A Month in Tampa

February 18, 2024 / marniesteve / 1 Comment

Since our last post, we said goodby to the beautiful Florida Keys where we spent a full month enjoying the water, sun (and some rain), and lots of relaxation. It was time for a change of scenery, and the Tampa area offered a plethora of options. Despite some downtime (thanks COVID), we fit in some real fun.

Our first stop was the Florida RV Supershow where we camped, explored one of the nation’s largest displays of new RVs and gadgets, and caught up with great friends we’ve met in previous years. Our group of buddies comes from all corners of the country and have such a good time together.

On the last day of the RV show I started feeling yucky and tested positive for COVID. Steve’s symptoms showed up a few days later. My symptoms, especially a cough and fatigue, hung on for nearly three weeks. Steve recovered in a few days. Luckily our COVID time was spent at a quiet campground at beautiful Fort Desoto, just south of St. Petersburg. I didn’t leave the camper much in the nine days we were there but Steve got out to explore on runs and bike rides.

By the time we moved to the Madiera Beach/St. Petersburg KOA I was up for nightly sunsets at the nearby beach, and Steve enjoyed the adjacent Pinellas Trail which runs 45 miles from St. Petersburg north past Clearwater.

By the time we arrived to the brand new Key Lime Bay Resort I was starting to feel like myself again and we set out for some adventures. The resort, located in a central location near Old Tampa Bay, offered lots of fun activities where we got to meet some cool people. We attended a takeover of the Tampa Bay Brewing Company, a lively Super Bowl party, and a Paint and Sip for Valentine’s Day, where we also celebrated Steve’s birthday. Yes, he painted too!

In addition to painting, we celebrated Steve’s birthday with a dinner out and ice cream. Happy Birthday big guy!

New sign to display his 50 state marathon medals

One day we took a walking tour of nearby Ybor City, the historic area of Tampa where hundreds of millions of cigars were rolled annually by immigrants from Cuba, Spain, and Italy. The traditional social clubs for each ethnic group still stand, and the stories of triumph and loss are compelling. The Cuban food is also pretty awesome!

On other days we ventured a little further out of Tampa. First, we went to the Tampa Electric Manatee Viewing Center in Apollo Beach. Manatee need warmer water in the winter and the discharge canal from the power station is a designated manatee sanctuary that provides protection from the cold for these gentle animals. It’s a popular attraction as the well manicured park and viewing area is free to the public.

We also made a morning excursion out to Plant City, the nation’s home of winter strawberries. The massive farmer/flea market, held on Wednesdays, was filled with all kinds of junk and gorgeous, red strawberries. Live music, food, and acres and acres of stuff kept us busy for awhile. But the shortcake was calling, so we set out for Parkesdale Farms. This farm stand in Plant City sells beautiful produce, fun garden stuff, and the best shortcake and strawberry shakes we’ve ever tasted.

Nearby Clearwater is home to a beautiful outdoor amphitheater where one evening we saw an icon. Ninety-year old Willie Nelson and the Family played on a lovely evening, and we were thrilled we can finally say we’ve seen the legend.

Another fun day trip in the Tampa area is a visit to the Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks. In operation since the 1870s, Greek sponge divers left their homeland to cultivate a booming industry which is now considered, “The Sponge Capital of the World.” Amidst of tourist shops and fabulous Greek restaurants we watched fisherman prepare their harvest right on the boats. Tarpon Springs is a nice day trip if you are ever in the Tampa area.

Downtown Tampa features a 2.5 mile Boardwalk which traverses the Hillsborough River and the bay. Passing museums, hotels, the convention center, and historic sites, the boardwalk makes for a nice morning walk. We even found the Tampa library and their book sale and scored some good titles.

After our walk we hit what is considered the “world’s oldest brewery,” Yuengling. Founded in Pottsville, PA, the Tampa outpost is a huge facility that has a great taphouse. We enjoyed a flight that included “everything” and decided our favorite was the Hershey’s Chocolate Porter.

All in all we spent a little over a month in Tampa, had mostly decent weather, and met some nice people. Now it’s time to head West with a few more stops and a marathon along the way!

RV Living in the Southeast

December 17, 2023 / marniesteve / Leave a comment

It’s been a while since we posted a travel blog. It’s not that we aren’t traveling. No, we are certainly covering some miles and having adventures here and there, but mostly we are living in our RV while working our way as far south as we can for the winter.

We last left you in Lexington, Kentucky where we were taking in Horse and Bourbon Country. Since then we stopped at Mammoth Cave National Park to explore the world’s longest cave. Did you know that this one cavern spans over 400 miles, and cave experts continue to find new passageways every year? It’s hard to get good photos underground, but we were there!

From cave country we moved south a few hours and spent a weekend in Nashville. We passed on visiting Broadway and all the bars, but we did catch a fun Eagles tribute band at one of Nashville’s renowned live music venues, 3rd and Lindsley.

From Nashville we headed to Gulf Shore, Alabama and one of our favorite state parks. Gulf State Park has an incredible campground, miles and miles of trails, and a beautiful white sand beach. We saw cool creatures and nice sunsets almost every day.

Unfortunately, we encountered quite a bit of rain (over 3 inches one day!) and not the greatest weather overall. That just meant we had more opportunities to visit one of our favorite bars, the Florabama.

In fact, we spent our Thanksgiving at the Florabama with hundreds of others who shared in the spirit of thanks. We met other fun people, enjoyed great live music, and partook in one of the largest potlucks we’ve ever seen! While being with family would have definitely beat it, it was a great second option!

Another adventure while in Gulf Shores was a visit to the USS Alabama Battleship. Located in Mobile Bay the large ship began her work in WWII, earning nine battle stars for meritorious service. She’s now a National Historic Landmark and provides visitors nearly unrestricted access. We had a blast exploring the bridge, the brig, and all points in between.

After two weeks at Gulf State Park we headed north again, with a stop in Montgomery to visit the Legacy Museum and Memorial. This beautiful, new facility presents the history of slavery from the international slave trade through current day mass incarceration. It was eye-opening and sobering and if you are in Montgomery and have a little time, we highly recommend it.

Wandering the county displays of recorded lynchings

Next stop was Huntsville, Alabama for Steve’s latest marathon. He completed the Rocket City Marathon with an indoor finish on a cool, rainy morning and can now cross Alabama off the list of states.

In Huntsville we visited the Space and Rocket Center featuring the Saturn 5 and a number of other huge relics of our country’s space efforts. The center has some cool artifacts and educational features, and we enjoyed our morning exploring the rockets and planetarium.

While in Huntsville we experienced swarms of lady bugs in the forest behind our camper, and now we are learning how to eradicate those suckers from an RV. When you travel in your home, the challenges never end!

We’re now headed to the Keys for Christmas and New Years and hoping for better weather. Today, in Jupiter, Florida, where we are camped, we are bracing for up to five inches of rain and wind gusts up to 50mph tonight. We are hopeful it clears up enough on tomorrow to make our way south.

So, while the weather has not been too cooperative lately, we continue to enjoy our time in the RV, exploring new neighborhoods and basically just living. All is well!

Lexington: For the Love of Horses and Bourbon

November 14, 2023 / marniesteve / 1 Comment

If you love horses, Lexington is your place. If you love bourbon, Lexington is your place. Heck, if you don’t like either but love beautiful countryside and a nice urban feel, Lexington is your place. We’ve spent eight nights here and it wasn’t enough!

First let’s talk horses! Lexington is considered the “horse capital of the world,” with the most well-known farms and horses on the planet. We stayed at the Kentucky Horse Park Campground, which is connected to the Kentucky Horse Park, home to the International Museum of the Horse and a massive show facility.

I was lucky enough to grow up around Arabian horses and often visited the barns of Lasma Arabians. *Bask++ was the king of the barn and to this day one of the most legendary Arabian stallions ever. So, imagine my surprise when we entered the museum to find a life-sized bronze of *Bask++ dominating the lobby!

Later we walked through the Al-Marah Arabian Horse Gallery and on the grounds found *Bask++’s grave. It may seem unremarkable to someone who doesn’t know Arabians, but for me it was like arriving to Mecca.

Also at the Kentucky Horse Park we met several of the resident horses including Connor, a massive Belgian and Manny, a rare American Cream Draft. During the season there are over 1,000 horses of 100’s of breeds on the grounds. Unfortunately we arrived at the start of the winter season and only about 100 horses were in residence to meet.

The other cool thing about staying at the Kentucky Horse Park Campground was proximity to the show grounds. While Steve spent Saturday afternoon watching his beloved Nebraska Cornhuskers on TV, I wandered the grounds of the US Dressage Finals and caught some great horsemanship.

In Lexington, horse racing is based at Keeneland. While not as well known as Churchill Downs, the track has a legacy as the place to train and race if you are a Derby contender. We toured Keeneland on the second day of the fall breeding stock sale.

A staple on the industry’s calendar, the breeding stock sale brings the Thoroughbred world together under one roof to buy and sell the future of the sport. Over 3,500 horses are sold over a seven day period, with the most expensive horses selling earliest. On day one, two mares sold for $6 million each. Being there on day two meant we got to see some of the high dollar mares auctioned to those who hope to cash in soon. Check out the prices in the photos below.

While Keeneland is the first stop for horse lovers who visit Lexington, number two on the list has to be Claiborne Farms, the industry-leading farm that was home to Secretariat. During our tour of the stallion barns we met two stallions up close. War of Will won the 2019 Preakness and earned almost $1.9 million while he was racing. His stud fee is now $25,000.

We also met War of Will’s sire, the acclaimed War Front. As one of the top producing Thoroughbred stallions, his stud fee is $100,000, and he has been syndicated with a current value of $83 million. I fed him a candy and got a handful of drool that I wished I could have bottled! He also gives really good hugs!

Finally, a trip to Claiborne Farms always takes you past the personal pasture of Secretariat and to his final resting place. Secretariat, commonly known as Big Red, won the triple crown in 1973, setting and still holding the fastest time record in all three races. He is considered by many to be the greatest race horse of all time. Seeing his grave and hearing about the impact he had on so many choked me up, to say the least.

Claiborne is set just outside of Paris, KY, and the town was dedicating the Secretariat Park when we were there. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see the sculpture, but the park was stunning. We also had the opportunity to have our photo taken with Big Red.

Okay, enough about horses…how about some bourbon? Our multi-week exploration of Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail continued. In all, between our time in Bardstown, Louisville, and Lexington, we visited 15 distilleries. Some were big, name-brand operations and others were small craft distilleries where we met with the master distiller. Steve still doesn’t have a favorite…he says his favorite is the one in his hand! In case you’re curious, here’s the list of distilleries we visited while in Kentucky:

Richter’s
Evan Williams
Bulleit
Heaven Hill
Bardstown Boubon Co.
Maker’s Mark
Woodford Reserve
Town Branch
Jeptha Creed
Willett
Limestone Branch
James E. Pepper
Hartfield & Co,
Buffalo Trace
Barrel House

Every distillery was unique, as was its process and final product.

One interesting experience was at Buffalo Trace. We arrived at 11 a.m. on Sunday to a huge crowd waiting to get in. We figured it was just a popular place. Later we learned that they have a shortage of their specialty bourbons and when one is released, locals come to buy their allotment. The day we arrived, Eagle Rare, a bourbon aged for 10 years was available. Since we waited for 45 minutes to get through the doors, we figured we better buy a bottle in addition to our walk around the property and our tasting.

At Bulleit we skipped the tour and joined in a Bourbon Brain trivia contest. I guess we’ve now been on enough tours to know the ins and outs of bourbon because we won!!! Hats, mugs, and a cocktail made for a fun afternoon at Bulleit!