline but when we walked in, we instantly felt like we had gone to a fancy restaurant in China. The music was fitting and the decor lovely with authentic Chinese lanterns and a gorgeous Buddha. In the waiting room we noticed pictures of former President Bill Clinton and former Governor Jeb Bush with the owner at this restaurant. Impressive.

When they saw our group, they asked us to wait a minute so they could set up a large table for us. Then they called us in and got us all seated at a beautifully made table with while linen table clothes and made us feel right at home. They asked if we wanted Chinese tea.   Sure we would we all answered and they brought it right out to us.   It was the real deal.   Delicious.    The waitress and host, Kenny made our visit so enjoyable. They loved the children and were all about talking and joking with them. They were very professional but added a personal touch.

This is a family run restaurant that was established in 1985. They specialize in Szechuan, Hunan, and Cantonese styles of cooking. They can sit up to 250 people and have a great Cocktail lounge with wonderful drinks especially the Pina Colada. Yummy.

They brought us out appetizers that were great and when our dinner came it was fabulous. The drinks were exotic served with the little umbrellas and in fancy glasses. Everyone enjoyed their meal and we understood why the reviews were so good for this restaurant. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal experience here and we would give this restaurant a big thumbs up.

By the time we left, the children gave hugs to their new friends that we met at the restaurant. If you are in Seminole, this place is great. Check them out: www.zomhee.com.

“To eat well is to live well, with the quality and variety of what we eat reflecting our good fortune and the very essence of what the best of life is all about.”

Chinese saying

Beach Day at Indian Rocks Beach, Florida

“Because there’s nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it’s sent away.”

Sarah Kay

Just another beautiful day in Florida. We have rented a house just a couple miles from Indian Rocks Beach and are loving our time here in beautiful Florida. Today will be a beach day and we are all excited about going. It is a perfect day for the beach. 

Indian Rocks Beach is located on a barrier island between the Gulf of Mexico and the intracoastal Waterway and just north of St. Petersburg, Florida. The beaches are pristine but parking is at a premium and very hard to come by so I would recommend getting to beach early. When we pulled into a parking lot around 9 am and it worked out to be the perfect time to arrive as there was plenty of parking.

The beach was lovely that day, picture perfect. The sky was clear and a beautiful blue with a light breeze blowing to keep us cool. We set up our seats, put up the umbrellas, lubed the kids up with sunscreen, and sat down to watch the children play in the water. The little ones loved the water and were just scared enough of it to stay only where their feet could get wet. They ran up and down the beach splashing in the waves and squealing with delight. They were not so afraid as to be held by an  adult in deeper water and just floating in the ocean with us right there.

The children kept entertained for hours, running around and making friends. My of my, the sand castles they attempted to build. One of Jeannine’s little ones put his feet in the sand and didn’t like the feeling of the sand going between his toes. The rest of us adored the feeling and while sitting on our lawn chairs dug our feet in reaching for the cooler sand.

There is nothing more relaxing that watching the waves rolling in, the sound of the sea gulls soaring over head, and feeling the heat of the sun. The sea glistened like an emerald as the sunlight danced across the waves. The white sand was beautiful and sparkled in the sun so brightly it made us squint. I had to keep sunglasses on to be able to keep my eyes open. The water was perfect and felt amazing being just the right temperature to go in and feel refreshed.

The smell of salt water tickled our noses and brought back fond memories of coming to the beach as a child and memories of coming to the beach when Joe and I were dating. There was nothing like walking along the beach holding hands with my love and talking about our futures. Well, here we are in our future and it is still just as special walking along the beach looking for seashells and watching people play on the beach.

We enjoyed our day on Indian Rocks Beach and plan on coming back. This is a great destination.

We ended the day with a special treat for the kids at Tastee Treat.  Isn't that just the cutest ice cream stand you ever did see.   What a great way to end the day. Goodbye for now.

“Every time I stand before a beautiful beach, its waves seem to whisper to me: If you choose the simple things and find joy in nature’s simple treasures, life and living need not be so hard.”

Psyche Roxas-Mendoza

#BeautifulBeachesFlorida                       #IndianRocksBeachFlorida       #Florida

Seascapes Restaurant, Beach, and Famcamp on MacDill Air Force Base - Tampa, Florida

“An ocean breeze puts a mind at Ease.”

Anonymous

Just another beautiful day in Florida. Today we decided to head to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida for the day. This is an active base located four miles south of downtown Tampa that was built in 1939 and been in use since 1941 and is gorgeous. Joe and I spent time here years ago and brought in the new year sitting on the beach with a bottle of wine. If I remember right, we fell asleep before midnight and woke up after the new year was a couple hours old.

The beach was beautiful today with the clean white sands, gorgeous water, and blue sky. There is a large covered pavilion with picnic tables and grills where you can eat and stay in the shade while the children run and play on the beach. We were the only ones there when we arrived and it was very serene and beautiful. Later other families came down to picnic and have a day at the beach.

The water in Tampa Bay felt great and was perfectly clear. From the beach we could see St. Petersburg off in the distance. This beach has a tropical feel to it with palm trees that were swaying in the warm tropical wind. This was a great place to spend some time as there were convenient and clean bathrooms nearby as well as the Seascapes Restaurant for grabbing something to eat.

We enjoyed watching the Wrack community of birds enjoying the beach with us. It was great fun watching them running on the sand.  While there we also go to see some huge military flights go over us while watching Dolphins jumping in the ocean close to the shore.

We went to Seascapes for lunch and the food was great. They had great fish’n’chips, wings, fish tacos, and many more items. They are open during the week from 11-2 for lunch. They also have dinner hours from 4-9 Wednesday through Saturday from November through March and 4-9 from Thursday through Saturday from April through October. We got a nice table outside with a view of the ocean and playground so as we waited for the food to come out, the children took off to play on the playground. It was perfect. The food and the drinks were very good and reasonable. They also serve cold drinks to enjoy while relaxing at this glorious place.

Right across the street is where the Raccoon Creek Recreation Area is located. Active duty, Retirees, National Guard, 100% DAV, and DoD civilians can use this campground. They take reservations for up to year in advance with a $100 deposit and it is recommended. The maximum stay is 180 days and it fills up quickly during the winter. If you are driving in a large RV, you need to come in the Tanker Gate between the hours of 0600 and 1400.

There are 268 spaces that are on paved grass with full hookups that run $20 a night and $520 a month. There are also 21 sites on grass for $17 at night. There are 100 paved sights for $20 a night and $520 a month with full hookups. And last but not least, there are tent sites for $10 a night. They have a free breakfast for all who stay there at least twice a month on Sunday.

MacDill Air Force Base also has a marina to store your boat or to rent boats. They have Twin Vee boats, pontoon boats, bass boats, Kayaks, Canoes, and paddle boards to rent. That is a great option so you can cruise around beautiful Tampa Bay.

This is a great place to spend some time whether for the day or the whole winter. Check them out. You will not be disappointed.

“I could never stay long enough on the shore; the tang of the untainted, fresh, and free sea air was like a cool, quieting thought.”

Helen Keller