No Time for Simple Pleasures

Ah, the simple pleasures. To just kick back and enjoy a fine cigar and superb glass of wine as I explore and capture the people, places and things that are Tampa. It's the good life and terrific city.

I've been absent for several days as an important change have developed that will alter my life and daily routine for many months. It's an extremely positive and even exciting change - a new and challenging opportunity in my career that will take me away from Tampa each day at least through the summer and perhaps into the fall.

I am really looking forward to this unique and unexpected adventure which lies ahead.

I will try to visit your sites and comment as I can, but I won't be able to post with any regularity. I will be buried in new responsibilities and am not sure what the weeks and months ahead will mean to my time. I already miss the fun and great pleasure Tampa Daily Photo and Tampa Florida Photo have given me...and the friendships that I have with you and my loyal Followers.

I will miss you and look forward to the days ahead. When I can, I will return.

Space Shuttle Landing? Not!

It's warm in Florida

It's not terribly warm right now in the Tampa Bay area but compared to many parts of the USA it's sweltering. Walks on the beach have become a bit nippy, but I haven't shoveled any snow. It's even warm enough that Ann Taylor mannequins are now going topless. Not a sweater, earmuff or wool scarf in sight.

Two trees

No Dogs on Beach

Offshore racing at Rick's on the River

I found this mural of offshore race boats on the wall at Rick's On the River.

Gotta see Godspell at the Jaeb Theater

We were thrilled to be given tickets for the musical Godspell performed in the the Robert and Lorena Jaeb Theater at Tampa's Straz Center for the Performing Arts. The Straz is the largest perfroming arts center south of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and tonight it was a full house. All four theaters were packed with audiences to see a wide range of musical theater - Wicked is playing in the largest space, Morsani Hall, Swan Lake by the Moscow Festival Ballet, Stepping with Step Afrika! and the Ballet Folklorico de Mexico fill the other theaters - and Godspell, first performed in 1971, is in my favorite performance space at the Straz, the wonderful and intimate Jaeb Theater. Our seats, with great thanks to Courtney, a wonderful friend of the family - were right at the stage; there were no better in the house. The musical continues through May 16. I highly recommend it. It was a terrific evening and an early Valentine's date night.

Although it was in the low 40s when we left at 9:30, the night was crisp, clear and invigorating. We stepped down to the riverfront and the gorgeous fountains to take some photos of the lights and colorful reflections. I would have lingered but Mrs. Tampa DP was freezing to death. Next time, when it warms a bit, I'll take some nighttime photos of the nearby and brand new Tampa Museum of Art.

A Simple Dock Construction

Equipment filled the narrow canal behind some beautiful waterfront homes as an owner had a private, multi-level, floating dock built. No simple task but from the looks of the results so far, this should last through all but the worst hurricane.

Snow shoveling not necessary: Beach Park at sunset

Ambulance by chopper: Air Methods to the rescue

If you spend any time at all on Harbour Island, Davis Islands or along Bayshore Boulevard near downtown, you will see a helicopter either taking straight off from the landing pad on the waterfront at Tampa General Hospital, or one coming in over the water to a careful landing. A patient in need of critical emergency care is always at stake. Tampa General is the area’s only Level 1 Trauma Center and one of just four burn centers in Florida. The Air Methods Corporation that operates this helo is the largest provider of air medical emergency transport services and systems in the US. They claim to transport almost 100,000 each year who all require intensive medical treatment from from either an accident scene or or general care hospitals to one such as Tampa general which provides highly skilled trauma care. Air Methods operates 300 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft at 249 bases in 42 states. Wow. They are quite a company and one which provide life-saving services. Literally.

Too big for the frame

345 Bayshore Boulevard is a condominium tower right at the bridges to Davis Islands.

Just two wooden pilings

MONOCHROME Weekend Vol. 2 Issue 24

If you sometimes think the world looks better in black and white, and every shade of gray, go see some of the most interesting people and places HERE at Monochrome Maniacs!


It's made possible each week by Aileni.

NEW Tampa Museum of Art Opens

The new 66,000 square foot Tampa Museum of Art, on the left, opened today with a public grand opening opening ceremony and about 2,000 guests. It is a spectacular building designed by architect Stanley Saitowitz from San Francisco, CA. On the right is the soon to open Glazer Children's Museum. Both front the just completed Curtis Hixon Park on the Hillsborough River. My daughter, Kris, who is an accomplished photographer, took the photo.

SKYWATCH Friday Season 4 Episode 30

One of my favorite scenes: the minarets of the University of Tampa shot from across the Hillsborough River as the sun begins to set.

Visit Skywatch Friday to see the beauty and wonders of the world's most magnificent skies. It's always an amazing show and all brought to you by Skywatchers from all over the planet.

Sail Pavilion on the waterfront at the Tampa Convention Center

The Sail Pavilion is in the bottom center with a blue roof. What a terrific place to stop, relax, kick back and enjoy life in Tampa. It a wonderful place when you're downtown and is easy and close by wherever you might be. It's the perfect hang-or if your attending a convention at the Tampa Convention Center or visiting the Tampa Bay History Center. If you're a guest at the Waterside Marriott, Embassy Suites or Wyndham Harbour Island Hotel, this is the escape you will really appreciate. If you're a walker, jogger, boater, bike rider or just exploring Tampa's Riverwalk, you'll find this is the place to stop and take a break. You're right on the water and can really enjoy the sunset view or watch boats docking...yours preferably at the public docks 10 yards from your seat at Sail. They serve a variety of beverages including cold beer, soft drink or healthy beverages.

After making your way around Tampa’s Riverwalk you will delight in finding Sail Pavilion. Pus, if you own a Pekingese, or some other brand, it is very dog friendly. They have water dishes and complimentary dog bones. Your hound will think it's his/her place. They are open Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 4:00 p.m.—10:00 p.m., Saturday 11:00 a.m.—8:00 p.m.,and Sunday 11:00 a.m.—6:00 p.m.

WATERY Wednesday #73

I posted a shot of this ship, the Lucky Lady II, once before. It is docked in front of the Shoppes at Knights Point on Harbour Island.

Click HERE to see other wet and Watery Wednesday images from around the world.

Snug at the Dock: Hunter Sailboat and Ocean Yacht

Which would you choose? The delightful and fine handling Hunter sailboat or the exceptional Ocean Sportfishing and Cruising Yacht that sits beside her?

The Little Woman Atop Her Mighty (strong) Steed: Botero's Rape of Europa

While visiting the St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts last Sunday, we got to get up close and personal to three monumental bronze sculptures created by Fernando Botero. These huge sculptures are part of the exhibition, The Baroque World of Fernando Botero. Botero, born in Columbia in 1932, created "The Rape of Europa" in 1999. That's one fine looking little woman atop that steed. Right? She and her animal weigh approximately 2,500 pounds!

Her is what USA Today Magazine wrote about Botero in August 2008: Botero converted his painterly ideas into "bronze and marble sculpture, which have become a seminal element in his oeuvre. His monumental bronzes are seen by perplexed strollers along the Champs Elysées in Paris, in front of the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, and along Park Avenue in New York. The large figures transform their surroundings into a world of fantasy, as seen in Venice where his bronzes adorn the squares along the Grand Canal, or when his sensuous nudes are mirrored in the reflecting pools in front of the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague.

The Piti is a fantastic place to see Botero's work. The last time I was there I enjoyed a Bristish car show lined up on the sidewalk out front. (Our son studied architercture there and actually lived in the buiding directly across from the Piti. A favorite coffee shop is right there, the Bar Piti. (Oh what a great city!!)

The subjects of his sculpture - The Baroque World of Fernando Botero - includes a selection of recent sculptures never before shown in North America. They "draw from ancient Greek mythology,' points out Miranda Lash, curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the New Orleans Museum of Art....Zeus reappears again in 'Rape of Europa' (1999) as Europa's comically placid and portly steed. The soon-to-be ravished Europa sits proudly on the back of the bull, seductively in control, an attitude assumed by many of the women in Botero's sculptures. ..."

A Latin American painter, sculptor, and draftsman, Botero depicts the "comedy of human life—moving or ironic, baroque in expression, sometimes with a mocking observation, and sometimes with a deep, elementary emotion. He has created a world of his own with a particular blend of violence and beauty."

The current show in St. Petersburg is the first retrospective of his work in North America since 1974. Included are 100 paintings, sculptures, and drawings selected from the artist’s private collection. Many works have never been exhibited in public. (The exhibition is organized and circulated by Art Services International, Alexandria, Virginia. Dr. John Sillevis from the Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, curated the exhibition. ) This show at the MFA runs through April 4th.

Botero's works are collected by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, The Hermitage Museum, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Hirshhorn and others.