Tampa with Hockey, John Mayer and Pirates!

Another great long weekend started Thursday evening when the Tampa Bay Lightning took on the NY Islanders at the Forum in downtown Tampa. I used to watch and follow the Islanders as a kid, my dad would take me and my brothers to the Nassau Coliseum for games growing up in Long Island. Being in Tampa for about 22 years, I was going for the Lightning tonight, and although a sloppy game, Lightning won 5-2.

Friday was a concert night downtown Tampa. We started at Cafe Dufrain, got a nice table outside overlooking downtown and the Forum along the Channel. Food is consistently GREAT here, started with Lamb Ribs(kind of small, and a little over cooked) and Calamari, cooked perfectly with a great lightly spiced oil. Then we enjoyed Sea Scallops entree, and Ahi Tuna. PERFECT. A short walk across the harbour island bridge to the Forum after dinner was perfect(parking at harbour Island is free in the garage if you dine or use one of the services). John Mayer was awesome, played lots of new and old, talked alot with the crowd of nearly 12000. A walk back to harbour island after the concert, we stopped by the Convention Center along the Riverwalk where the Jose Gaspar ship has been docked all week after taking over the city last Saturday.
And Saturday night was the Night Parade for Gasparilla, the 3rd and final parade for Gasparilla. We got to Ybor City early to visit to partake in the Ybor ART walk which occurs every first Saturday of the month from noon to 6pm, only to find out that may of the studios and galleries were closed, because of the parade this evening. We got to the Laughing Cat for the BEST Italian dinner, and were joined by some other friends....filling up on some of the best Italian food in all of Tampa area..Sea Bass Special, Seafood AuGratin, Eggplant Parmasean, Eggplant Rotini, and some soups....all very very good. By then it was time to hit 7th Avenue for the Parade, and what I like about the night parade is it is more 'intimate'...the floats are closer, the people are not as packed, you can get right up to the front, and get the most beads ever. the 2.5 hour parade was FUN..meeting friends from the Krewes at Gaspars Grotto afterwards, and then late night Pizza and NY NY Pizza.

Im looking forward to the Black Eyed Peas this Wednesday!

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2010 Gasparilla Weekend! The Invasion and Parade

Friday afternoon started off great, some lunch outdoors along the waterfront at Hula Bay, some Vino in the backyard patio with great friends, and then over to Hyde Park for the Pre-Gaspar festivities. Mateo's new Mexican place was packed, we ended up Valet parking at The Lodge on Howard Ave, and walked around Howard Ave which was hopping by 700pm. We walked over to The Rack on Platt Street for some good eats, have dinner outside, we enjoyed the Lobster/Spinach Dip, with large/soft triangle bread for dipping, then onto the Crunchy Grouper Tacos - Large fried pieces of Grouper in 3 soft flour tortillas, with all the accompaniments, and fries...they were good. And also some Bison Sliders with Cheese/Fries, very juicy and cooked perfectly. It was a great place to start the night.
Then it was a walk across the street to Hyde Park Cafe, where they started a new Friday Night special called "Flip Flop Fridays", and now have a Huge Biergarten with over 60 beers from all over the globe on Tap...also serving Piranellis thin crust pizzas and free wings. The beers are only $10 for a mug and all you can drink from 8-10pm, with a DJ outside in the Biergarten spinning classic dance/alternative tunes from the 80s/90s. It was a fun crowd. Couldn't stay too late, a big day was ahead for Gasparilla.

Saturday morning was very cloudy, breakfast was at a buddies house in Tampa Heights, then we took the #1 Bus (about a dozen of us), to downtown Tampa, first stop was The Hub...it started raining, but by 4pm the parade had reached downtown and we walked over to Taps in Skypoint...some of us watched the parade from Taps outside under the shelter of a tent set up out front, others braved the rain and wind(it stopped raining by 5pm) with Ponchos on and watched the parade up front, catching beads, meeting lots of folks along the parade route. To end the evening, it was an excellent concert by Collective Soul on the Great lawn of the new Curtis Hixon Riverfront Park.

An excellent Saturday night!! And successful Gasparilla Weekend!

2010 Gasparilla Season Begins and a New Waterfront park in downtown Tampa

Saturday afternoon began an over 100 year tradition in Tampa, GASPARILLA! It runs through March 7th, with the Children's Parades and Pirate Battle/Fireworks today; the Pirates come to try and take over the city on Tuesday 1/26 only to be told by the mayor they will have to go to war for the key to the city---so on Saturday 1/30 they Invade the city by boat(100's of them), and take the key to the city, and have a victory parade and festival. The following Saturday is the night parade in Ybor City, the Outbound Voyage when we send the pirates back to sea is Saturday 2/27, and then the season ends with the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts in downtown Tampa 3/6 and 3/7. GOOD TIMES!!
The fireworks were watched this year with a few friends along Bayshore Blvd near El Prado Blvd, no need to deal with all the crowds further up on Bayshore, it was an amazing 30 minute firework display, and I always get to see some new ones like the smiley face fireworks that went off during the show, all while the Pirate Ship was docked in the Bay along bayshore Blvd. Afterwards, we walked over to mad Dogs and Englishmen for a nice table outside on the deck, and GREAT meals as usual at Mad Dogs--Lamb Chops, Fish and Chips, Mad Dog Salads, Cucumber Salads, and Calamari(which was more breaded this venture for some reason). All paired with some great wines. After dinner, met some friends for a birthday party at Splitsville in Channelside, then a Karaoke party.

Sunday was the grand opening of a new waterfront park in downtown Tampa, and extension of the Riverwalk. After an excellent meal at First Watch...we walked over to Curtis Hixon Park which opened to the public today, very modern, open layout, with a Great lawn for concerts and festivals. It has some very nice modern features, more of a special use park, and front lawn to the new Museum of Art and Children's Museum...there are many water features(fountains, misters), and great lighting effects in the evenings, docking for boats and kayaks along the river. I'm not too happy with what they did with Kiley park area, they removed all the trees and its just open..will be mighty hot in the summers in that area.

And....Looks like it will be the Saints and the Colts in this years Superbowl.
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LA Visitor in Tampa

A buddy of mine made a last minute excursion to Tampa this weekend, he is looking to buy a condo so he can spend a few months of the year in Tampa, where he once lived.(I guess he misses this place)....Friday evening, had a few friends over before heading up to a Wine-A-Palooza get together at a friends place in the Stoney Point neighborhood in South Tampa, about a mile up the road from my house. Great time, lots of people showed up, they have a very entertaining home on a canal that leads out to Tampa Bay...and the Wine was definitely flowing. After a few hours there, a few of us went off to check out a new Club in downtown Tampa's Channelside called Aja. Upscale, beautiful club, very large outdoor patio area with the skyscrapers of downtown in the background all lit up in the night sky provided a real nice back drop. Not overly pretentious, and a very friendly, happy crowd. Many levels inside lead you to lots of seating areas, quiet areas upstairs with an interesting bar that overlooks the dance floors through all glass partition, and there is even somewhat of a "basement" type of lounge on the lower level. Clean, excellent service, friendly people. Be nice to have this place stick around for a while.
Saturday was the Annual Florida Brewers Guild Beer Fest in Ybor City. About 25 microbreweries showed off their unique beers. This annual fest gets bigger and bigger, and afterwards we wandered around Ybor City, stopping by Streetcar Charlies, Reservior Bar, Czar and G Bar, ending the evening at Demi's Market for Pizza and a live band.
Sunday started with a nice Caribbean Brunch at Cafe Dufrain on Harbour Island downtown. Although the brunch was ok, and there was good live Caribbean type music playing, I thought it to be kind of awkward that Cafe Dufrain has a beautiful waterfront view of downtown Tampa, yet the buffet and live music was playing out in the street, instead of along the waterfront. The brunch consisted of Eggs Benedict, Filet of Beef, PB&J French Toast(which was interesting, but I would have rather settled for regular French Toast), Grouper, BBQ Ribs(good but very messy for a Brunch of this caliber), salads, fruits, and cheeses. I may try it again when company is in town, there are better Sunday Brunches in my opinion. Take the food and live music to the waterfront and keep it shaded and out of the sunlit parking area/street, just a thought. After Brunch, went over and met some friends at the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, this is the last event on what seems to now be about 2 months worth of events for Tampa's Gasparilla Season. A very nice, mellow ending to the season, 300 some artists display their crafts along downtown Tampa streets, an excellent opportunity to see unique creations from all over the world, and socialize with many friends, new and old, on beautiful days that come to the area for March and April...skies always seem to be bluer than blue, and temps hover close to 80 in the day, little or no Humidity.

Another perfect weekend wrapped up...and looking forward to the Annual St. Patricks Day parade this Saturday night in Ybor City.
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Biking, Kayaking and another Parade in Tampa

Winter is in full gear in Tampa...and led us out to enjoy a great bike ride to start of Saturday morning. We drove across the Bay to St. Pete and parked around 62nd Avenue, east of 4th street. Taking the bikes, we followed 62nd ave east to Bayou Grande Blvd, onto Grand Canal Blvd, to Overlook Drive, onto Snell Isle Blvd, and then to Coffee Pot Blvd, and along North Shore Park, Vinoy Park, through downtown along the waterfront, and ending at the Saturday Morning Market near Al Lang Stadium in downtown St. Pete. A great 45 minute ride, seeing lots of beautiful waterfront homes of all kinds, along the parks in downtown there were many people out, couples enjoying the great sunny weather this Valentine's Day. The Saturday market is the biggest of its kind in the Tampa Bay area, lots a vendors, live music and FOOD! People watching is a must here....we then walked around downtown, and met up with another friend for lunch at the Lucky Dill on Central Ave. All the restaurants where you can sit outside had long waits today, we were able to grab a table in the Lucky Dill, sandwich's were HUGE, my greek salad was very large, had some grilled chicken sliced on top...could've used more dressing which they give to you on the side, but with plenty of Feta, and Veges, the salad was good.
After lunch, we bikes it back up to the car, and got back in time to get ready and head out to Ybor City for the Gasparilla Night Parade(pictures in link).
Our first stop in Ybor was Gaspar's Grotto, nothing better than awaiting a night time pirate parade than from a Pirate themed bar..the very large outdoor patio was busy, with an acoustic guitarist entertaining us...7th ave was already closed off for the parade which was to start in a few hours...we then headed over to the James Joyce Irish Pub above the Green Iguana on 7th Ave...met some more friends there, and then the parade got started, with good views from the second level pub. We wanted to meet some more of our friends who were on the street, and also say hello to some of those we know in the Krewe's marching in the parade, so we went down a block and had a perfect spot...it was not very busy at all, you could walk right up to the parade route at any time, the beads were flowing left and right...I call the night parade a little more 'intimate' because there are not as many people, and it also runs down 7th avenue in the Historic District which is ALOT narrower than Bayshore Blvd or through downtown like the Day [parade. Also, there are still around 100 floats, but most are all decorated with lights which is a great site to see at night.....Having seen lots of our friends, and of course piling on the beads, we went over to the Crowbar, and then Green Iguana...many of the Krewes were scattered about all over Ybor after the parade.

Sunday we were in need of a greasy, juicy, fresh made burger and fries...so it was off the Five Guys..and sure enough, it hit the spot, with all its greasiness, I like that they have over a dozen toppings, and the burgers are made fresh to order And they pack the paperbag with Fries.

Monday was a Holiday(President's Day), so my friend that moved to Alaska and I met some others at Canoe Escape on Fowler Avenue in Tampa, we were going to explore the Hillsborough River. My buddy is a photographer, and exclaims that the Hillsborough River is a wildlife lovers dream in Florida...the day was perfect, with our kayaks, they were able to transport us to the top of the river(Seargent Park), and we kayak for as long as we want, only to meet at the pick up spot(Morris Bridge or Trout Creek) by 5pm. Plenty of Gators, Turtles, we seen over a dozen species of birds, including the Rosette Spoonbill, one of my favs...snakes, and just you and the wildlife, no cars, planes...just peaceful, lazy river...it flows downstream, so paddling is effortless, unless you want it to be...with plenty of logs, twists and turns, the river is different around every bend...occasional you can also sometimes see deer and wild boar along the banks...its almost completely shaded, and never gets deeper than a few feet in some spots...perfect day!!
After the great Kayak ride, a few of us cleaned up and went over to Channelside downtown to see Friday the 13th at the IMAX....great entertainment to wrap up a perfect holiday weekend. Unfortunetly we were also starving and the Westshore Pizza in the Channelside Theaters DID NOT satisfy...at 8pm they only had pizza or cheese bites available to eat, the pizza was cold and stale...

A successful and Fun Gasparilla Invasion and Parade

The weekend couldn't have been any better, temps finally got into the 70's during the day, just in time for a great Pirate invasion and Parade and Streetfest.
A friend was in town from LA, so on Friday night we went up to the Bungalow on Kennedy Blvd near Hyde Park. There was about a 30 min wait for a table inside, so we hung out at the bar outside, nice large open patio and an acoustic guitarist providing some entertainment....the night before Gapsarilla had a few pirates out, there was again alot of people in town for this over 100 year annual celebration in Tampa. A nice table, under one of the heaters(it was hovering around 50 this night), we all checked out the Cuban Sandwiches which come with your choice of many different sides if you ask(the first time I was here, they told me I could only get fries,a nd couldn't substitute - finally someone listened). Piled high with Roast Marinated Pork, Ham and Cheese, it was a large sandwich, I had mine with the 4 cheese Mac and Cheese, thick and hearty small bowl, my other buddies got fries, and the Grilled Asparagus. We tried to get Wings to start off, but our meals came out first, and after about 20 minutes into eating, our not so friendly server advised us that the wings were to come out, we just told her to forget about them, they were supposed to be Appetizers....we had to wave her down a few times for drinks and the check, she seemed like it was a bother to be there, not sure why people like that are even in this type of business or how they get hired.
Sticking up for the big day, ABC Liquors on Kennedy was packed, never seen so many people this late just stocking up on so much alcohol, grocery carts FULL of stuff....

Saturday morning, the day of the Invasion, i was awoken by Canon Fire..the pirates are on their way...and we headed to a friends place close to Hyde Park in South Tampa for Breakfast and Mimosas....catching the #19 bus on Swann Ave, we were able to get dropped off at the University of Tampa, and walk downtown to Harbour Island to catch the Invasion. I ran into the Past Mayor if Tampa from the 60's and again in the 90's, Dick Greco...and lots fo party revlers with their Yachts and Party boats all over the Channel. After Mayor Iorio handed over the key, and the pirates prepared for their Victory parade down Bayshore, we met some more friends at the Marriott Waterside, great views from their Suite Balcony overlooking Harbour Island and Bayshore. A walk over to the Publix on Bayshore where some great bands were playing , and then on to some parties on Bay Street, where we all went down and saw some of the parade, both in the street, and up in the Condos just off the parade route.
It was a Looong Fun day, and we made the trek back over the river to Downtown for the annual gathering at The Hubb, passing by other stages rockin' out in the streets....the night ended with about eight of us piled into a Jeep for one last stop to meet up with others at Baxters, and then the Green Iguana Westshore, where my fav band IPD was playing to a good crowd.

Sunday, all the breakfast places were packed...Datz Deli, Daily Eats, Pach's, Brunchery, so we stopped by Nina O's and had a great table outside on the back patio area. I tried the all you can eat Southern Favorites like Moist and Juicy Fried Chicken, Meatloaf w/Gravy. and all you can eat sides I tried were the Mixed veges and Pasta Salad....a GREAT brunch...my buddies enjoyed a Roast Beef Sandwich, and French Toast and Eggs and Biscuits and Gravy. Every thing is cooked to order, so be prepared to wait a bit, but I think its worth the wait...

Will be a busy work week, but at some point need to try and get out to the Florida State Fair, and Gasparilla is not over yet..the Night Parade is this Saturday through Ybor City..
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2009 GASPARILLA Season Begins!

Saturday was the official start of the 2009 Gasparilla Season here in Tampa...in its 105th year, its hard to believe, this will be my 21st. A month and half of events(Extravaganza, Invasion and Pirate Fest, Night Parade, Distance Classic, Intl Film Festival, Outbound Voyage, and Festival of the Arts)

I took the bike up to a buddies house near Hyde Park, and we biked along the Bayshore Blvd to visit some friends that were in Krewe's and setting up, getting ready for the Children's Parade. The afternoon was perfect...about 70 degrees and clear blue skies....there were 107 floats for this years Children's Parade, which always takes place the week before the main Invasion and Parade(for the adults). The historic Bayshore Blvd was closed for all 6 miles, and what a crowd there was this year...after chatting it up with our friends in the different Krewe's, we headed back home, and let the kids enjoy this one...

The evening I was back on Bayshore with a few friends, to watch the Mock Pirate Battle and Night Air Show, then the 25 minute display of Fireworks...which seem to get bigger and better every year. Afterwards we visited some friends over in Davis Islands neighborhood near downtown, and had some dinner at 220 East along the Davis Island Boulevard. Even at 930, the restaurant was busy, ive never had a bad meal here, very home style, steaks, chicken and seafood, burgers and sandwich's and pasta...we started with a bottle of Italian Pinto Grigio, priced just right, and tasty...and chowed down on a Portabella Mushroom Cheese burger, a Cheeseburger, and Chicken Pasta Alfredo....the burgers were very big, and on fresh Italian Sub Roll, the pasta portion was huge, and very tasty...we were too full to finish the bottle of wine, but was reminded by the very friendly server that we are now allowed to take home the unfinished bottle to enjoy at home...so we did just that.

Meetings this week take me to.....New Tampa...not a bad journey. The city is really gearing up for SuperBowl coming up this Sunday, you can already tell that its busier, lots of events are taking place...but this upcoming weekend will be most exciting with all the concerts, events and festivals that eventually lead to the big day...SuperBowl Sunday!

2008 Gasparilla Ends!

What came in as a Lion, leaves like a Lamb..The Tampa Gasparilla Celebration, which started January 22nd and ended this past weekend.
It all started with one of the largest fireworks displays in the country(Gasparilla Battle of the Pirates), 2 large parades and street festivals(Gasparilla Invasion and Pirate Fest, Krewe of St. 'Yago Knight Parade), the send-off of the Pirates back to Sea(Gasparilla March Triumphant), a Nationally recognized Marathon weekend(Gasparilla Distance Classic), the Gasparilla International Film Festival, and finally the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts wrapped things up this weekend.
Friday I had some friends in town from NYC, and did a BBQ with them at their Mom's place in Hyde Park. She lives in one of the oldest bungalow style homes just behind Hyde Park Village. This is a beautiful area of older historic homes, large oak tree lined streets, a great sense of Tampa History and Community.

Saturday we all went to the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts in downtown Tampa. This year they had over 300 artists lined up all over the downtown streets, with two areas of live music, alot of entertainment and some very creative artists. It was interesting to notice that the crowds were quite a bit different then the Gasparilla Pirate Fest and Parade last month..same people, except today we were all a little more cultured and civilized and not wearing beads. These types of festivals really bring out the community, and its a great opportunity to run into those that make the city what it is, like the Mayor Pam Iorio, City Council members, even my Neighborhood Association president. With the perfect weather, it made for a great day in downtown. One of my favorite artists was a photographer Steve S Gregory, his creativity was overwhelming.

Afterwards we all went over to the Gasparilla Film Festival taking place at Channelside downtown. It was in its 4th day, there were over 80 films in this years Festival, we decided to par-take in the new Richard Gere/Claire Danes thriller, The Flock. One thing that is great about attending Film Festivals, is you are typically the first people to view the Film, as was the case for "The Flock", the Executive Director and Producer(who happens to have part of their Studios in Largo) were on hand to take questions after the viewing. They advised us that the final editing occurred the day before, and they flew directly to Tampa with the final cut this morning, and we were the first to view. It goes to the distributor today to be released sometime this summer. By the way, and AMAZING thriller!! It interesting to learn how certain scenes were filmed, why and how they chose the actors, etc., and these are things you can only get to know by attending a Film Festival. There was a 14 minute preview prior to the move called "The Strip Club King", which is a documentary film on the life of Joe Redner, and VERY famous Tampa resident, who was also in the audience. That film is to be released nationally sometime in May.
Since we had a few hours to kill, we decided to have some great NY Style pizza at NYPD Pizza in Channelside. A Large Greek Salad, with Feta Cheese in the very tangy and tasty greek dressing, and lots of Kalamata Olives, Feta Cheese on Crisp Greens with all the veges you would find on a Greek Salad. The 18" Pepperoni and Mushroom pizza was just like NY. Crispy but not too much so you can fold the slice as you eat it, and plenty of toppings and cheese. The Sauce was garlicky with a rich tomato flavor, and not sweet, which is perfect.
Saturday late night after the Festival, I was picked up and whisked away to Ybor City..Lounge 7/14, The Forge, Streetcar Charlies and then GBar provided a very surprisingly fun night out, the places were not overly crowded, and were very entertaining to say the least.

Sunday was a very relaxing day doing some biking at Fort DeSoto Park, and relaxing on the beach. There were quite a few people at the park today, but it is so big and spreadout, we still felt like we had the whole beach and park to ourselves.
Afterwards I met up with some friends and relaxed as the sun went down on their dock overlooking the water and Mangroves of Tampa Bay, as the boaters were coming in from a beautiful day on the water.

Tampa's International Plaza/Bay Street and a Village Art Festival

Picking up a buddy at the Tampa airport Saturday evening, it was very convenient to head over to International Plaza for some eats, which is about a mile outside the airport. Very upscale shopping mall, with two levels, over 200 shops, and high end department stores such as Nordstroms and Neiman Marcus. We went into the Nordstroms to do a bit of shopping, my buddy wanted some cologne, and as much as I loathe shopping for clothes, I saw some really nice stuff this time out. At Nordstrom, service is key, and just the sales associates we made contact were very friendly and helpful as usual in this type of store. The plaza was VERY busy this Saturday evening, as we went to a few other shoppes. Could be because of the rainy day we had, but also, this is peak season for visitors from all over to the Tampa Bay area. For eats we headed out to Bay Street, connected to International Plaza, an outdoor entertainment area, with over a dozen eating and drinking establishments. We checked out The Grape, a great place for wine with tastings paired with foods, and they also have live music. All the restaurants were busy, but we found a table outside of Bar Louie, the evening weather was perfect for eating outside and doing some people watching, Blue Martini next door had live music playing that could be heard throughout Bay Street, and made for nice background music. Chopped Chicken Salad, Buffalo Chicken Sandwich and a side of Tator Tots, all very good..the crispy Tator Tots reminded me of being in grade school, although they were not as greasy. As a side note, Bar Louie has over 24 beers on tap from all over the world, and has a lively atmosphere inside with a very, very large bar area.

Sunday we all went to the Annual Hyde Park Village Art Festival. Easy to park in one of the garages at the village, as we go to the streets in the village it was wall to wall people amongst over 100 artists from around the country showing their wares. It was a great day to just browse around, people watch and one thing that is great about local festivals like these is it brings out the local people, I must have run into over a dozen or so that I haven't seen in quite some time from previous employment to college to long lost friends. It's a great way to reunite and catch up or just keep in touch, and also talk about the good times from the past. Hyde Park Village really looks good with all the improvements, there are alot of new shoppes and cafes they have opened or are getting ready to open(City Street Sweets, Wine Exchange, JJ Smoothy, Abbots Frozen Custard), the restaurants were all very busy today. Getting hungry and not wanting to wait over an hour to eat in the Village, we left the Art Festival and went to one of my fav South Tampa neighborhood eateries, Mad Dogs and Englishmen, to sit outside and enjoy their Sunday Brunch menu.

Looking forward to the Gasparilla International Film Festival that starts on Wednesday through Sunday, there are over 80 films this year, a few from the local area, and many that have not opened to the public and are showing for the first time.

And to end the 2008 Gasparilla season, the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, rated one of the finest in the country and largest of it's kind in the South, takes place downtown Tampa this upcoming weekend, march 1st and 2nd. Over 300 artists, live entertainment, food, and best of all great people watching!

Ybor Weekend, Pirates(again!) & a St Pete Vacation!

Another 3 day weekend coming to a close in Tampa(Presidents Day Weekend), paradise-like weather continues, and so do Good Times!
Friday evening, there were quite a few new establishments opening in Ybor City, we decided to go to the "soft" opening for Streetcar Charlies Bar and Grille. They did an awesome job re-doing this corner restaurant(8th ave and 15th Street), very large open bar, sitting in the restaurant reminded you of sitting in an actual streetcar, lots of windows and doors that open all the way up into the street. There was a limited menu, but what we dined on was very good. Thai Buffalo Shrimp, Pecan crusted Chicken Fingers and a Seared Tuna appetizer. All expertly prepared and delicious, I look forward to when the real menu comes on board. Afterwards we caught a movie in Centro Ybor(my favorite theaters), and then attempted to check out some places in Ybor that just opened, only to find that by 10pm, there were extremely long lines for two of the places we wanted to go to, so we opted to leave Ybor, and meet up with some friends at Hawk's, a great South Tampa neighborhood type sport bar on Bay to Bay Blvd near MacDill Avenue.

Saturday I took the kids to the beach down the street at Picnic Island(they love that place!), there were more dogs than ususal, obviously taking advantage of the beautiful weather. They have done many upgrades to the park, adding a few scenic overlooks and more walking paths.
Saturday evening we all planned on going to the Gasparilla Night Parade, yes, Gasparilla is still happening, but this is the last of the parades, and one of the best, as it takes place in the evening, and all the floats are Illuminated, its a bit more personal, as instead of 500,000 along Bayshore Blvd and downtown Tampa, there are roughly 50,000 along 7th Avenue in Ybor City. Its nice to find a spot along 7th Ave, not too crowded, and to be so close to the floats(over 125 this year),and of course you can walk away with more beads than ever. Before the parade started we started at Adobe Gila's which is outdoors on the 2nd floor and overlooked 7th avenue, drinks were chilly, food I would stay very far from. Reservoir Bar was next, then a new bar called Club Mixx is where we ended up watching the parade in front of......Whats also great is that after the parade, all the bars, clubs and restaurants are having Post Parade parties, lots of live music, and best of all, LOTS if interesting people!! You just never know who your going to meet or whats going to happen....all the better which ensures a great time. Club Czar was a great spot for one of those after parade parties, and by midnight, we were ready for some late night pizza at Demini's Market on 7th which has some of the BEST pizza in Ybor.

Sunday, we opted for some lunch and wanted to take advantage of the great weather and eat outdoors, St. Pete's downtown has LOTS of great dining al fresco, Parkshore Grill and Moon Under Water are great places, but there was a 30 minute wait to eat outdoors at both, so we put our names in at both places and got that vibrator thinggy, and stopped at The Hooker Tea Company, a cool tea place in between the two, and just sat outside until one of them went off.....we were going to be having lunch at Parkshore Grille. Excellent choice, we started with stuffed meatballs, stuffed with blue cheese and a wine sauce, then I had the Burger which was huge, juicy and delicious topped with Bacon and Blue Cheese, and also the Parkshore Salad with Blackened chicken....so nice to sit outside, enjoy the people watching, and enjoy great food and views of the Bay. Afterwards we met up with some friends who were also downtown St Pete at Frescos for a few Sunday Funday drinks outside over looking the marina. It was funny to hear some of us stating that we were all on vacation..not only because thats exactly what it felt like, but also because we all made the 25 minute journey across the bridge from Tampa....it's just really nice to have all the amenities of a great city like St Pete and Tampa so close to each other, im not sure why more people from Tampa exclaim they never cross the bridge unless they HAVE to, boy are they missing out!

Monday morning brought us to The Brunchery in South Tampa for breakfast, I have had hit or miss good eats at this place, but Pach's was packed, and Pinky's was closed. I opted for the Brunchery Benedict, and it was a winner..scrambled eggs with chedder cheese and asparagus on top of a croissant with hollaindaise, my buddy got the Craisen and Almond panckaes which were so moist and delicious.

This week brings work brings me to Pensacola, FL.

2008 Gasparilla....

WOW...with 2008 being my 20th Gasparilla, it has to go in the books as one of the best(in the Top three for sure!).....and believe it or not, this was a first as I only had about two beers and maybe a little of the Captain and Ginger..practically alcohol free this year and what a BLAST!!
Joe and I had a nice big breakfast at my house before heading out we parked the truck at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Tampa, and started the looong day from there. We met up with Lisa and Brian and headed over to Harbour Island. At 12 noon, there were already lots of people in downtown, the Midway area seemed a little rougher than usual as far as the carnies, but making it to Harbour Island was one the best things i've done for Gasparilla. Lots of great people lined up all along the waterfront from the Convention Center, over the bridges and onto Harbour Island. Jackson's had quite the party happening with great tunes, huge yachts and beautiful boats lined the marinas and harbor, LOTS of beautiful people. We found Dori, Darren and Caroline in front of the Westin along the water which was having their own party, all of us waiting for the massive Pirate Invasion. There were over a thousand boats this year in the Flotilla, and this was the BEST area to watch, (im usually on the other side by bayshore blvd watching the invasion), pirates came in and very close up, beads being thrown by the boaters, cannons and guns being fired, they docked at the Convention Center, and the Mayor handed over the key.
By 2pm, we left Harbour Island and headed over to the Parade route on Bayshore Blvd, we briefly met up with a few of our other friends, but as quickly as we met them, they had all disappered, and it was Joe and I making the Trek to some of the Gasparilla parties along the parade route. Walking along Bay Street there were some parties and bands in the street...we made it to Justin and Greg's who threw a great party along Swann, right off Bayshore Blvd. We were able to head to the parade after a few eats and drinks there...where there was another party with a band set up on the lawn along Bayshore just south of Swann. Seemed there were less people this year than usual, but lots of GREAT people watching. Plenty of room for catching the beads, and chillin with some of the awesome parade goers...I ran into quite a few people I havent seen in some time..thats one thing about Gasparilla thats nice, almost like a reunion of sorts, seeing people you may have worked with in another job, gone to college with in the past, or just came in from out of town for the event. After seeing a guy get tasered by the cops, a college dude showing the ladies his thinggy, a few other interesting moments, and having a neck FULL of beads(the hard rock casino beads were the best with slot machines around them)..we headed back over to Justin and Greg's where Big Earl had the megaphone shouting out to all the good looking people to lift their shirts for beads...it felt good just relaxing on the front lawn and watching the parade goers head back to their cars or wherever along Swann Ave..interestingly mostly guys were lifting their shirts for the beads..lots of great characters.
By 6:30 Joe and I headed back to downtown to change for the concert we were going to at the Forum, Alanis Morissette and Matchbox 20. On our walk back there, I couldnt believe the amount of trash on the streets, the very intoxicated straglers heading downtown for the Pirate Fest that lasts till 11pm. There was a Navy band playing cool tunes at Publix on Bayshore and Platt...on the walk to the Forum downtown Tampa we passed by FUEL that was playing at yet antoher stage, and had an amazing $6 soy burger(sarcasm)...
7:30pm we made it to the Forum, where yet another band was playing in front of the Arena entertaining those of us waiting to head into the concert...the area was hopping...one thing I noticed about walking around downtown compared to Bayshore, was there were alot more "less than desirables" hanging out in the downtown streets, a bit rougher crowd, than along Bayshore Blvd...fun none the less though...
The concert was incredible, excellent seats for Alanis Morrisette, she played about a 45 minute set, with all her old and new tunes, then we got a call from Kelly who invited us up one level to one of the Suites, directly on the side just in front of the stage, the BEST way to see a concert, the Suite was stocked with food and drinks, there were about 15 of us in the Suite,...Matchbox was incredible, they played for nearly 2 hours, Rob Thomas looked great, kept the crowd very entertained, he thanked the crowd lots, especially for getting started in the area years ago when they used to play Skippers Smokehouse..and mentioning the pirates led to beads being thrown up on stage a few times... it made for yet another awesome highlight to this years Gasparilla.
1230am - we made out of the Forum, and ready for bed...Kelly, Joe and I stopped by the 24 hour Village Inn on the way home for a little snack...and there ended a great Gasparilla in Tampa.

More fun to come this Gasparilla Season with the Pirate Farewell send off party at Channelside on the 9th, the Illuminated Gasparilla Night Parade in Ybor City on the 16th, the Gasparilla International Film Festival at the end of February, and ending with the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts March 2nd, 3rd in downtown.

2008 Gasparilla Video Coverage - WARNING! May not be suitable for ALL.

2008 Gasparilla Officially Begins!

After a huge storm battered the Tampa Bay area last evening, only to cancel the Children's Parade and postpone the Pirate Battle to Sunday evening(tonight). It was an incredible show, and far less people were all along Bayshore Blvd this year, which made enjoying the show great, no crowds, having the Boulevard and plenty of room to enjoy. Before we went, Maida made a great Italian dinner, and we watched the AFC Championship(Pats win), then Joe and I went to the Bayshore...no traffic and lots of parking, the night air show was happening, and then the 25 minutes firework show took off, all synced to about 7 different songs, with the Jose Gaspar pirate ship glowing in the Bay, a Full Moon and downtown Tampa in the background, around 50 degrees.
Joe and I headed back over to Maida's for the NEF Championship(Giants), and then went to see "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" which had us laughing throughout then movie out loud many times. It was nice to see Ybor pretty busy on this Sunday night, but tomorrow is MLK Day, so it was a three day weekend for most.
Work brings me to Sarasota, then the party gets going Friday for the start of the Big Event, GASPARILLA INVASION AND PIRATE FEST.

2007 Gasparilla is over...

After a month and half of festivities(Children's Parade, Battle and Fireworks; the Invasion, Festival and Parade; the Night Parade; Distance Classic, Film Festival and Arts Festival)..it was a great Gasparilla this year, and I was glad to have attended each part, except the Distance Classic. Saturday evening, my brother and sis in law came down from the burbs(Wesley Chapel), to have some dinner at Intl Plaza's Bar Louie. Great Food and Music, very lively crowd, and over 2 dozen beers on tap! The fish tacos and mac n cheese were great, but the Quesadilla's left much to be desired. After dinner we headed to Dubliner in SOHO for a few, until finally heading home.
Sunday, the family and I all got together for the 37th annual Gasparilla Arts Festival downtown. It was a beautiful day, blue blue skies, about 70 degrees. Im glad that brought this back to Ashley Street and Curtis Hixon Park. Its nice laying on the lawn listening to some tunes and doing some people watchin'.

No Seasons in Tampa?

Who ever said there were no seasons in Tampa? I raked up over 15 bags of leaves yesterday. as I have one of those Oaks in the backyard that sheds its leaves this time of year every year. Now I'll have to wait for all the "stringy" things to finish dropping and the new leaves to sprout. Along with that, I'll have green dust to sweep up daily for the next month outside. Travelling on the Interstate you so see the leaves change colors and leaves actually fall from the trees, it just doesn't last as long, and happens at a different time of year...
I went to my Primary doc Wednesday, love when you make an appt, and they actually see you at that time. Seems I need to wear a Heart Event Monitor for the next 30 days to see about this Afib episode, still getting lightheaded spells, but not as often - seems I may need something to regulate my adrenaline response in my body, as it is making me go into hypo-tension at certain times.
Its a big weekend in the Bay area, with the Seafood Festival in Safety Harbour, Arts Festival downtown, the Yankees playing....just hope the weather holds out.

Gasparilla weekend.....again?!

Yes, it is another Gasparilla weekend in Tampa..for the third time in 2007!! My buddy is still in town from San Diego, Friday we went over to Centro Ybor after work to see Eddie Murphy's "Norbit"..movie was just ok, but these theaters in Ybor have to be the finest i've ever been to, state of the art, modern, all stadium seating, the inside looks like a small village as you go to your theater(there are 24 in all)..and having the "Premiere" theaters(4 designated theaters) means no one under 21, plush huge leather seats, and all the free popcorn and soda(it does cost a lil more, but worth it). Shows here during the day and weekday evenings are rarely crowded. I have heard that they are possibly closing half these theaters to build condos..im hoping that dont happen!
After the movie we attempted to look for some clothes for our Friday night out...Urban Outfitters and Ocean Drive Fashions, both in Centro Ybor, did not make the cut for any stylish rags. Unfortunately, I HATE shopping so I need to find something that totally pops out and says "buy me"..and that wasn't happening. So we headed to Macy*s at Westshore Plaza, and after an hour of lookin around, and a huge headache afterwards, went home empty handed...is it me, or are there just crappy clothes out there...again I LOATHE to shop..need to find me a personal shopper. My frustration led to me hang at the house, and watch "Talladega Nights, the Legend of Ricky Bobby" on Pay Per View!
Saturday feeling refreshed cause of a mellow night last night, we headed to Cracker Barrell in Oldsmar for breakfast...The Cracker Barrel Country Big Boy Breakfast has to be one of the best breakfast meals out there...HUGE ham steak, three eggs, hashbrown casserole(yum), grits, biscuits and gravy and fried apples-all for around 8 bucks! I like to substitute the fried apples and grits for extra servings of hashbrown casserole. We then headed to Land and Sea to pick up some grub for our Pre-Gasparilla Night Parade BBQ. A few bacon rapped filets, stuffed mushrooms, stuffed baked potatoes, and vege kabobs..Land And Sea stores are great for BBQ's. It was another beautiful day in paradise(my friends were still in sub freezing temps up north), so took the boy the Picnic Island's dog beach to play for a few hours. The dog park/beach at Picnic Island is one of the best in town, very long, wide open beach and grass areas for the dogs to run, and it is relatively quiet and not as crowded as the other city dog parks.
We ended up in Ybor around 615pm and the garages were all ready full, so we ended up at the HCC parking lots for 10 bucks, quite a bargin for this night. Walking down 7th Ave prior to the parade starting we found it not nearly as crowded as we thought, especially on the south side of 7th Avenue. We ended up watching the parade from Gaspars Grotto stage, had an amazing view, and made it through the nearly 3 hour night parade. A lesbian couple from St. Pete wound up joining us(not sure how that happened, but the blonde was HOT!), and we made an appearance at Wranglers...again, a great time at this gay country dance club, it was definitely a mixed crowd in the really nice, large club. A few rounds of pool, watchin the dudes line dance to dance tunes, and lots of socializing and laughs, we headed to Green Iguana till closing, and then bought a Pizza over on 15th Street just north of 7th Ave(TASTY Pizza) and scarfed the whole pie down. Attempting to hail a cab on Palm Ave at 330am was mistake, we were trying to do the right thing and not drive of course, but there were NO cabs to be found, so after 30 minutes of attempting this, we slept in the car until around 8am, and headed home. I LOVE GASPARILLA!!
The Gasparilla Distance Classic is next weekend, the Gasparilla Film Festival starts on the 28th of Feb, and lastly is the Gasparilla Arts Festival March 3rd and 4th downtown Tampa....

Gasparilla Weekend!!!

My buddy Dave flew in from Boston for the Gasparilla festivities. Friday after my conference, I met up with Dave and we headed downtown Tampa. Dave had to take care of somethings at the courthouse. We had some lunch at Eddie and Sams pizza, some of the best Pizza ive had in Tampa. We walked around downtown, went to the Police Museum, which had some very interesting items to view, and old pictures of Tampa. Dave wanted to check out the Riverwalk, so we headed to Kiley Park which was very sad. I hope they plan on doing something about that space. We started our happy hour around 2pm at Hatricks, which was very crowded, as there seemed to be a lot of people in town for the weekend. We then headed over to Ybor, and had another chilly beverage at Green Iguana, then Tampa Bay Brewing Company. Ybor was also VERY busy for the middle of the day. Happy Hour continued at Channelside's Margarita Mama's. Day turned to night, and we headed to SOHO to eat at Dubliner, and of course, more chilly ones. We ended Friday night at Green Iguana Westshore-walking distance to home.

Saturday morning was beautiful, a great day for a parade. This was my 19th Gasparilla, and goes on the list again as one of the BEST. This year, Dave, Lisa Maryann and I started at Bay to Bay and Bayshore, and walked up to where Maryann's friends were on the boats near the bridges crossing to Davis Islands. It was great to be able to watch the parade by boat anchored along Bayshore. The usual mayhem and drunkenness of course, lots of beads...and a lot of reunions with people I havent seen in about a year. Lisa enjoyed liftin guys shirts, checkin out their abs, and she did several lifts of her own of course....we did the usual chicken and beers stop at Publix to rest up before walking over to The Hubb, and ended the long day with bar hopping in Ybor. Dave and Lisa party'd like rock stars, literally, as the took over the stage at Gaspars Grotto, Dave with the mic, and Lisa with the Tambourine. I had no idea that Gasparilla is the 3rd largest public event in the nation(behind Mardi Gras and New Years in Times Square)....

Gasparilla Extravaganza Day

Well, Gasparilla has officially started today, Saturday, January 20th. Did a few things around the house in the morning-got these really nice Cedar Adirondack chairs and foot rests for a steel at this place Faye's Side Porch and Garden Center over on Dale Mabry and El Prado-very cool stuff, alot of antique stuff inside, but garden and backyard stuff outside; then ventured out on the kayak in Riviera Bay area with Debi. At 6pm we headed to Bayshore for the Gasparilla Night airshow, and then Fireworks, I had no idea that the firework display is one of the largest in the nation..over 25 minutes synchronized to music. We then walked over to Yoko's on MacDill Ave. for sushi-one of my favorite Sushi places in Tampa Bay. It was a beautiful day in January, about 74 during the day, deep blue skies, and a bit of a chill in the evening(around 59) perfect for fireworks!!!