Sarah's Visit

We met Sarah(Ted's cousin from MA) and Marylaw in The Villages for a Thai dinner....

More new model homes at OTOW.  We took in all the new floor plans and enjoyed seeing the latest interior designs.

Concert time at the Circle Square Cultural Center. Enjoyed singing along with "The Atlantic City Boys".

Hillsborough River State Park Tall Tale Traveler's Campout

After the Tampa Super RV Show we headed 30 miles up the road to Hillsborough River State Park and a camp out with the Tall Tale Traveler's, our RV group from "On Top of the World".

Opened in 1938, Hillsborough River State Park is one of Florida's first state parks.

The Hillsborough river provides opportunities for fishing, canoeing, and kayaking.

The Tall Tale Traveler's had the use of the pavilion, so had several nights of socializing with a campfire and food (one night for several types of Chile and a night of pizza) 

A Palm Tree Makes a True Florida Home....

We had the oak tree that was in front of our Ocala home taken out several weeks ago to get ready for our new Sylvester Palm.

Supervisors: Don, Kathy, Jim, Glenda and Jan...

The guys from The Yard Stop did a great job of installing the palm and decorator rocks. Thanks, "The Yard Stop" for making everything go smoothly..

Looking like a more compact, silvery version of the Canary Island date palm, the Sylvester is a good choice for smaller yards. One of the prettiest cold hardy palms, it produces an edible fruit (said to be sweet) and the sap from flower stalks is used to make an alcoholic drink in the palm's native India (hence the name "Toddy Palm").

Brocato's "A Tampa Tradition since 1948"

In 1948, Brocato’s opened its doors for business. From grocery store to meat market, to sandwich shop, Brocato’s has always strived to provide the best sandwich in Tampa.

You can sit inside or out, but the one thing for sure is that there will be a line to order Brocato's Cuban sandwich, devil crab cake, stuffed potatoes or other Cuban traditional meals. 

Brocatos's has the best Crab Cakes in town. This colossal sized crab cake is called "The Biggie Nana"

Ybor City Museum State Park

 The Ybor City Museum State Park is an urban park and historical museum in the heart of Tampa’s National Historic Landmark District. The park consists of a main exhibit space, housed in the historic Ferlita Bakery building, as well as a lush Mediterranean-style garden and a recreated cigar worker’s house.

 At the museum you learned about the role Ybor City played in Tampa's development and its reputation as the "cigar capital of the world". 

What is left of the Swann Cigar factory...

Ybor City is a fun place to walk around and step back in history. There is a walking tour of Ybor City, which starts at the Museum State Park.

Parkesdale Farms, Plant City, FL

We made our annual visit to our favorite strawberry place....Parkesdale Farms!

Parkesdale Farms is noted for its Strawberry Shortcakes and Milkshakes during Florida's strawberry season, which is January-March....

Parkesdale still has reasonable prices on their strawberry desserts.....