Bay Area Renaissance Festival 25th Anniversary   New

"Safe may'st thou wander, safe return again !" -- Shakespeare

Adjacent to the Museum of Science and Industry.

Discount tickets may be purchased from the hard working serfs at Albertsons and Eckerd 

Florida Strawberry Festival  

February 26 - March 7, 2004
Plant City, Florida

Everyone knows this festival as the Plant City Strawberry Festival. I think it may take some time getting used to the "Florida Strawberry Festival." Until I found out that the "Plant" in Plant City referred to H.B. Plant, I thought it must refer to all the little strawberry plants. 

From the Plant City web site:

"Plant City's original name was Ichepucksassa after the Indian village that once occupied this territory. So much confusion was created with the spelling and pronunciation that the Irish postmaster renamed the village Cork, after his home city. In 1884 Henry B. Plant extended the South Florida Railroad into the town and one year later, when the town was incorporated, it was once again renamed in honor of Henry B. Plant."

I think we can learn much from history, and the lesson from the story of Plant City's name is that it was good the local Indians never perfected the ability to build railroads. 

From the Plant City web site:

"Originally Plant City was a large cotton center. Changing its major crop to strawberries has brought it national recognition. Today, over three-quarters of the nation's midwinter strawberries come from Plant City."

Ybor City Main Street Arts & Crafts Series  

May 8-9
September 18-19
November 20-21

Lowry Park Zoo

Try the animal adoption program or classes for children 

Also check the River Odyssey Eco Tour on the Hillsborough River.

Old McMicky's Farm   New

Odessa -- about an hour's drive northwest.  

From the web site: 

"Old McMicky's Farm is not just a petting farm. It's a miniature farm with a large red barn, farm house, and farm animals. All visitors are taken on a tour through the farm. ... You will be able to see baby chicks, ducks, rabbits, geese, or turkeys and many more animals. Babies are born monthly at the farm. ... Each visitor will ride a pony or horse, go on a hay ride and play in a two-story tree house (complete with swings)."

Gasparilla  

The original talk-like-a-pirate day!

Zephyrhills Celtic Festival  

February 6, 7, 8, 2004

Florida State Fair  

February 5 to 15, 2004

Cracker Country

Equestrian Center 

Fiesta Day in Ybor City  

February 28, 2004

Calendar of Festival Events in the Local Bay Area 

What is the name of the two-day festival on May 1-2, 2004 in Ruskin?

IslandTime Calendar of Events  New

Has good descriptions of events all over Florida.

You Too Can Jump From Perfectly Good Airplanes

Tampa Bay Downs

Florida Aquarium

DolphinQuest  --- Eco-Tour of Tampa Bay aboard the Bay Spirit  

Busch Gardens

Sunken Gardens

Hot Air Balloons

Manatee viewing at TECO plant      New 

Open daily, November 1 to April 15.  Best chance to view manatees (picture) is when they are there.  

When bay waters are cooler than 68 degrees, manatees tend to move to the warm water around the TECO Big Bend plant.

Take I- 75 to Apollo Beach, Exit 246. Go west on Big Bend Road past traffic light at U.S. Highway 41 to entrance, which is at the corner of Dickman and Big Bend Roads.

Visitor center.  You can volunteer there too!

Tampa Theater  

Thanks to Heather for this link.  She says,

"If you haven't gone to the Tampa Theatre in Downtown Tampa, you must go...

"It is a refreshing flash back in time with floor and balcony seating, an organ playing before the movie (the evening shows), and a red curtain that covers the screen when it is not in use. There is beautiful tile work for the flooring and intricate wood-work throughout...it is a beautiful place and so refreshing from the typical movie theatres. They also serve beer at the concessions booth!"

And thank you to Terri who added:

"Tampa Theatre has historically been rumored to be haunted. I used to work with a woman who had once worked at the Tampa Theatre and said she had seen the ghost on one occasion....the experience scared her so much she turned pale when she told me the story years later."

The SS American Victory Mariners Memorial & Museum   New

Channelside Drive, downtown Tampa.

From the web site: "During World War II, shipment of eighty-five percent of the Allied war materiel is credited to the Merchant Marine. To honor the vital role of the U.S. Merchant Marine and the U.S. Navy Armed Guard in achieving victory, reconditioning began in 1999 to convert this vessel to a memorial. Saved from scrap, the SS American Victory is designed as both a static and dynamic museum and memorial."

Ybor City

Coffee House

Well-known restaurants

Bern's Steak House

Columbia

Le Bordeaux - CHANGED NAMED TO ST. BART'S 

Armani's

Mise En Place

Valencia Garden

Oystercatchers

Restaurants Off the Beaten Path

Tampa Bay dockside dining  

Spend a quiet evening watching the sunset.  Come by car or boat.  Or, I guess you could swim, but be careful --- could it be that the plot for the movie, Creature from the Black Lagoon, came from some poor guy covered in seaweed swimming up to a dockside restaurant near Weeki Wachee Springs?

Terri and I have found that these places on the waterways  always serve an enjoyable combination of good food and pleasant, quiet surroundings. 

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