Tampa Pit Stop

In mid-January, we returned to our home city of Tampa for a month. We are certainly not racing anywhere - on the contrary, we are slow travelers - but it was a planned “pit stop” for some maintenance. We took care of healthcare visits and prescription refills, handled a small pile of snail mail, and refreshed our limited wardrobes. (When you wash and wear the same clothes every single week, they wear out more quickly).

We stayed in an Airbnb apartment in Channelside, a part of Downtown Tampa near our old neighborhood. We were just a few blocks away from grocery stores, pharmacies, and restaurants. This was important, as it was our first time living in Tampa without a car. We managed just fine; it was fine weather for walking, and it was easy to use Lyft for longer trips. I also used a local rideshare called Dash - a small fleet of yellow Teslas that serves Downtown Tampa for just $2 per ride.

During our first few days in Tampa, there was a historic freeze across much of the United States. It actually snowed in New Orleans and the Florida panhandle! We didn’t get snow in Tampa, but we were happy to stay inside, where it was warm. After the freeze, the weather was beautiful. It felt great to be out walking on the River Walk again! And it was nice to see some familiar sights of January and February in Tampa. Princeton crew teams were in town for their annual winter training camp. Cruise ships came and went, like tall buildings that popped up overnight and disappeared the next day. City workers set up for (and cleaned up after) the Gasparilla Parade. Publix ran low on chicken wings and other Super Bowl snacks.

The best part of being back in Tampa was spending time with family and friends. We visited Steve’s parents regularly, and he even cooked them dinner a couple of times. My mom took the train down from Jacksonville and stayed with us for a few days. We dined with our favorite couples, and I lunched with my girlfriends. There was a lot of catching up to do! We even had time for the annual Tampa Bay Food Fight, which was in Amalie Arena this year.

By the way, in February I had a milestone birthday. All three of our parents joined us for a lovely birthday dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Predalina. I plan to continue celebrating all month!