Day 99-100 – 1/9-10/24

Starting location: Tampa Convention Center Transient Docks, Tampa, FL

Weather: low 60s am, high 70s pm, overcast and high winds to 30mph sustained with gusts in 50mph range and tornado watch then warning – Tuesday 1/9. Low 50s am, mid 60s pm, mostly sunny and calm – Wednesday 1/10.

Ending location: same

Statute miles: 0

General summary: We arrived in the afternoon of 1/8, actually, and decided to head to the historic Ybor district to walk about while waiting for our dinner reservation at The Columbian Restaurant. Took the trolly to get there – got on only 2 blocks from the marina. The Ybor district has a serious Cuban heritage and connection to cigar making.

The Columbian Restaurant is reportedly the oldest restaurant in Florida (Ybor location) and the oldest single-family owned Spanish restaurant in the US. All the bar and wait staff wear tuxedos. Amazing service. Old world bar and large stylish seating areas. Great selection of Spanish sparkling water, wines, food. I had Paella and Tom had a pork dish, prefaced by Cuban bread and their famous “1905 salad”. Then bread pudding dessert. 😋 We had made reservations for the Flamenco show, which was incredible and a must-see for any visitors.

The following day there was a big storm that blew through with sustained winds into the 30s and gusts to the 50s. We were in a protected spot and the chop wasn’t too bad. Not much was happening on the waterfront, as a result, so I visited the Tampa Bay History Museum – one of the most informative and best organized local museum I’ve ever toured. There was a tornado watch that afternoon and then we heard an alarm on our phones about 4pm – a tornado warning advising us to head indoors. Spent an hour inside the convention center without incident, but heard the following day that an an F0 tornado briefly touched down just South of the St. Petersburg marina we had left the other day.

The next day was sunny and winds were calm, so we walked miles up and down the well-designed river walk. Then, had to go take a picture of the famous city mural.

With better weather, we got to see more people out on the water and hanging around the waterfront.

Marina has unique boats for rent:

This boat came by daily, designed to pick up trash and debris from the water’s surface.

Boater information: Tampa Convention Center marina is in the perfect location downtown and much quieter at night than St. Petersburg. Floating docks. Very friendly and helpful dockhand. Locking gate. Power, water, bathrooms. No gas, showers, laundry, or pump-out. Free trolly within 2 blocks. Many restaurants, grocery stores, museums within easy walking distance. There is a business renting bikes. kayaks, and SUPs right there. Nice dog rest area.