Yesterday was non-stop. I woke up at 5 a.m. to my alarm (which I usually don't use) and came to Dunkin' Donuts to blog before driving to downtown Tampa to meet my friend Sue for a long walk. Sue routinely walks early in the morning -- which is sensible in Florida -- so I knew I had to be there early! We met near the big public market known as the Armature Works and walked along the Hillsborough River down past the Convention Center and then back up through the middle of downtown.
I know Sue and her husband John from college, where we were all editors at the student newspaper. She is probably my oldest and most consistent friend, and although we only see each other every six months or so, we're able to pick right up again with our conversation as if we'd just been talking the day before. So it was great to walk and talk and have her show me around my hometown, which has changed so much since I lived here that it's almost like a new city.
Afterwards we went to...
...Goody Goody, a diner in the Hyde Park neighborhood. It used to be located north of downtown but that old building was demolished and the new owners saved the name and the historic sign and moved it to a trendier area. I had a big ol' veggie omelette, and then we walked down to scenic Bayshore Boulevard and to the old apartment building on the water where we used to live, way back in 1991 or so.
Sue says her phone app reported that we walked eight miles altogether! I'm skeptical, but technology never lies. (Does it?)
Then I hopped in the car and drove over the towering Sunshine Skyway bridge to see Dave's parents in Bradenton. (They usually live in Michigan but they're snowbirds, so they overwinter here.) We had lunch (more food, ugh) overlooking an inlet of Sarasota Bay populated by pelicans as big and clumsy as pterodactyls.
And here's today's Florivideo™, which will bring all this activity to life for you:
I gave it some musical accompaniment with a Cuban flavor, to celebrate Tampa's Cuban heritage. (And yes, I admit it, I was distracted by the hunky jogger! I had to strongly resist the urge to follow him with the camera rather than the scenery. But that would have been creepy.)
I tried to help Dave's parents iron out some difficulties they've been having with their laptop computer -- mainly with the sound -- but I succeeded only in setting the clock correctly. I think the bottom line is they need a better computer. We Skyped with Dave back in London.
Finally, I hopped back in the car and came back to Tampa, just in time to go to dinner with my stepmother, stepsister and her husband. I had a bowl of clam chowder and a salad. I feel like I ate about 6,000 calories yesterday, so thank goodness for all that walking!
44 comments:
Hmm, diners seem to be topical.
Eight miles. Just a guess, 15km. Impressive walking.
Clam chowder must have been nice for you.
Hope Dave doesn't read that you were lusting over a muscled up jogger, lol
You may have trouble when you get home, lol
Briony
x
I was thinking, right before I read you saying it, that all that walking was the tradeoff for all that food!
Great that you manage to see your friends even every 6 months. Not easy from such distances. I’ve never been to Tampa. Your video tour was a joy and the music could not have been more perfect.
That was great fun! I loved the music with your video. Tampa sure is big. I remember flying into their airport years ago but we never spent time there. We always headed to Boca Grande for our Florida vacations. It was my parents' favorite place.
You sure are having a nice visit. You will need a rest when you get back home!
When I read of your time spent with co-editors of your college newspaper it makes me think of my days as the adviser to the student newspaper editors at UC Santa Cruz. I still keep in touch with a few of those editors. Did you have advisers back then?
It really is so nice to see these videos of Florida, a place I will never see with my own eyes. It's quite beautiful there.
Tampa is a beautiful city. At least a lot of it! Thanks for the spicy video!
I was mesmerized by the section of the video with the cables on the suspension bridge! You had a very busy and fun-filled day.
Tampa is where my neighbor's moving to today, or near. I haven't seen it for fifty years. It's changed a bit. The video was great.
Good thing you're fit from your green chain walking. That would have been several miles too many for a lot of people.
That was a fun tour around Tampa and I loved the music. You really did have a busy and food filled day! But, I think all that walking cancels out all that food.
You have more than one friend like that here...A phone call from the same time zone would be nice...
My favorite Florivideo so far!
Yes, the best Florividio so far! Love the music!
I'm always a bit skeptical about milage shown on my phone. I can walk roughly the same route three days in a row and get differing figures. I think it all depends on exactly how much "motion" the phone receives.
Once again, I loved the video. Regarding spelling, I understood that "Tampa" has a silent "x" on the end.
Aren't friends like Sue the best? You just pick up where you left off and time flies when you are together. I'm so glad you could see each other. And that you could help Dave's folks with their computer, even if it didn't totally solve the problem. Keep traveling happy! (Oh, and loved the video!)
Holidays going back to visit people are always very busy. Keep on having a great time.
How wonderful to spend time with old friends who know your back story and with whom you feel comfortable. Perhaps external speakers for the laptop? I dunno.
I love your Floridavideos and I KNEW you'd encounter an alligator on one of your crazed walks. 😉
It's nice to think of you over on the other coast, and a lot closer than usual! Have a great rest of your trip!
Nice video.....there seems to be hardly any people though! Is it always that quiet or was it really early?
The music was perfect, thank you, and I wouldn't mind spending time on that boat at the end of the video. Was that a shark fin cutting through the water?
I also like the big sign that says TAMPA so you know exactly where you are.
I love some good clam chowder!
Nah, he knows me. I may look but that's all. :)
Restaurant portions in this country are INSANE.
That was my pre-Covid goal -- to get home twice a year -- though with my mom now ill with dementia it feels slightly less urgent.
I remember you saying you went to Boca Grande! It IS beautiful down there. I think I've blogged from there before, but it was a long time ago.
We had an advisor, but we didn't ask him for advice. LOL! We prided ourselves (rightly or wrongly) in making our own decisions!
It IS beautiful. It's even prettier these days than when I lived there.
I had to film that blindly, just holding the phone in my hand -- so I wasn't sure what the images would be like!
Yeah, today's Tampa is MUCH different from the Tampa of 50 years ago!
I hope so!
E, I will try! I apologize in advance if I fail!
Thanks! :)
Yeah, I really don't think we walked quite that far. But we DID walk a long way.
I may be from Tampa, but don't call me a Tampan.
Yeah, I love a friendship where you can just pick up where you left off, no matter how much time has elapsed!
Thanks, Keith!
I thought of that, but Dave mixed my idea, telling his parents, "Don't spend ANY MORE MONEY on that computer!"
Even if it's an artist's rendering! LOL
Although I guess from an LA perspective, me being here honestly isn't all that different from me being in London!
Yeah, it was just super-early in the morning. We met at 7 a.m. and started walking then.
Not a shark, a dolphin! That sign is on the old Tampa Theater, a downtown vintage movie house.
We had the same idea. Until my mother died in 2016, we visited twice a year. She was hospitalized a few times and I ended up spending a total of about 4 months there a few years. Now, it’s once a year to see my brother.
You make me miss Florida. I used to spend two weeks there every winter. I may need to do it again. Enjoy your day, hugs, Edna B.
Post a Comment