Day 275 - Tampa Bay

Today is Moving Day: Caroline and Paul need to get up to Tampa for a 2 pm flight to Grand Cayman for a week's diving, I have a Britsh Airways plane at 7:40 pm back to Blighty and Kathryn has a few more days R&R before going to see her mother and sisters for the Thanksgiving celebrations in Los Angeles.

Before we can leave though, I need to circulate a draft of tomorrow's Friday email for comment then we go to First Watch for brunch (an excellent chain: can recommend it!).  The drive up to Tampa was very easy and the first passengers made their flight with plenty of time to spare.

Kathryn and I decided to do some exploring in Tampa.  We visited the Tampa Bay Hotel and learned something of the city's past. In the 1880s, before the railroad reached this part of the South Eastern United States, the population of the city was 720...!  Then a Mr Henry B. Plant became very wealthy opening up Tampa to first the railways and then dredged a channel to allow large verssesl to use the port for fishing, and subsequently to allow US troops to invade Cuba in the brief war against the Spanish.

With all his fortune, he spent millions building the Tampa Bay Hotel which, for a decade or so, was THE place to be: 500 rooms, with a race course, golf course, casino and lots of other attractions.  The Depression ultimately put paid to all of that and the (still very impressive!) site is now owned by the City and is largely occupied by the University of Tampa.

A tasty late lunch by the city's waterfront saw off the rest of the afternoon by which time it was time for me to get to the airport.  All I need to do now is get some sleep on board...