Welcome to our adopted home town.  Dixie and I have had a residence here since 1982 as we spent about 50% of our time between Tampa and Nashville.  We moved here permanently in 1996 and lived on Clearwater Beach for over 10 years.  We would like to tell you about the Tampa Bay area that we know

Recognized as one of the nation’s fastest growing cities, Tampa is a bustling port town that boasts multi-ethnic diversity and a revitalized downtown waterfront.  Visitors can take a leisurely stroll along Bayshore Boulevard, dubbed the “world’s largest sidewalk;” or wander the quaint streets of Ybor City, which was once known as the “cigar capital of the world,” and is now a city-within-a-city offering Latin shops, ethnic restaurants, art galleries, and nightclubs.

Local attractions include the 300-acre Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, which is ranked among the top four zoos in the country (Ranked #1 customer friendly zoo in 2005); the Florida Aquarium; the Henry B. Plant Museum, which is the site of the old Tampa Bay Hotel and a national historic landmark; and the Tampa Museum of Art, which features the Southeast’s largest collection of Greek and Roman art.  As for sports, the NFL’s Buccaneers and the NHL’s Lightning both call Tampa Bay home as well as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (we've been promised a winner sooooooooooooon).  Several major league baseball teams also come to Tampa for spring training.

In the early days of this small Indian fishing village of Tanpa and that's exactly what it was called.  When loosely translated, Tanpa means "land by the water."  Early explorers had illegibly written Tanpa on the maps.  It wasn't until 1539, when gold-searching explorers put the town on their map, that the name was mistakenly changed to Tampa.

Nearly 500 million cigars are produced in Tampa each year.  At one time, cigar manufacturing was the city's primary industry.  Now, tourism is tops.  Stop by Tampa Rico Cigars in Ybor City and watch cigar making at its best - hand rolling!

You can bet you've never been to a zoo like this before!  Busch Gardens is not only home to more than 3000 animals but is also filled with the Southeast's largest steel roller coaster, water rides and other attractions that suit any age.

You know it's better when things are wetter!  The Florida Aquarium houses more than a million gallons of water filled with creatures of the seas.  There are four galleries that exhibit different aspects of "water life."  With a 5000-gallon touch pool, you can rest assured that this is one attraction the entire family will love!

A trip to Tarpon Springs makes a great side trip while in the Tampa area.  Known as "the sponge capital of the world" at the turn of the century, the town was inhabited by Greek sponge divers who harvested sponges from the beds in the Gulf of Mexico.  Sponge harvesting was a prosperous industry until the 1940s when the beds were destroyed by bacteria.  Today, tourism and fishing compensate for the lack of sponges.  Some great Greek Restaurants are located there with authentic dishes brought to the country by the Greek settlers. 

Weeki Wachee is home to the closest thing to mermaids we'll ever see.  Lovely "mermaids" perform graceful water ballets while 12 feet under water.  After the fascinating indoor experience, hop on the Wilderness River Cruise to view a haven where injured birds are nursed back to health.  Certain times of the year the area is open to scuba divers and it makes a great dive site.

If you hear thunder - take cover!  Florida is known as the lightning capital of the world!  An average of ten people are killed each year by lightning strikes in Florida.  How do you think our hockey team got its name, The Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning.

You may think that fish is "what's for dinner" while in Florida - and it can be.  However, if you're in the mood for a "steak and potato" meal, that craving can also be satisfied. Surprisingly, Florida is one of the largest producers of beef in the U.S, second only to Texas.  When it comes to steak, Bern's Steak House is world famous.  But their fame doesn't stop there - the wine list weighs close to 10 pounds and has over 7000 selections to choose from!  This is a dinning experience and if you ask, you will be given a tour of the kitchen which is surprisingly quiet with almost 100 people moving almost in a graceful way.  You will also be give a tour of the wine cellar and the more than 7000 bottles of wine.  After dinner, go upstairs to the desert bar and relax with deserts that are heavenly.  We have taken many friends there and all have raved about it.  It is a little pricey, but it's worth it.

Thanks to the warm waters of the Tampa Electric Company's Big Bend Power Plant, you can catch a glimpse of manatees.  The large mammals require a water temperature of 68 degrees or higher, and the warm waters surrounding the plant attract many manatees each winter.  What's even better - this attraction is free! 

In the winter months of December and January, you can actually swim with the manatees at Crystal River where the water temperature year round is a warm 75.  A group of my friends from Nashville come down each January and we go diving there. 

Last year, I was swimming back to the boat after a 50' dive and something nudged me.  I thought it was one of my dive buddies and when I turned around, it was a dolphin.  He allowed me to rub his back for several minutes and then slowly swam away.  Just another day in Paradise.

With beautiful weather and miles of beaches, Tampa is the perfect place to catch some rays.  Public access is allowed at many stops along the roadways, even though in some areas the allowance is downplayed.  You'll have much better luck finding a place on the beach rather than somewhere to park your car!  So, good luck and happy parking!

The average high temperature in the coldest month is 70 and in the hottest month only 89.  As a matter of record, Clearwater has never recorded a day when the temperature reached 100.  I bet you didn't know that? 

Tampa Bay is made up of 3 major cities (Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater) and many smaller ones.  Tampa has about 3.5 million people is is growing by about 100,000 per year.  We visited once and never truly went home again.  This could well be the perfect place for you to live and play....work is an option.