thursday
Didn’t sleep very well last night. Awake every hour or so. I still need to pack but I don’t see that as taking very long. Everything is in one spot.
Yesterday I did take a bike ride in the morning. I remembered where the tire pump was and got Kathy’s tires pumped up. Good Old Townie. Headed over to Robinson Preserve. They’ve added many more trails since I was there years ago. Some pix:
This tower was my destination but after I got there I continued farther on to the trail that skirted Tampa Bay.
I had thought originally I'd climb the tower but then decided I didn't want to expend my sweat and energy on that when I got there. At the base was a father and teenage son running team stopping for a rest. I continued on but we kept passing each other the rest of the way. They'd get ahead when I stopped to take a picture or study a trail map, and then I'd get ahead when the trail was wide and my bike could go faster. I felt like I was part of their team after a while.
One of the cool long wooden bridges there.
Looking out on Tampa Bay. A build up of sludge/mud that these birds were exploring. One thing I notice a lot about Florida is what I call the “Florida Smell”. Like a dirty gas station restroom with a broken toilet that had the door shut for a month. Or an outhouse. When I tell people who live here about the “Florida Smell” they don’t seem to like hearing about it but I have never smelled it anywhere else like it is here. It’s not their fault. It’s heat plus life (which produces shit) equals fecund nature!
The tower from the other side. I have climbed the tower in the past and it gives you a pretty neat view - clear out to Sunshine Skyway if I remember correctly. Maybe next time….
Yesterday I did take a bike ride in the morning. I remembered where the tire pump was and got Kathy’s tires pumped up. Good Old Townie. Headed over to Robinson Preserve. They’ve added many more trails since I was there years ago. Some pix:
This tower was my destination but after I got there I continued farther on to the trail that skirted Tampa Bay.
I had thought originally I'd climb the tower but then decided I didn't want to expend my sweat and energy on that when I got there. At the base was a father and teenage son running team stopping for a rest. I continued on but we kept passing each other the rest of the way. They'd get ahead when I stopped to take a picture or study a trail map, and then I'd get ahead when the trail was wide and my bike could go faster. I felt like I was part of their team after a while.
One of the cool long wooden bridges there.
Looking out on Tampa Bay. A build up of sludge/mud that these birds were exploring. One thing I notice a lot about Florida is what I call the “Florida Smell”. Like a dirty gas station restroom with a broken toilet that had the door shut for a month. Or an outhouse. When I tell people who live here about the “Florida Smell” they don’t seem to like hearing about it but I have never smelled it anywhere else like it is here. It’s not their fault. It’s heat plus life (which produces shit) equals fecund nature!
The tower from the other side. I have climbed the tower in the past and it gives you a pretty neat view - clear out to Sunshine Skyway if I remember correctly. Maybe next time….