Patty and I and two friends of ours, Julie Koppen and Jim Gottsch, bolted from the Kansas City rain a week ago Monday and spent eight days in beautiful, vibrant Tampa Bay.
I thought surely we would outlast the bad weather in Kansas City, but — wouldn’t you know it? — the night we were supposed to return, Tuesday, the tornadoes hit, and KCI was shut down for a while.
Instead of getting back at midnight Tuesday, as scheduled, we spent the night at a La Quinta in Houston. We caught a Wednesday morning flight to New Orleans — tacking back the direction we had come from — and finally got on a flight to Kansas City about 3:30 Wednesday. After that 21-hour odyssey, we were happy to get back home, but, wow, we we sure had fun in Florida.
Jim and Julie bought a two-bedroom bungalow in northernmost Clearwater two years ago, and Jim, a contractor, has been fixing it up slowly but surely.
It was the first time I’d vacationed in Tampa Bay in more than 40 years, and it’s nothing like it was then. It’s a booming area of about 2.8 million people, with the most populous cities being, besides Tampa, Clearwater and St. Petersburg. Jim and Julie’s place is a block south of a city named Dunedin, a happening place with a lot of bars, restaurants and retail stores. Our favorite restaurant was Hog Island, which offers a wide variety of fresh fish.
Jim and Julie’s house, while not on the water, is within a stone’s throw of Pinellas Trail, a former railroad route that extends more than 35 miles from Tarpon Springs in the north to St. Petersburg. The trail, popular with bikers, joggers and walkers, is less than 100 yards from Jim and Julie’s house.
To orient you, here’s a map of Tampa Bay peninsula…
Now, photos from our trip…
Pinellas Trail
One day, Jim and I and Luther Hendricks, who lives two doors from Jim and Julie’s house, went fishing in the Gulf on a charter boat.
It was beautiful out there.
And the fishing was pretty good…We mostly caught “grunts.” And they do make that kind of noise.
Kevin, our fishing “adviser” on the charter, partially cleaned them for us. (I finished that messy job back at the house.)
Luther cooked them the next night…and they were tasty.
A couple of days we stayed around the house…On this day, Julie and Jim planted a Live Oak tree in their front yard. (That’s Luther watching on.)
I failed to take a picture of their house, but I took one of the doorbell. Julie found the crab at a store and Jim mounted it.
Julie and Patty went to Honeymoon Island Beach one day. (Jim and I demurred.)
We went out to eat a lot, this particular evening at Frenchy’s Rockaway Grill at Clearwater Beach.
Twice, Jim and I went to Tampa and Ybor City, a historic Tampa neighborhood (above).
Tampa’s Riverwalk, along the Hillsborough River, is impressive.
Looking across the river, we spotted some minarets, which piqued our curiosity.
We got back in the car, crossed a bridge and discovered that the minarets were part of the former Tampa Bay Hotel, a 511-room resort hotel built by railroad magnate Henry B. Plant. It opened in 1891 and operated during the winter months for several years. After Plant died, the city took it over in 1905. In 1933 it became home to the University of Tampa, which still occupies it. Part of the building — a National Historic Landmark — is the Henry B. Plant Museum.
A ballustrade near the lobby.
The natural beauty was the best, though, and the memories will linger.
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
Vacationing in the midst of a mayoral election? Jim Hale would not approve.
There wasn’t much to cover for weeks after the primary…It’s just starting to get interesting. More on that later…Besides, I just drop in and out when I want.
Great, timely getaway, Jim! Enjoyed the “James Fitzpatrick” travel talk and photos. Looking well! My best to you and Patty.
Thanks, cousin. Love you!
There are several rails to trails projects close by. Ottowa is a trail head for two of them. And the sections of the Katy Trail around Columbia are gorgeous. The Katy Trail, of course, runs all the way across Missouri, and it’s also just across the river from Hermann, for those who visit there.
Yeah, but watch the bicyclists coming out of Hermann!
Jim, you’re such a Missouri boy — where’s your shorts??!
With my legs, Gayle, I wouldn’t wear shorts in the Saraha.
tampa bay times had a story on the minarets last week.
https://www.tampabay.com/florida/2019/05/24/uts-distinctive-minarets-loom-over-the-city-of-tampas-skyline-a-reader-wondered-why/
I enjoyed your words and photos! I also was supposed to fly into KCI Tuesday night. Luckily, I could just return to my nephew’s house and just incurred a couple of extra Uber rides.😊
Lovely photos. Handsome men (of course I’m mainly talking about Kevin). Time to plan your next visit? Tarpon Springs has cigars!
Thanks, Becky…The one cigar I bought in Ybor City knocked the crap out of me. Can’t take ’em any more. I guess there’s no reason to go back to Havana. But Tarpon Springs I do want to see…