Tampa Florida

Located on Florida’s Sun coast,Tampa has much to offer the occasional visitor or full time resident.

Tampa Florida

Offering a semi-tropical climate, Tampa provides the opportunity to enjoy the out doors year around. Moderate winter temperatures averaging a daily highs in the lower 70’s ,lows in the 50s and snow only very occasional, it is the perfect destination for a winter get-a-away.

Summer is the rainy season, with daily showers and highs in the lower 90s. The rains come almost daily, however, they normally only last an hour or so, the rest of the day is enjoyable as the rain only cools things off.

The area offers professional sports of all sorts, The Tampa Lightning professional hockey team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , and the Tampa Bay Rays round out the professional sports teams, each being highly competitive in their own fields.

The beaches in the area are the best in the nation, with several always ranked among  the top ten beaches in the United States.

What ever your interests , you will find something of value in the Tampa Bay Area.

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Snow in Florida

Being so far south, snow in Florida is rare, during the Great Blizzard of 1899 is the only time the temperature in the state is known to  have fallen below zero degrees F.

On January 19, 1977 , while the rest of the nation shivered in extreme cold conditions,the most widespread snowfall in Florida occurred. Snow fell over most of the state and as far south as Homestead, which is south of Miami, snow flurries were seen on Miami Beach, the only time in recorded history.

Snow was observed in the Tampa , Sarasota area in December of 1989, and a hard freeze in 2003 brought “ocean effect” snow flurries to the Atlantic coast as far south as Cape Canaveral.

One of the most damaging blizzards occurred in 1993, when blizzard conditions hit in the panhandle and heavy rains and tornadoes beset the rest of the state. The storm was thought to have a similar composition as a  hurricane and even brought storm surges of six feet or more to regions of the Gulf Coast.

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Epcot ,Walt Disney World

The name Epcot derives from the acronym EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow), a Utopian city of the future planned by Walt Disney (he sometimes used the word “City” instead of “Community” when expanding the acronym).

Walt Disney’s  original version of Epcot would have been a model community, living in rented homes and it would have been a test bed for city planning and organization. transportation would have been on monorails and people movers. Automobile traffic would have been underground, keeping pedestrians safe.

This vision never came about as Walt had to build the Magic Kingdom before he could obtain funding for Epcot.
In consequence, Walt passed away before his dream was realized.

Epcot today is an amusement park that has something for everyone, from futuristic rides to a village of communities representing various countries.

The author has been a writer/photographer for over thirty years. Specializing in nature and landscape photography, as well as studying native cultures.

His travels have taken him to most of the United States, as well as Australia, Belize, Egypt and the Canary Islands.

He has studied the Mayan culture of Central America as well as the aborigines of Australia. Photography has given him the opportunity to observe life in various parts of the world.

He has published several books about his adventures.

For more information, please consult his website,www.journeysthrulife.com.

Your comments welcome

Walt Disney World

Walt Disney World

Any trip to Florida warrants a stay at Walt Disney World. The premier entertainment capital of the world.
There are many attractions in central Florida to keep one busy for weeks, the Kennedy Space Center, Universal Studios, MGM, Sea World, and many others, however the first and main attraction remains Walt Disney World and its many parks.

The Magic Kingdom, along with Epcot, remains at the top of the Disney parks. The attractions at the Magic Kingdom include, Space Mountain,a haunted house, It’s a Small, Small, World,  a riverboat ride, water rides, your typical amusement park rides, stage shows, parades, Disney characters running amuck, and it is all topped off  by magnificent fireworks display at dusk.

One admission cost covers the charge on all entertainment, although the $60 plus admission charge seems high, when a person considers the price covers 10 or more  hours  entertainment, it makes the cost seem reasonable.

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The author has been a writer/photographer for over thirty years. Specializing in nature and landscape photography, as well as studying native cultures.

His travels have taken him to most of the United States, as well as Australia, Belize, Egypt and the Canary Islands.

He has studied the Mayan culture of Central America as well as the aborigines of Australia. Photography has given him the opportunity to observe life in various parts of the world.

He has published several books about his adventures.

For more information, please consult his website,www.journeysthrulife.com.

Your comments welcome

Back to Orlando!

Your FLORIDA Superstore.

Thursday emerged a normal bright and sunny day in Florida, a perfect day to make my trek to Orlando utilizing the highways and byways.

I had decided to go through the middle of the state rather than crossing and driving up the Florida Turnpike, (too far).

I left four hours before I was scheduled to be in Orlando allowing for the anticipated delays caused by the closure of I-4. I felt this would be plenty of time as well as allowing me time to eat, as I didn’t want to go 9 hours without a meal, as it turned out the timing was perfect.

My route would be to drive I-75 to hwy 64, travel east on it until reaching US17 and driving north  until I reached interstate 417 which leads into Orlando International airport.

The roads were relatively quiet, hwy 64 was a pleasure to drive, with little traffic, I was able to observe the farms, cattle, and large estate style homes that are popular in this area.

Turning north on US 17, I was driving through areas I had never been before, except for last night when it was dark and visibility was really low! The towns reminded me a lot of towns in the southwest, except for the grass and lack of cactus.

The traffic was light until I reached Lake Alfred and joined up with Hwy 92 , where I started to encounter traffic that was avoiding the accident on I-4. From there to Orlando it would be rather slow, with that part of the journey taking well over an hour.

However after enjoying a quick meal at Wendys in Kissimmee, I was able to make Orlando airport at 5:35, exactly when my flight from London was landing.

Meeting my clients at baggage claim I informed them of the long ride we had ahead of us.
I had been hoping all day that I-4 would be open for my return trip, I enjoyed the trip through the real Florida, but enough is enough.

Just as their baggage rounded the corner’s on the carousel, my cell phone rang, the long hoped for message had arrived, the freeway was open!! It would be a comparatively short two-hour ride home, cheers went up from my passengers as I informed them of the good news.

The author has been a writer/photographer for over thirty years. Specializing in nature and landscape photography, as well as studying native cultures.

His travels have taken him to most of the United States, as well as Australia, Belize, Egypt and the Canary Islands.

He has studied the Mayan culture of Central America as well as the aborigines of Australia. Photography has given him the opportunity to observe life in various parts of the world.

He has published several books about his adventures.

For more information, please consult his website,www.journeysthrulife.com.

Your comments welcome

Improve your health, Increase your wealth

Each generation from the beginning of our country has contributed to what our country has become. By the same token, no one is perfect. Consequently, each generation has done and will continue to perform acts that it would have been better if some other course of action was taken.
The baby boomers have contributed much and have been blamed for the decline of America. What is the true story?

On to Orlando via Yeehaw Junction!

My day started Wednesday with the news that I-4 had been closed east of Lakeland due to a massive 70 vehicle pile-up.

Knowing that I needed to go to Orlando airport created a huge problem. After studying all the options, none of which was good, trying to go the back roads to Orlando would not be good, there would be large back-ups, as everyone else would be doing that .

I finally decided to go straight across the state to Okeechobee, then enter the Florida Turnpike and proceed north to Orlando.

It is always a nice drive across Florida, mostly two lane roads with very little traffic , the landscape although it is flatter than Aunt Jemimah’s pancakes, is pleasant, mostly farming ,with small towns dotted across the landscape. The only concern is the occasional slow driver which can create a problem in passing.

I didn’t really comprehend how much longer a trip it would be , but as I Lake Okeechobee and turned  north onto Hwy 441  , I realized that making the round trip without buying fuel would be impossible. Finding a gas station in these remote areas can also be a problem. Luckily, as I approached Fort Drum, one appeared on the left side of the road.

After making a bathroom ,and fuel stop , I proceeded to Orlando. Seeing the sign for the Florida Turnpike ,I eagerly awaited the turn off, little did I know it would be in YeeHaw Junction, a very small wide spot in the road. I was expecting Junior Samples to appear at any time!

Arriving at Orlando International airport, the normal parking problems were encountered, finally finding a spot on the top level, I hurriedly went inside as it was time for my clients to arrive.

Meeting my clients , who had just arrived from London, I informed them that we were in for a long ride home, as the interstate was closed and we needed to take an alternate route.

Deciding that there had to be a better way, I decided to try the back roads, as the traffic wouldn’t be quite as bad this time of day.

Having never gone this way, I was a little apprehensive as we started home, the weather had become dark, and it would be a windy,twisty route through Kissimmee on US 17.

I did quite well and turned onto what I thought was US 17, however it turned out to be the wrong road, there is a US17 and a Florida 17, tricked again by the highway department!!

After some anxious moments, I didn’t want the clients to know I was slightly confused, I found the real US  17,and proceed to Sarasota, arriving maybe a half an hour sooner than would have been possible traveling the long way down the Florida Turnpike.

It had been quite a day, and as I was returning to Orlando the next day,and the interstate was still closed, I would have the opportunity to view the landscape that I had missed the night before.