Tag Archives: Ybor City

Family Photos 2010

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The family is one of nature’s masterpieces.

- George Santayana

 

 

Families are the compass that guides us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights, and our comfort when we occasionally falter.
- Brad Henry

 

 

Family is the most important thing in the world.

-Princess Diana

 

 

A family starts with only two and if they’re lucky and work can create something magical called a family.
-Unknown

 

 

One thing they never tell you about child raising is that for the rest of your life, at the drop of a hat, you are expected to know your child’s name and how old he or she is.

- Erma Bombeck

 

 

Families are like fudge, mostly sweet with a few nuts.
- Author Unknown

 

 

Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future.

- Gail Lumet Buckley

 

 

*Photographs by Kelly*

 

BlogTrotting through Tampa Bay

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Greetings from Land O’Lakes, FL!

This week, BlogTrotting requested me to share my small slice of the Sunshine State.  Although I live in Land O’Lakes, my little suburb is only 15 minutes north of Tampa, which is the home of the Buccaneers (Super Bowl XXXVII Champions 2002),

the Rays (American League Champions 2008 ),

the Lightning (Stanley Cup Champions 2004) and the spring training home of the Yankees.

Not to mention, Tampa is also the home of two great universities: University of South Florida (my alma mater – GO BULLS!)

and University of Tampa (my DH’s alma mater).

According to Dr. Beach, the Tampa Bay has some of the best beaches, including Fort Desoto, Honeymoon Island, Caladesi Island.

Although Tampa may lack the metropolitan and ethnic flare typically found in larger cosmopolitan cities, our beautiful city still offers its own flavor of culture.

Ybor City, a section of Tampa settled by Cuban immigrants in the late 1800s, produced more cigars than Havana and became known as the Cigar Capital of the World.  Today, Ybor City is our own little Spanish New Orleans and serves up some of the best Cuban food outside of Miami.  In late October, Ybor City celebrates Guavaween, which can be compared a Halloween Mardi Gras.  Fifteen years ago, I met my husband one cold drunken Guavaween night.

Tampa residents love to spin pirate tales about a mythological pirate, José Gaspar, who invaded our streets during the late 1800s.  From late January to early March, we celebrate Gasparilla with a variety of pirate parades, festivals and races.

As for tourist spots, I highly recommend the Florida Aquarium, which offers a gorgeous glimpse of our wetlands and coral reef and a fun splash area for the kids.

Busch Gardens is another favorite tourist hot spot.  The roller-coasters and up-close animal exhibits are simply breathtaking in more ways than one.

Lowry Park Zoo is another great place to visit when the natives are restless.

If you visit Tampa in the winter months, you will want to stop by the Teco Manatee Viewing Center.  During the cooler months, manatees seek refuge in the warm waters discharged from the power plant.  On a good, cool day, you can view close to a hundred manatees free of charge.

If you crave outdoor adventures, Tampa Bay has beautiful waterways for boating, fabulous flatwood trails to hike, bike or run…

…and several rivers to canoe such as Hillsborough River, Weedon Island or Weeki Wachee Springs, which is the home of our world famous mermaids.  Rumor has it even Elvis stopped there.

If hiking trails and primitive camping is your pleasure, Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park was featured last spring in the St. Pete Times as one of the best camping spots in Florida, but I prefer the “luxury amenities” at Hillsborough River State Park.

I love living in Tampa Bay and can’t imagine living anywhere else.  I enjoy spending almost every day outdoors and wearing flip flops all year round.  I’ve even got the tan lines to prove it.




Guavaween Then and Now

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On the last Saturday in October, we celebrate Guavaween which is Tampa’s (actually Ybor City’s) Latin version of a Halloween Mardi Gras.  Throughout the night, young and old parade the streets in slutty creepy outlandish costumes. 

 

Year after year (many moons ago before marriage and children), I found myself dressed in costume and beer crawling through the crowded streets of Ybor City with thirty thousand of my closest friends.

 

As crazy as it sounds, Guavaween will always have a special spot in my heart.  

 

Dressed as a Brownie on a cold Guavaween night fourteen years ago, I traded Girl Scout cookies for beer.  Then, at some point during that crazy chilly night, my girlfriend and I found our way into the Green Iguana to escape the crowd and warm my cookies.

 

While warming up in the bar with a cold beer, I smiled at a young lad standing across the smoky room.  He smiled back and proceeded to walk over to introduce himself.  As he gazed upon me, my knees went weak and I knew I was looking into the eyes of my future husband. 

 

It was truly love at first sight.  He says my smile entranced him, but more than likely it was the cookies hanging out my shorts and my belted fishnets that caught his attention.  

 

Since there were so many great costumes at Gauavaween, I always traveled with a camera to capture some of my favorite ones on film.  I also happened to capture the moment I met Allan.

 

Guavaween95

 

Although it was all too cliché and too surreal for me to process, we chatted for a while and before we parted our ways, he asked me for my phone number.  Since it seemed silly to meet a decent fellow in a bar, the rational side of my brain instructed me to not wait by the phone especially for a guy who hits on your in a bar on Guavaween.

 

However, he did call a few days later and we arranged for our first date on November 1, which years later would be recognized as another noteworthy celebration when our first daughter was born on that same date.

 

Since becoming a grown-up and a mom, I’ve gotten away from Guavaween, but I still celebrate the event every year in my heart as the night I met my true love.  And of course, we I still celebrate it by parading around in costumes.

 

Us_Closeup09

 

Us_Halloween09 

Clang, Clang, Clang Went the Trolley

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My sister arranged for everyone to ride the Tampa Trolley from the Marriott Waterside Hotel  to Ybor City for her rehearsal dinner at Bernini’s.  It was so much fun!  This is a snapshot of my sister, Simone, (left) and her friend, Ulla, (right) climbing aboard the trolley.

 

trolley-ride

Happy Guavaween!

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On the last Saturday in October in Tampa (actually Ybor City), we celebrate Guavaween which is Tampa’s Latin version of a Halloween Mardi Gras.  Throughout the night, young and old parade the streets in slutty creepy outlandish costumes.  Anything goes on Guavaween night and great time to get your freak on!  

 

Guavaween will always have a special spot in my heart.  Dressed as a Brownie on a cold Guavaween night thirteen years ago, I traded Girl Scout cookies for beer and met my husband.  Our eyes met across a smoky bar and it was truly love at first sight.  He says my smile entranced him, but more than likely it was the cookies hanging out my shorts and my belted fishnets I squeezed into poured out of that caught his attention.  

 

This year, approximately 35, 000 people dressed in their best Halloween attire crammed the streets of Ybor City last Saturday night; however, my DH, my friends and I were not one of them.  Rather than tramping it along the streets of Ybor City, we recreated our own freaky fun with our second annual Adult Halloween party.    As previously posted in A Scary Thought, I wanted to plan a couple costume.  Some ideas we mulled over…  

 

  • The Swing Vote- Allan in a zoot suit and me dressed as a flapper.
  • Dorothy and the Scarecrow
  • Pirates

 

But, we weren’t really sold on any of those ideas.  Then, we went to Sea World’s Halloween Spooktacular and found our inspiration from one of the many characters we saw that day: an entomologist and a butterfly.  

 

Just call me Mary Posa!  I believe this entomologist caught himself a fine specimen!   

 

 

  Who wants a butterfly kiss?  

 

 

It just goes to show you that you can take the girl out of Guavaween, but you can’t take the Guavawen out of the girl.    

 

 

Happy Guavaween!