{"id":16270,"date":"2026-02-19T06:48:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T14:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/streaming2nps.com\/?p=16270"},"modified":"2026-02-22T06:51:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T14:51:27","slug":"around-tampa-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/streaming2nps.com\/?p=16270","title":{"rendered":"Around Tampa Bay"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Visiting friends from Sarasoto to Wesley Chapel<\/strong> <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Gail got a lot of time with her friend Linda in Sarasota: some “Girls Time” just hanging out and lots of time with our hubbies, too. When we arrived, we tried our first Puerto Rican food…Mark had Mofongo Relleno <\/strong>and Gail had roast pork with Trifongo<\/strong>. For a Valentine’s Day Double Date, we attended A Tailor Near Me<\/em> at Sarasota’s Contemporary Theater with their local theater group, and the last 2 days we visited a couple of new (to us) local attractions (below). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also had dinner with Mark’s RSE<\/mark><\/strong> friend Karl in Wesley Chapel, last seen at our RPI 50th<\/mark><\/strong> and we spent a day with another old RPI<\/mark><\/strong> friend Gary…solving the world’s problems (that was FUN), visiting the manatees around the Tampa Electric Power Plant and having dinner on the bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lions & Tigers & Bears … Manatees and more, doing a little touring<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

First…anybody want to take bets on which excited Mark more, when we visited the Manatee View Center??? Was it the manatees (and tarpon, rays, and sharks) or the actual power plant? In the picture above, with the power plant in the background, just look how happy he and Gary are!!! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Linda and Steve, we visited Historic Spanish Point<\/mark><\/strong> Tuesday, where we had a lovely afternoon exploring the gardens and historical structures and butterfly house, before another dinner on the bay. Yesterday we all visited the Big Cat Habitat<\/mark><\/strong>, where we really did see Lions<\/strong><\/mark><\/strong> & Tigers<\/strong><\/mark><\/strong> & Bears<\/strong><\/mark><\/strong> and so many other animals, even a Liger<\/strong><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong> (who was very well trained). <\/p>\n\n\n\n