Meeting Moe's & My First Dose of the Derby Darlins

I had a pretty rockin' Saturday! I spent my morning volunteering, then met with a new friend to hike around Lettuce Lake Park. By the time we got there, it was raining, so instead of "hiking," we just did laps around the boardwalk, which takes us around the "lake"/swamp. (This is Florida, after all.) Because of the rain, I don't have any pictures from the park, but I plan on returning. It's a pretty neat place! We spotted baby alligators, egrets, ibises, and pugs!

Boardwalkin' worked up an appetite and we went to Moe's Southwest Grill, which is a Chipotle-esque chain that I have spotted around the city, but never tried their food until that afternoon. I knew they were vegan-friendly, though.

I have to say: Moe's trumps Chipotle! They have better, fresher ingredients, and going by my bowl, they aren't as onion-heavy as Chipotle, which I appreciate.

I'm now realizing that these pictures aren't very wow-inducing, and I apologize for that. The ingredient highlights for me: spiced rice, black beans, fresh cilantro, grilled mushrooms (HECK YES!), and, of course, the grilled tofu.

Good stuff. Me gusta Moe's.

A little later that day, I got my first taste of Tampa roller derby -- The Tampa Bay Derby Darlins! They were playing against the Sarasota Roller Girls, so I felt a little torn, because as some of you may know, Sarasota has a place in my heart, too. I decided to go in neutral.

My best roller derby watching experience was in Kansas City. I was (and still am) very impressed with the Kansas City Roller Warriors. They put on an amazing show (especially compared to my very first roller derby bout, which was in Iowa).

Anyway, we're not in Kansas (City) anymore, so let's focus back on Florida.

The Derby Darlins aren't as big as the Roller Warriors, but they're still tough and put on a great bout. To be fair, the Sarasota Roller Girls are tough, too. I was impressed with the strength and power behind all of these badass women. (That's what I love about roller derby. That fierce woman power!)

Two gals left on stretchers that night, if that gives you an idea of how tough these derby-ers are. (And it was that that made my friend point out a wise observation: one should not join the roller derby unless they have good health insurance.) So yeah, I won't be trying out anytime soon!


But honestly, even if I had the Cadillac of health insurance, I probably wouldn't try out for roller derby. I can only dream of being the kind of gal who is tough (and coordinated) enough to do something like that. Plus, my biggest fear with roller derby would be knocking my teeth out. Teeth don't grow back, folks!

I also wish I was the tough kind of person to be a truck driver, but that's a different story.