TRAIPSING AROUND TAMPA

ALL PICTURES AND TEXT ON THIS SITE ARE COPYRIGHTED BY DONALD L SCHULTZ

Just being in Florida during the winter months should be enough. As the snow piles up in the Northern climes, the heating bills soar and frigid temperatures are often used as a justification for closing the schools, Sara and I have had the pleasure of visiting many tropical paradises in the sunshine state. We have explored Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Miami, Key West, Key Largo, Homestead, Naples, Ft Myers, Orlando, and Destin just to name a few. But of all of them, the Greater Tampa area has become one of our favorites. After completing a one month stay, we could say it is our favorite so far.

What makes Tampa so appealing? Well for starters, it’s the weather. Believe it or not, many parts of Florida can be just too warm and humid for us. We spent a memorable Christmas Eve in Naples, with temperatures in the high 80’s and humidity that caused the sweat to literally drip from our noses. Tampa, being half way up the western coast of Florida during this February had high daytime temperatures in the middle to high 70’s and very low humidity. We loved it.

Then there is the traffic. We would never suggest that negotiating the streets of Tampa is a breeze, but most cities in Florida have horrendous traffic and the closer you are to the ocean the worse it gets. We were in Key West when nothing was moving in any direction for hours on end. In Naples, the traffic was so bad that the police department regularly stationed officers at major intersections to hand direct the flow of cars because the lights were plugged in all directions. In Ft Myers, we tried three times to visit Sanibel Island from the mainland and finally got up at 5 AM to reach the famed shores of this shell collector’s destination. But Tampa traffic , with its system of bridges and causeways, is bearable. You can get to the downtown areas, Hyde Park and the historic Y’bor City using an all day trolley that costs a mere dollar. And the roads to the famed beaches of St Petersburg, Clearwater and Tarpon Springs, while crowded, were always moving.

But the one thing that Tampa has to offer that few cities of Florida have is the sheer number of things to do. Whether it is historical sites, entertainment, dining, nature pursuits, amusement parks, water sports or beach bumming, the greater Tampa area has it all; and all this at a reasonable price. Everything from gas, to groceries, to dining and entertainment seems to be less expensive in Tampa than most other cities we have visited. Certainly less expensive than Naples which is sometimes referred to as the “Gilded Ghetto”.

The origin of the name Tampa is widely disputed but most agree that it was derived from a Calusa Indian term meaning “sticks of fire” which probably refers to the high concentration of lightning strikes that Tampa Bay receives every year during hot and wet summer months. Some claim it is from an Indian word “intimpi” which simply means “near it”.

First visited by the Spanish in 1575, the native Calusa Indians were not impressed and were even less enthusiastic about being converted to Catholicism and were too skilled as warriors to be easily conquered. Claim to the Tampa area passed to the British in 1763 and the name Hillsborough is still present today on many roads and buildings in memory of Lord Hillsborough the Secretary of State for the Colonies.


The Spanish regained the Bay area and it was finally transferred to the United States in 1821. Phosphate was discovered in the Bone Valley north of Tampa and the area became a world leader in the fertilizer. Henry Plant built a railroad to transport the product to the Bay and his namesake is Plant City, the strawberry capital of the world just east of Tampa.

The city fathers of Tampa convinced Vincente M Yobor to move his cigar making operations from Key West to the city where it is still in operation today. Thousands of Cubans, Sicilians and Italians came to work in the factory, rolling cigars by hand and the evidence of these ethic groups is obvious in modern day Tampa. With the advent of air conditioning, Tampa’s population has grown from a mere 150,000 in 1951 to a present day 330,000. Counting nearby Clearwater and St. Petersburg, over 2.7 million people now live in the greater Tampa Bay Area.

There was probably no other single factor that made our stay in Tampa more enjoyable than the beaches. While most cities like Jacksonville, Boca Raton, Miami, Key West and Naples claim to be the best, the beachs of Clearwater and St Petersburg are grand and consistently are rated as the top in the USA. With fine. white sand and aqua blue waters, they make any beach lover drool. And the best part is that they are accessible. So many coastal cities have allowed private development to prevent public access, but in the Tampa area, there are many points of entry to the beaches and the necessary public parking to boot. The beaches of St Petersburg are particular appealing and Sara and I went to two true jewels, Honeymoon Island and Howard Park near Tarpon Springs several times, during our month’s stay in Tampa. Honeymoon Island even has a dog beach where Charlie our little snoodle played the in surf and chased other dogs endlessly. Tampa is a city of bays and boats. You can rent vessels of almost any size and shape and there are countless opportunities to fish and frolic in blue waters of the area.

The second most appealing attraction of, all things, was Busch Gardens. Sara and I are NOT amusement park people. We stayed in Orlando less than 10 miles from the entrance to Disneyworld and never set foot in the park. Too crowded, too expensive and too kitsch, yes kitsch, for us. But we absolutely loved Busch Gardens. For a mere $61 a ticket, we could enter the park as many times as we wanted. For $5 we could kennel Charlie for the day. From the parking lot we were whisked to the park entrance on shuttle trains that left every 5 minutes. Once in the park, everything is free. There are nature gardens, a train shuttle through the park, animal exhibits, the famous Busch Garden Exotic Bird Shows, roller coasters and something that kept bringing us back time after time, the concert series. We saw Herman’s Hermits,The Four Aces and Gary Puckett and the Union Gap put on 40 minute shows all to standing ovations. Now the grandchildren probably would not even know who these people were, but then there are plenty of things in the park for them and hey, the people running the park know who is probably paying the admission fees. We loved the shows and there were other, smaller performances including an Irish River Dance show that brought the house down. The park is clean, secure and the employees helpful to all. We witnessed a heart attack scare during one show. Gee, figure the chances of that happening sitting, among a couple thousand retirees. The staff of the park moved with the precision of a surgical team completes with blood pressure cuff, wheel chair and calm reassurance as the show went on without missing a beat. One had the feeling that there were helpful hands available at every turn in the park. While the food available in the park was a bit greasy and expensive, that issue could easily be solved with a quick trip back to an ice chest in the parking lot. Any trip to Tampa must include a visit to Busch Gardens.

Downtown Tampa can best be visited by picking up the trolley system that takes you from Hyde Park on the west side through the downtown convention area to the historic Ybor City to the east. We visited Hyde Park, an upscale shopping area whose shops were way beyond our budget, including a doggie boutique that sold dog carriages for a mere $240 and dog sweaters for over $60. We didn’t see many shoppers buying and the Park was starting to show the effects of a lack of business. Downtown Tampa boasts an impressive sky line and several attractions including a performing arts center, first class aquarium and a modern art museum just to name a few.

It was historic Ybor City that we enjoyed the most. You'll know you've entered Ybor City when the streets turn from asphalt to brick and the lampposts from concrete to ornate wrought iron. When the atmosphere turns from button-down to bottoms up. No sterile high-rises here. This multicultural enclave started out as 40 acres of swamp and scrub northeast of Tampa. The name Ybor (pronounced EE-bore) belongs to one its founders. In 1886 cigarmakers Vicente Martinez-Ybor and Ignacio Haya moved their cigar factories from Key West to Tampa. Once the cigar making was under way, Ybor City became home to Cuban, Spanish and Italian immigrants who worked in more than 140 cigar factories in and around the area, producing 250-million cigars a year. For more than half a century, Ybor City was the "Cigar Capital of the World". While the cigar industry was thriving, Ybor City was alive and kicking with Latin culture and language. The city's past is still very much a part of the present. One of the city's renovated cigar factories is home to Ybor Square, a mall filled with dining and retail establishments. The 113-year-old building retains its original brick walls and wood beams and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Ybor City Brewing Co. is located in another renovated cigar building, a 104-year-old brick structure. Its Ybor Gold has become a favorite beer among locals.

Another stop any visitor to the Greater Tampa Area should not miss is Tarpon Springs north of Tampa. This village with its series of bayous feeding into the Gulf of Mexico was established in 1876 by Greek immigrants and named for the fish spotted jumping out of the waters. Millions of natural sponges grew in the clear waters and Tarpon Springs became the capital of sponge fishing. Sponge divers from the Dodecanese Island flooded the area and the village has one of largest concentrations of Greeks in the USA. Stroll the Sponge Docks area and enjoy some of the most wonderful Mediterranean cuisine know to man. We had a Gyos at the famous Hellas restaurant which was simply the best we have ever had. The sandwich made its name sake served on State Street in Madison, WI or most other American cities seem so inadequate.

When a red tide algae bloom occurred in 1947, wiping out the sponge fields in that region of the Gulf of Mexico, most of the sponge boats and divers switched to fishing and shrimping for a livelihood. The city then converted most of its sponge-related activities, especially the warehouses where they were sold, into tourist attractions. The Sponge Docks are now mostly shops, restaurants, and museums dedicated to the memory of Tarpon Springs' earlier industry. Most sponges sold on the docks are now imports: Very few sponges are harvested from the area. Attempts have been made in recent years to restart local sponge harvesting without success.

Finally, as hard as it is to believe, Tampa boasts some of the most beautiful natural areas we have visited. Always on the outlook for new birds to add to Sara’s Life Birding List, which by the way is now up to 175 positive identifications, we had many viewing areas near us. We visited the Upper Tampa Bay Park located just across the road from our RV park, several beaches to observe shore birds, but enjoyed Lettuce Park north east of the city the most. Boasting over 2300 ft of boardwalk overlooking some of the most incredible vistas of Florida wetlands, we spotted roseated spoonbills, an osprey dive underwater for a fish less than 20 feet from us, saw the majestic woodstork, snowy egrets in full tail feather display and added several birds to “The Life List” included the Northern Parula warbler.

The Greater Tampa Bay Area seemed to us to have it all; great weather, beautiful beaches, wonderful food and so many things to do.

Try traipsing through Tampa; you will love it.