Patty and I just returned from the Tampa area today after a five-day vacation with two other couples, including Patty’s sister Vicky and her husband Mark. The occasion for the trip was Vicky’s 60th birthday.
We stayed about 60 miles south of Tampa on a finger of land called Anna Maria Island. Temperatures were in the 50s and 60s last Thursday and Friday, our first two days, but jumped up into the 70s on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
I made it to the beach once, as I recall, and that’s about my quota. Don’t get me wrong, it was beautiful, with that fine, white sand that I haven’t seen anywhere other than along the Gulf of Mexico, and stunning sunsets. But I’m just not a beach person. With my fair, Irish skin, I just burn and peel when exposed to the sun (without sunscreen), and the beach doesn’t hold much allure for me.
Instead, I played golf twice (another member of our group joined me once) and went to the Tampa Bay Downs thoroughbred track one day.
As usual when I fly into fairly large cities, I scoped out the airport, and Tampa International is certainly a jewel.
It’s got wide concourses that are illuminated by natural light that pours through the tall, glass, airside windows. It’s clean and modern-looking, and there are plenty of bars, restaurants and retail shops.
The airport handled 16.9 million passengers in 2013, making it the 31st busiest airport in the country. (KCI, by comparison handles nine to 11 million passengers per year.) A $1 billion expansion that will increase the Tampa facility’s capacity to 25 million a year recently got underway.
In 2007 and 2008, Zagat Survey ranked Tampa International the “Best Overall U.S. Airport,” while placing it second best overall in 2009 and 2010.
Why do I bring this up? You know…because KCI compares so miserably to almost all other major cities’ airports. I’ve said this for the last year or so, KCI is a dark, dingy dump. It’s time to renovate and expand, and the sooner we do it, the better off Kansas City is going to be.
But, anyway…here are some photos that I hope you will enjoy.
Our group — not including me — on the beach at Anna Maria Island. That’s Patty on the right and Vicky next to her.
A languid wave rolls in at sunset.
The Bali Hai Resort, where we stayed.
It’s a low bar as far as expectations on Anna Maria.
We had company on Manatee Golf Course.
The horses approached the starting gate for a turf race at Tampa Bay Downs.
Tampa International, with its gleaming floors, wide concourses and varied food options.
…and, of course, a nice selection of shops.
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
Glad you enjoyed your stay in Florida. Even with our brutal winters here ( 50’s and 60’s) I always know that “this too will pass!!!”
I love Anna Maria. Used to go to Longboat Key every December for a marketing meeting with B-F. Wanted to retire there but the lines on the bar graph (property costs and my assets) formed a perfect “X”. Property costs went north and assets went south. Oh well.
Welcome back from Africa, John…Anna Maria is for us regular folks; Longboat Key — several miles south — is for the moneyed set.
So this is why we’ve been neglected and abandoned like orphan waifs.
Glad you got some R&R in.
My contract with the management calls for 50 weeks of vacation and two weeks of work, but sometimes I come in on my off days.
Just love that word ‘languid”
Wondered where you’d been hiding. Glad you had a nice vacation!
…and about that airport subject,
Some major news events occurred while you were languishing (not really) by the languid sea. Are you going to play catch-up?
Are you thinking about any particular story or stories? The gun-store shooting, maybe?
What I’m noticing is an upswing in violent crime in places you wouldn’t normally expect.
On the gun store shooting, yes, perhaps. A little too close for comfort. And yes, violent crime daily, it seems, and the number of children involved, appalling. Not to mention the terrorist attacks … one could go on and on!
Jim, Good piece on Fla. I’ve noticed a shift in your photographic coverage.
Thanks, Tim…I hope all is well in Kirkwood and St. Louis. Looks like it’s time to let the Rams move on.