I feel it is appropriate at this juncture to mention food :)
Living in Hotels is not ideal by any stretch of the imagination, and we crave some form of 'normal' in our lives. Supermarkets are some of the first things we look for once on the ground anywhere.
 Fresh fruit is essential to our well being, so it is usually the first purchase. We sought and found large fruit salads ready to eat...emphasis on the LARGE, I might say, in true American fashion. This served as lunch on more than one occasion. We also found instant breakfast in the form of fresh berries in yoghurt with meusli in a separate container on the top. Perfect!
One of the reasons (previously mentioned) that we like the Hampton Inns so much, is their free breakfast. Ok, so you actually are paying for it with the price of the room....we get it!
Their breakfasts are fairly comprehensive: Assorted pastries and muffins, bagels and English Muffins, cooked breakfast (don't make me go into detail there, I might gross you out) with all kinds of American 'goodies' that we wouldn't normally touch with a barge pole, yoghurt and cereal, including oatmeal and plenty of fresh fruit, juice etc. The usual hot drinks also included. Now the piece de resistance, according to Warren, is the self made Waffles! This with butter substitute (sometimes you get butter) and Maple syrup look-alike (read, corn syrup with caramel coloring). The waffle machine is timed and the mixture measured, so easy peasy. I don't get the people (usually teenage boys) who feel the need to overfill the measuring cup and carefully pour ALL the mixture into the waffle iron only to then tip the iron over, whereby all the excess they have so carefully poured in oozes out the sides. Duh!
All that aside, waffles with fruit salad isn't a bad breakfast to start the day.
I will digress slightly here...
While in Houston we found a shop almost next door to the Hotel called 'Kolache'. Normally one would pronounce this in the Latino way this being Texas, but after a much needed rece, we found that it is indeed pronounced Ko - lar- chay, as written. It is Czech in origin and a filled and baked bun, not unlike Chinese dim sum, and for those from Hawaii, Manapua. The egg and sausage breakfast buns were filled to busting and we went back for more the next day,  buying different flavors for lunch that time. We decided they would be fantastic things to freeze and easy lunches on the go to microwave when we cant stop the boat for lunch.
Now, back to the rest of the food.
Any new city is a challenge when it comes to eating, and Tampa was no different. We ended up eating at a food hall in the Mall near the hotel, our first night there. Our second night in Florida was in Stuart and we sat in the Yacht Club restaurant overlooking the water  and the Marina. Boats pulled up, disgorged their occupants into the restaurant, and then went away again with full-bellied passengers. A gorgeous brand new 60ft catamaran Motor Yacht (Launch) manoeuvred in the channel outside the restaurant with some difficulty...it really was too big for the space, but this looked like a see and be seen occasion...and indeed we later found out the whole story. This boat was here for promotional photography. This became evident as the sun sank lower over the horizon. Lights went on, people milled around looking important and the woman photographer made the most of the 'interest'. Our broker Len, never one to miss an opportunity, decided we should go and meet the important looking man parading up and down the dock. Turned out he was the builder/owner. We got the low-down on what was going on, had a wee chat about the merits of designers, and discussed NZ designers as being some of the best in the world. We never miss that opportunity!:)
 He was a gracious host and invited us to come aboard the next day and wished us good fortune in our search for the ideal boat for our adventures. We were unable to take him up on the offer, but were able to appreciate her delights from the dock. I wasn't able to persuade anyone to let me use the hot tub on her back deck! bummer!
I dont really remember the food we ate that night. Seafood for me...I have an idea Crab Cakes were on the plate...and of course a steak for Warren and Len.
For the next few days the meals are a bit of a blur. Many lunches were consumed mid afternoon because of being on the road and looking at different boats up and down the East Coast of Florida. Dinners were even later and I have no recollection of breakfast, whatsoever.
It wasn't until we got to Punta Gorda on the South West Coast of Florida that we had some semblance of regular meals. As I have previously mentioned, the bagels at the 50's diner in the Fisherman's Village, along with the somewhat ok Lattes  were a start to the day, though nothing special. Lunches were the aforementioned fruit salad, though one day we went to the Oyster Bar and shouted ourselves a half dozen fresh oysters. Yum! The rest of the meal was fish and chips and salad. Memories of this meal are pretty good actually!
Another lunch was at Panera...wow! they made REAL kiwi-style coffee...lattes, that is...and the food was excellent. We found a Panera near us in Houston too!
On our last day in Punta Gorda, Lens wife Stephie  and her friend Janie took us to an All-you-can-eat Crab Shack. How to describe this....
It was like a run-down residential house with old trees in the yard which of course was turned into a parking lot. Out back of the house was what looked like a concrete bunker with lots of steam coming through the holes near the roofline. Out back of that was a large shed alongside a boat dock.
A large deck out the entry side of the shack lead us into the main eating room...I wont say dining room because it looked like it had been someones bedroom. Dollar bills are attached to every available space on the walls, all with a signature and where the signer came from . They think we are the first kiwis to hang one on the wall!
Sit down, order....well, we are there for the all-you-can-eat crab. Man came with newspaper and laid it all over the table. He also came with a roll of paper towels...you know there is some serious stuff going down when they leave the roll, lol.
 Not knowing what to expect, it was a complete surprise when large 2 gallon buckets are brought to each of us, full of hot steaming blue crabs. Not just blue crabs! They are covered in a spice known locally as  'Old Bay'. Well, after a couple of crabs, my lips feel like they are sticking out a mile...spicy and yummy but a bit too much for me. All the others didn't seem to mind too much and the girls said they wouldn't eat crab without it! I ordered a bucket of plain crab, but it didn't arrive until I was full up to busting. Three hours later
we hang up the towels and declare we are 'stuffed'!
Sorry folks...the photos didn't happen. I cant understand it! can you?
More food to follow...