Road Trip: Tampa

On the last day of our weeklong vacation to Orlando last August, we were left with a day of nothing on the itinerary. The day before the hubs and I went to Universal Studios to use up our 3rd day there while our travel companions opted to drive to Daytona Beach for some sun, sea, and sand. Thus on the last day, they all wanted to use up their 3rd day in Universal Studios giving us free time to use whatever we wanted to do. And road trip is what we wanted to do. My husband's school friend lived in Tampa for a long time and I think he got a bit curious about Tampa; he does not live there anymore. He moved to Alabama with his family. Since it's not too far a drive from Orlando we decided to scoot over there and sightsee along the way.

Tampa here we come:

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We went to Tampa on impulse. No plans of what to do there just to drive to Tampa. Now that we got there, nothing about the city interested us. I'm sure the city has lots of attractions to offer, but our lack of preparation did us in. On the drive back we took a little detour and found a historic city called Ybor City, again we know nothing about it.

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We got back to Orlando with plenty of time before our 9 pm flight. We went looking for more Puerto Rican food for lunch; then hunted for the spot for food trucks. Thankfully we found the spot, got more Puerto Rican food and ate it inside the car while we waited out the heavy downpour.

When the rain became a drizzle we drove to the car rental agency to return the car, took the shuttle to the airport and happily browsed at stores inside the airport while waiting for our flight.

I must say that Florida has some of the best skyscapes I have seen.

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Comments

  1. Those are sunny lovely views for a long drive! I love skies like those, however in this part of the world the skies look narrow because our hiways are short. You should visit also someday the Everglades in Miami. My relatives and friends are there, one of my former officemates said her backyard is the Everglads. I am so envious.

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  2. A fine series documenting your move from Tampa to where you friend lives. Well done.

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  3. Hello, pretty views of the sky. I am sure Tampa has lots to see and do, if planned out ahead of time. I like the pirate bar, mosaic tiles are lovely. Enjoy your day and the weekend ahead!

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  4. Beautiful skies! Thank you for visiting! Have been tice in your state, and don't think we came as far as Tampa. The tiles are lovely:)

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  5. I've never been to Tampa, but would like to visit. You caught it during some beautiful skies!

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  6. My husband and I lived in Tampa for two years in the 70's, then didn't go back to visit for 30 years. It has grown tremendously, and I can't imagine going there without a guidebook- it was hard enough for us and our 30 year old knowledge! Let me try to help a little. Ybor City is Tampa's "Latin Quarter" (it is not a separate city) which used to be a cigar manufacturing center. When we lived there it had fallen on hard times but has come back in recent years and is a center of nightlife now. The next to last photo above looks to be tile work outside of the Columbian Restaurant, a restaurant I would highly recommend. In the summer, the sky in Tampa is still that beautiful blue but it is also hot and quite humid, with almost daily thunderstorms. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com

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  7. Sometimes you just have to fly by the seat of your pants, Maria, which you and Hubby seem to be good at. SO, BRAVA for going on the road trip, even if it wasn't totally what you expected. At least now you know.

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  8. Wow - those skies are amazing!

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  9. Hi!The first photo is very beautiful. Nice series of beautiful photos. We had gone Universal Studios and Disney Land a decade year ago in Los Angels.

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  10. Hi!The first photo is very beautiful. Nice series of beautiful photos. We had gone Universal Studios and Disney Land a decade year ago in Los Angels.

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  11. I spent a couple of weeks in Tampa on a business trip around 25 years ago, and I remember the city being all about the water. It was certainly a nice day you chose.

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  12. I love the first two photos! It was a beautiful day to go on a road trip!!
    Have a fantastic weekend!

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  13. Great sky shot! Tampa seems like an interesting place to visit!

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  14. roads of today, both impressive, beautiful and boring. Hmmmm!

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  15. Yep, we love our Florida sky! Sorry it wasn't super cooperative for you in Miami (in the post above this one). Ybor City is the most interesting part of downtown Tampa. We spent quite a bit of time in that city when we were remodeling our Canal Cottage because it has the closest IKEA store. Good places to eat were in or near Ybor City!

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  16. Such amazing blue skies!! And lovely road trip! A very interesting place to have a visit! Have a nice day and week!

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