Tag: Tampa
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Haiku Tampa
Many, many years ago, I spent six months in Ito, Japan. I discovered sashimi, sushi, gyoza and sake. Lord knows I drank enough sake to sink a ship. The dance troupe I was with stayed at a hotel on the side of a mountain and we were shuttled back and forth to the hotel at
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Ella’s Americana Folk Art Cafe
Ella’s was established in 2009 in Tampa’s historic Seminole Heights district. The website says it’s a place where “blue hairs hang out with blue hair.” I found that to be true. Officially old enough to be a blue hair, I had a young couple with their dachshund, Pippin, sitting right behind me in the outdoor
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Bury the Hatchet
Of all the harebrained ideas I’ve had, axe throwing might be quite near the top of the list. I have to tell you though, it was a blast. I worried that my 70-year-old shoulders wouldn’t be able to heft an axe over my head and hurl it at a target, but that didn’t cause me
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Duncheon’s Nursery & Blue Buddha Farm
I have two favorite places for plant shopping: Duncheon’s Nursery (just down the road here in Florida) and Blue Buddha Farm (recent online discovery). Duncheon’s is smaller than the big box nurseries, but it also has more variety in a not-found-everywhere kind of way. There’s a little of everything – flowers, shrubs, ferns, grasses, tall
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William Dean Chocolates
If I were dropped on a desert island and given limited choices for foods that would make my existence bearable, I’d have to go with chips and salsa and chocolate. Although both would please the palate, chocolate would soothe the senses. It’s a decadent treat, can’t-live-without-it food, perfect dessert and fabulous snack. So when I
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Florida Aquarium
I try to be organized enough that I have 2-3 weeks of material from which to choose for my blog post. That way, if I can’t go somewhere on my days off one week, I’ll still have something I can whip up and post. But that comes with its own set of problems. I have
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Tampa Bay History Center & Columbia Cafe
Tampa Bay History Center is well worth your time. It has three floors of exhibits covering a multitude of topics pertinent to Tampa – the cigar industry, indigenous tribes then and now, the Civil War participation, the Mafia, pirates and privateers and much more. The clever set-up encourages visitors to linger at the displays. Not
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Tampa Trolley
The TECO Line Streetcar System (Tampa Trolley) is a 2.7-mile, air-conditioned, electric streetcar line connecting downtown, the Channel District, and Ybor City. The best part? It’s free. If you want to take in more than one site in the downtown area but don’t want to drive from parking garage to parking garage, or worse, walk
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Croc Encounters Reptile Park
This small venue is interesting but could use some TLC. The animals are the highlight, but the setting is a bit casual and unappealing. When I made my reservation, the young man who booked it told me not to arrive early because there was nothing to do. Out front was a small dirt parking lot.
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J. C. Newman Cigar Company
Julius Caeser Newman, founder of the J.C. Newman Cigar Company, started rolling cigars in the family barn in Cleveland, Ohio. His mother had paid $3 a month for him to learn the trade and at age 14, he became an apprentice cigar maker. In 1895, he fashioned a cigar table from old boards, borrowed $50
Lisa Browder 