We left the Tampa fairgrounds after the Tampa RV show on Sunday, January 20th. Since our next reservation was not until Monday, we parked overnight at Bloomington Golf Course using our Harvest Host membership. The next day we made the quick trip to Lazy Days RV Resort which is a huge campground with lots of amenities and is just northeast of the Tampa area. This well-maintained resort has several dog parks, a large screened-in pool, a tennis court, rally room, restaurant, playground, large laundry area, office computer area and is easily accessed from I-4 and I-75.
Although we steered clear of some of Tampa’s bigger tourist spots, there is certainly much to choose from here: Busch Gardens, Florida Aquarium, Lowry Park Zoo, and lots of museums and beaches to name a few. We did get a good view of the city as we walked the 2.4-mile Tampa River Walk. There are historical plaques along the way as you pass hotels, restaurants, and parks. The beautiful campus of University of Tampa can be seen across the water— it’s minarets and domes are examples of the Moorish Revival architectural style popular around the mid-19th century. If you’re not up for walking, you can take a water taxi and hear about Tampa’s history as you ride along the river.
Outdoor fun is easy to find in Tampa’s parks and waterways. We enjoyed bike riding at Morris Bridge Park and kayaking on the Hillsborough River. I was amazed at the beautiful views, greenery, and wildlife we saw! The first time we saw alligators sunning along the river was a little scary, but they didn’t seem to take much notice of us.
The Hillsborough River had several areas where the water was like glass on top and the reflections gave me the surreal feeling of flying. It was such a peaceful afternoon on the water!
A visit to Parkesdale Farm Market, a local favorite and hidden gem, was a great treat after our outdoor activities. They have amazing strawberry milkshakes and huge strawberry shortcakes, as well as locally grown produce, jams, and souvenirs.
Have you ever seen a manatee? Manatees are large aquatic animals also known as sea cows, but they are actually related to the elephant! They are gentle and slow-moving creatures who eat plants and don’t have any natural predators. Manatees can be found in the warm waters of Florida’s coasts in the winter—they don’t like temperatures below 68 degrees (me either!). We saw the manatees at Tampa Electric Manatee Viewing Center at Apollo Beach. The manatees hang out in the channel where saltwater taken from Tampa Bay to cool the electric plant then flows back out after being cleaned and warmed. It’s a nice place with a 1-mile nature habitat trail and observation tower, gift shop, café, and hands-on touch tank. We couldn’t get too close to the manatees, but there were a lot of them hanging out in the channel area.
We spent some time with dear friends, the Clare family, who we have missed very much from our Air Force days. We had a lovely lunch, dinner, and visit at their home in Lithia. Some other activities to round out our stay in the Tampa area were seeing a cute movie, “The Upside,” playing a little tennis, and visiting some of our favorite restaurants. We also drove along Bayshore Drive, a beautiful area with many large homes on the waterfront and toured MacDill AFB. Although the weather was not bad, it wasn’t beach weather yet in January. Our nine days passed so quickly, we will definitely want to return to the Tampa area again!
Great Blog Robin and beautiful picture. All sounds amazing, so happy for you and all
The amazing experiences. Thanks for sharing. Hugs stay safe
Thanks Pam! We are having lots of fun:) Looking forward to seeing you when we are home in May.
We were so glad to be able to spend time with you guys again! Yes , you need to come back to Tampa! Enjoy your travels! Love ya!
Thanks, Cheri. It seemed like old times being together with the Clares again! Wish we had had more time, but it won’t be as long before the next visit. Love to all!
I’ve been to Tampa before but I never got to really explore anything like this! Looks like I missed out on a vast variety of things to do, see and eat. Great post again!
Thanks, Sandi. We didn’t really do as many “touristy things,” but we had a great time. We certainly could have spent a lot more time i n Tampa and not run out of places to see!
Oh my gosh, so many good pictures of beautiful places. I see what you mean about the pictures above and the reflections below, it does run together. Very good pictures of you and Mike and I love seeing the girls running and playing like that again.
That water was so clear the reflections almost made me feel dizzy–it was crazy! The doggies enjoyed their day at the dog park and did a little running:)