Getting ready...last days in Tampa

Looking back at the last month, we have certainly enjoyed our stay in Tampa and look forward to coming back in February, but now it's almost time to move on.  

We made many new friends from the Tampa PH club, attending one of their "flockings" as well as a backyard concert. We had a great time last Saturday at Tropical Point in Weeki Wachee (which has to be the best place name I've ever heard!) where Brian Neale  played. The "when in Rome" lesson learned - I never did a conga line to Finz before, but that's how they do it 'round here - and it was fun and different. We met lots of great people there, many of them BVI devotees so we felt right at home. The following day Brian played at the American Legion in Dunedin, and we were invited to that as well. It was nice to walk in and see lots of familiar faces from the night before. We are looking forward to seeing all of them again in February at Music on the Bay.

This last week we kind of kicked back and mostly just relaxed here at the park. As I mentioned, we acquired bicycles and did a couple of long rides including almost 20 miles riding from Clearwater to Tarpon Springs with a group from the park. This is a weekly event that they organize every Friday to a different destination and it was a great time although I admit my tushy was screaming the last couple of miles! The bike trail system in the Tampa area is amazing and we were happy to be able to participate. We've gotten to know several of our neighbors here who are from all over the country. We participated in a couple of traditional retirement activities - we played in a shuffleboard tournament and then attended a bingo night. The verdict - shuffleboard was a lot of fun, bingo was a bit boring for my taste - it would have better with some good tunes playing, but then I probably would not have been able to sit and watch my card. Well, you gotta try everything once, right? 

The weather had been perfect up until a cool front that came in yesterday. I've spent hours at the pool most days, especially after finding a group of like-minded girls to float and chat with. Regardless of what each of us are doing in the morning we all meet up at the pool most afternoons. It has gotten cooler in the last day or so and while we expect 80s again by tomorrow it should be short lived as another cool front is on its way later in the week. I'm assured this happens off and on and it won't last long. 

Today and tomorrow we are gearing up to head to Orlando - a short jaunt of less than two hours on the road. We're heading to Tropical Palms RV Resort and looking so forward to having our good friends Kristin and Billy fly down to join us for a few days. Our holiday plans include the Harry Potter experience at Universal, a day at Epcot and Thanksgiving dinner here at the moho - a little tight but we will happily manage. We are missing everyone back home and it will be great to have them with us for while. 

For all those that won't be with us, a very happy Thanksgiving to all!

Keeping time in Tampa - Tampa, FL

Well, we're still here in Tampa and will be until just before Thanksgiving. We've settled in and met a lot of people, both in the park and outside. We were welcomed as guests at the Tampa PH club meeting a couple of weeks ago and in the course of talking to folks there were invited to a house concert next week. I confess that I don't remember who is playing since it was someone I'm not not familiar with but who cares? It'll be fun anyway. Tonight we have another backyard concert and this one will feature Brian Neale, our friend from Toronto who we know from his gigs down in Cane Garden Bay, Tortola. Brian plays at Myett's every February so we know him well and are big fans. We're looking forward to seeing Brian again and meeting a lot of fun folks.

We've been back to St Pete Beach a couple more times. One day last week we popped over there intending to have a quick drink at Jimmy B's Beach Bar, but then we met Paul and Deanna from Detroit and we ended up sharing laughs and hanging out for the next few hours.

I love meeting new people everywhere we go - you just have to bring your own party and you always have fun. We had another great day last Monday when we decided to go out in a speed boat (http://tampaspeedboatadventures.com/) that you can drive yourself.

There is a guide in another boat and the tour is narrated and directed via a speaker on the boat's console so you aren't left to your own devices. I would highly recommend this for anyone wanting to go out on the water here in Tampa. We had a blast.

We've also been to a couple of beaches in Clearwater, which is just about 20 minutes away. The beaches are beautiful there also, but I have to say St Pete is my favorite so far, just because of the great vibe and the funky beach bars as well as the white sand and palm trees.

As to the day to day here at Bay Bayou, we've settled into a comfortable routine. We walk most mornings and I like to hit the pool and swim laps in the afternoon - for anyone keeping score, 20 yesterday! I can hear the real swimmers out there laughing at me...haha, but I'm making slow and steady progress. The park has a lot of activities going on and we've jumped into a few of them. We have barbecues by the pool on Wednesdays, there was a welcome party with live music last Friday night and I'm doing a girls line dancing class on Wednesday nights. I also acquired a bike and Bill is getting one on Monday so bike riding is another thing we can start doing. We are enjoying this extended stay, although we do look forward to hitting the road again in a couple of weeks and especially to having good friends join us for a few days over Thanksgiving.

I will close out with a birthday shout out today to our Bethany - happy birthday baby, and see you next month!

Sweet home - Tampa?

Yes, we're back at Bay Bayou in Tampa after our little sojourn in Key West. I can't believe how right it felt to get back "home" after a week away. Which got me thinking about the whole concept of home.

Before we set out, one of my concerns was whether I would miss that feeling of "damn, it's good to be home" while we're on the road. It's the feeling you get upon returning home after a long trip, or even a long day/night out. No matter how great a time you had on vacation, or at whatever event you've been to, there is still something so comforting about getting back home to your own familiar place, especially when you're really tired and in need of some down time. Well, we left our home behind here at Bay Bayou last week while we scooted off to Key West for a week. Of course we had a great time in Key West as we always do. In fact, this year it was especially great being back with all our hometown friends that we miss, even though it's only been a few weeks since we left Chicago. But after 6 days - and anyone who's been to Meeting of the Minds knows that means 6 days of non-stop - I was ready to get home. It was about a 7 hour drive from KW back to Tampa (we make a lot of stops) and when we finally pulled up, yes, there it was - that "so good to be home" feeling. So the answer is that the scenery changes, but we're always home in our little place.

We got back on Sunday evening. Monday was unpacking, laundry and vegging. Yesterday we did some beach time at Indian Rocks Beach near Clearwater - and I have to insert my mandatory beach pic here:

Later, we drove south to St. Pete's Beach. We had drinks at Rumrunners and learned that Lightning Jack (from Trop Rock Junkies) is playing there on Saturday, so we'll probably go back. St. Pete's is our kind of beach - white sand, palm trees and a few funky little beach bars scattered alongside. I have to thank Kristin for the heads up about this great place.

We spent some time at the pool today - I'm up to 12 laps, thank you kindly for the applause. Hey, I'm working on my endurance. Tonight we're going up to Whisky Joe's for a gathering with the Tampa PHC. We met some of them in KW, including Patty from the south side of Chicago (!) who actually went to Fenger High School, as Bill did. It was awesome to talk to someone who remembered the same old neighborhood haunts that we did. So we're looking forward to meeting up again tonight.