Day trip to St. Petersburg and Tampa

Before I get into my trip to Tampa .... I have to say this is the busiest campground I have ever stayed in .... the coming/going is pretty constant with rigs arriving and leaving and moving from site to site .... wow.

Now, on to Tampa ...

The day started out foggy, so I opted for a later start and went to the post office.  My phone arrived, yeah!  but the new (and hopefully better for my painful feet) shoes I ordered were rejected by the postal employee.  Boy did she have attitude ... she almost went postal on me.  She didn't want my mail addressed to the physical address of the post office, just "General Delivery" and they do not accept mail from competing companies such as UPS.  First time I have had an issue .... get that lady some coffee.  ha.

Unfortunately, because of my late start and the shorter hours, I didn't see as much as I would have liked.

My first stop was the Sunken Gardens.  The Gardens began in 1903, when plumber and avid gardener George Turner Sr. (no relation - ha) purchased the site, including a shallow lake 10 feet (3.0 m) below sea level, which he drained to form his private "sunken" garden. Turner started planting papayas and citrus fruits along with other exotic plants on the rich soil surrounding his home. By the 1920s, Turner had opened a nursery and began selling fruits, vegetables, roses and other plants, and visitors were paying a nickel each to stroll through the gardens. In the fall of 1935, he fenced his garden and started charging an admission fee of 25 cents. The Gardens eventually became widely popular, and from the 1950s through the 1970s were ranked among Florida’s top ten commercial attractions.  They now charge $8.00 for a Senior ticket.

They have yoga a couple times a week in the garden

And then onto the The Sunshine Sky Bridge, a four-lane toll road, that was initially two lanes when it opened in 1987. The road has a scenic view of the area as it is 191 feet in the air and over a beautiful body of water, the Tampa Bay.

Interesting, it is only a toll one way.  There was "police activity" at the top of the bridge when I tried to cross and was stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic for the ride "up," but it was enjoyable nonetheless.  I realized that since I have been to the Dali Museum (when I was here 10 years ago), that I must have crossed this bridge at that time, but don't remember it .... The Howard Franklin Bridge is a nice drive as well.

I got off the bridge at one of the fishing piers in hope of a good picture.  It cost $4.50 to drive on the pier; the attentant was going to let me take my picture for $3.50, but he wouldn't guarantee a good view so I passed.  As it turned out, there is a beach area on the other side coming back that gave me a fairly decent picture...

I enjoyed a drive on the Causeway in Dunedin today as well, and it is a lovely beach area.  There is a much larger bird population on the East coast beaches than in California, and much less "beach" .... but seeing vehicles parked right on the beach and people strolling, it looked nice.

Here is another stop I made .... Freedom Lake Park is home to the F-16A Fighting Falcon, a fighter jet built in 1974 by the U.S. Air Force.

The Korean War Memorial is also at this park.

I tried to find the Bowling Ball House but the address was in a gated community and I couldn't get it to see if it was still there ...The Bowling Ball House was decorated by an artist couple, who saw a bowling ball decoration in another home's garden. Slowly but surely the entire house has become covered with bowling balls including the mail box and the front yard.

I also tried to visit a memorial dedicated to "The World's Most Unusual Married Couple", Al and Jeanie Tomaini. Al Tomaini stood at 8 feet 4 inches, where as his wife, called "Jeanie the half girl", measured at 2 feet tall 6 inches. The couple moved to the town of Gibsonton after they decided to close down their circus, which Tomaini owned. It is said that the man wore a size 22 shoe.  It was dark by this time, so I don't know if the memorial was removed or I just couldn't see it.  I plan to look again the next time I'm in the area!

I was a little surprised to learn that Plant City, where the annual strawberry festival is held, was not named after the growing variety but after an actual person.  I wanted to learn about him so I drove to the University of Tampa to tour the museum.  My book said they were open until 8pm; alas, I was misinformed.

The Henry Bradley Plant museum houses treasures and historic memorabilia in restored rooms of the Tampa Bay Hotel, built in 1891. Enjoy beautiful rooms, themed exhibits and a trip into a time when staying in a hotel was more than just sleeping at night.

This was as far as I got!

 The University of Tampa is located downtown on the banks of the Hillsborough River on a 69-acre, tree-shaded campus. The centerpiece of the campus is the former Tampa Bay Hotel, a 115-year-old luxury hotel and national landmark, constructed in the Moorish style of architecture, complete with minarets. The former hotel houses the Henry B. Plant Museum, which tells the story of the railroader who turned this part of Florida into a vacation destination for the well-heeled in the 1890s.

My intention for dinner was the Colombian Restaurant, but I was not in the least hungry, sadly -Set in Tampa’s historic Ybor City Latin district, this Spanish and Cuban restaurant opened in 1905, making it one of Florida’s oldest eateries. With more than a dozen dining rooms, including a café and courtyard space, it’s also one of largest. The staff—many of them fourth- and fifth-generation members of the Cuban founder’s family—serves up history along with the delicious Spanish bean soups, paella,

I was sorry to miss that experience.

My stay in Wauchula is coming to an end.  On Sunday I move to Flagler Beach, on the Atlantic coast between St. Augustine and Daytona.  As this may be my future home (ha), I thought I would check out the area.  I'm staying  at Bulow Plantation, so I'm hoping for an interesting experience there.  I'll let you know.