Jim gave me a gift certificate back in December of 2006 for a local spa and resort. I absolutely LOVE massages, but I just couldn’t fit a day of pampering into my schedule. Finally, I decided to heck with it and scheduled a day off work, and I finally got my massage last Friday. It was well worth the wait. I opted for the deep tissue massage, and Saddlebrook didn’t disappoint.

The morning started off with valet parking and a quick stroll to the spa. The grounds of the resort are beautiful - stone pathways and sparkling pools. This is the place where all of the tennis pros go to relax, so I kept my eyes peeled for Anna Kournikova. Sadly, I didn’t spot any famous people. I checked into the spa and was escorted into the locker room and given a place to undress and put on a plush robe and sandals. My masseuse was an older guy who took a few minutes to ask me about any trouble points and any areas I wanted him to work over. And work me over he did! I mentioned my back problems and he spent a lot of time rubbing all of the kinks out on my upper back.

After the hour long massage, I had full use of the steam room, the sauna, and whirlpool. After a bit more relaxing, I took a shower, using tons of gratis supplies, toweled off and went home. Don’t worry - it wasn’t all relaxing and upper class schmoozing. I’ve got two funny stories about my day that I’ll type up later on.