Seaweed Blob Will Miss Tampa, Research Shows

At this time on Monday, we were sure that a huge seaweed blob was gonna cover our beaches and make the Bay smell like the unwashed backside of a beagle for the foreseeable future. Thankfully, there is a new forecast that seems to spare us from that stanky fate. Researchers now say that the mass of brown seaweed, otherwise known as sargassam (giggity), will almost certainly avoid our beaches. It has impacted southwest Florida, however, depositing globs of smelly seaweed on the beaches throughout the region.
The floating seaweed bloom is a natural, yearly event, but the mass is much larger than it's ever been, measuring about 5,000 miles across. That's about twice as wide at the entire United States. With the current scurge of red tide in the Bay area, the sargassam would have been a terrible turn of fate for Tampa, especially during spring break, as hundreds of thousands of tourists pour into the region for a week of relaxation on our pristine beaches.
The mass of brown seaweed occurs naturally every year, but this year it's on a whole new level. Radar images captured its size rcently, with best estimates saying it would span the U.S. twice if placed end-to-end. This size of this year's gargantuan blob is being credited to a strong supply of nutrients that the seaweed needs to grow and thrive. Light and warm water also help the mass grow, and both have been plentiful this year. While the sargassam is normally a great environment for animals, it can also create issues if it gets too dense. Sargassam can choke the other marine life out of sun and nutrients if it grows to think. The effect on fish and coral could be terrible. But for now, we have been spared.
So, instead of smelly beaches, piled high with piles of rotting sea vegetation, we will have to deal with more manageable, sporadic outbreaks of red tide. Smaller amounts of sargassam are still expected to reach our shores and may be a nuisance, but its effects on us will be minimal. Source: WFLA.com

Big Old Jet Airliner

It's not a popular travel season, but if you can take some vacation days, this is a great time of year to score a flight deal. Kids are still in school so leisure travel drops off and the airlines want to fill those empty seats so they know they have to cut prices. Here are 5 cities I love to visit that you can fly round trip right now for $200 or less.

All of these flights I found by searching the dates April 5 through April 12. Midweek flights are often where you'll find the bargains. Keep in mind too many of these airlines nickel and dime you by charging for things like a carry on bag, picking your seat or having a snack on the plane.

If you can pack light, you'll save a lot. I found a "personal item" size bag on Amazon for $10 that let me avoid even bringing on a typical carry on size bag for short trips or visits where I can easily get my laundry done. If you're not one who can travel light, the crazy thing is you'll often find a check in size piece of luggage is cheaper than a carry on!

$38 roundtrip!? That's cheaper than driving. The nonstop flight I found on Frontier leaves at 8am out of TPA and leaves Atlanta at 5:39pm. Catch opening day for the Atlanta Braves.

Anytime you can get an airfare under $200 to Boston, it's a good deal. For $179 roundtrip, look for the Spirit early morning flight at 5:30am. I know I know. Super early. But that'll give you an full day in Boston as it arrives at 8:35AM. Your return flight time will be far less painful. Take the 7:30am flight on United leaving at 7:30am. You'll have a long layover, but it's a fun one... take the train from Newark into New York City and get a great slice of pizza and stroll around Central Park. You'll get back to Tampa at 6:08pm.

Visiting Chicago in April isn't the most touristy thing to do. It can still get pretty cold. But a deep dish pizza will warm you up. For just $138 roundtrip, grab the Frontier 8:10am flight out of Tampa. It connects in Atlanta. If you want to skip the layover, for $30 more take the American Airlines 6:06AM flight. You'll have an early flight on the way back though at 6AM, but you'll be back in Tampa by 9:30AM.

For $140 roundtrip, you'll have plenty of money to dump into the slot machines. Take the late night 10:47PM nonstop Frontier flight from Tampa to Sin City. When you get to Vegas at 1am, crash at the hotel... or get the party started. The 7am flight back has a stop in Atlanta for 4 hours, which stinks. But for $10 more you can get a late night nonstop flight if you're a good sleeper on airplanes.

2 trips in one! Jump on the 8:50AM Spirit flight out of TPA. Stop in Las Vegas for 10 hours and then finish your trip with Frontier landing in California at 10:50PM. On the way back you get to do it again. Take the 12:45PM Frontier flight, have fun for 13 hours in Vegas. Then jump on the Spirit red eye to Tampa. All this for $202! I know that's $2 over the budget, but you can win that back at the tables.

Did You See Her Duet With Axl?

Carrie Underwood is one of country music's biggest stars. However, underneath it all, she clearly has a love for rock.

The singer has shared a stage with one of rock's most iconic bands and has covered other rock legends. She's even taken to Twitter to share her love of one heavy band, in particular.

Here's a look at seven times Carrie Underwood has shown her fandom for rock.

During the October 15, 2022 opening night of her "Denim & Rhinestones" tour, Underwood's 24-song set included a cover of the Guns N' Roses classic "Welcome to the Jungle." BTW: She absolutely belts the hell out of the song.

Underwood clearly has a lot of love for GN'R, and it seems as though the feeling is mutual. During Underwood's 2022 headlining set at Stagecoach, Axl Rose joined the singer on stage and sang "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "Paradise City." When she introduced Rose after singing the first verse of "Sweet Child O' Mine," she said to the crowd, "Welcome to the greatest night of my life! Give it up for Axl Rose!"

Underwood returned the favor by joining Guns N' Roses during a two-night stand at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in England in July 2022. During both nights, Underwood joined GN'R on stage to perform "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "Paradise City." She shared in an Instagram post, "Together again…but this time in London and with a few more friends! Thanks, @gunsnroses, and your crew, for welcoming me into your world like family. And thanks to all the fans who gave these legends the royal welcome that they deserve! I am but a fan who somehow managed to find her way on stage to have a moment of magic with her heroes! How did I get so lucky?"

Underwood covered Osbourne's ballad "Mama, I'm Coming Home" from his 1991 studio album No More Tears as part of her new Apple Music Session EP released in July 2022. Underwood said of the track, "It's one of my all-time favorite songs. I've always thought it felt a lot like a country song, and I've wanted to cover it for a long time."

I Prevail took to Twitter in September 2022 and shared about their third studio album True Power, "One month of ‘TRUE POWER’. 56M streams. All thanks to you." Underwood replied to the tweet with, "I think I was a large number of them! [laughing/crying emoji]"

Lead singer Brian Burkheiser replied to the country superstar with two prayer hand emojis and a grinning emoji.

Underwood performed at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on February 26, 2023. I Prevail happened to have formed in the nearby suburb of Southfield, Mich., which lent itself to the perfect opportunity for the singer and the band to meet.

"I was so excited to have the guys from @iprevailband at the show last night in Michigan!!!" wrote Underwood on social media. " I tried to play it cool and not fangirl too much! Super great guys!!! I’m hoping I get to catch one of their shows this year!!!"

In the comments of Underwood's Instagram post, I Prevail unclean vocalist Eric Vanlerberghe wrote, "There was an equal amount of fangirling haha. Thanks again for having us out! Show was incredible." Meanwhile, I Prevail clean vocalist Brian Burkheiser wrote, "Thank you for an incredible night!!!"

Rose made a surprise appearance on stage with Underwood during her March 13 tour stop in Los Angeles. Rose and Underwood performed the GN'R classic "Welcome to the Jungle." Underwood wrote on Instagram, "I’m the luckiest girl in the world…Thanks, Axl, for showing up, once again, to make the great times even better! It’ll forever feel like it was all a dream, but these dreams are my favorite ones!"

As for Rose, he share a funny behind-the-scenes moment. He wrote on Twitter, "What’s better than leaving @cryptocomarena thru the back stage halls n’ load in with @carrieunderwood listening to Snoop Dogg on a phat ass rolling Bluetooth speaker?!?!"

Underwood opened for GN'R during the band's shows in Moncton, New Brunswick and Montreal on August 5 and 8, 2023. Both of her sets included rock covers alongside some of her biggest hits. Among the covers Underwood tackled were Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation," The Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses" and, perhaps her most adventurous cover, Motorhead's "Ace of Spades."

Underwood and her husband, Mike Fisher, took in Shinedown and Papa Roach's show at FirstBank Amphitheater in Franklin, Tenn. on October 3. The husband and wife had the opportunity to got backstage and meet both bands. Papa Roach shared a photo with Underwood along with the caption, "Music City never disappoints - thanks for stopping by @carrieunderwood @mfisher1212."

Shinedown singer Brent Smith shared a video of the meet and took a moment to touch on how much he admires Underwood. He wrote via Instagram, "I honestly had no idea that the INCREDIBLE @carrieunderwood was coming out to our show last night, or that ALL of us in @shinedown were going to get the opportunity to meet her, and her husband @mfisher1212. I held myself together pretty well, but inside I was freaking out with excitement. I have been a fan from the beginning, she is such a force of nature and such an incredible artist, and performer. It was such a huge honor to meet her in person. She is truly amazing. "

We dodged a bullet wih this one...