We moved to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa and plan to stay a month. The FamCamp is quite large. We got a good site on a corner. Unfortunately, when we got here, we immediately got very sick. I’m pretty certain we had COVID and possibly the flu also. Ed got ill first, then on Christmas Eve, I went down like a ton of bricks. I am typing this update on Jan 4 and today is the first day I have felt ‘normal’. I’m still fighting some sinus issues and a cough. Ed is doing almost 100% better. We are hoping that the second half of our month here will be one in which we can do some exploring and sight-seeing.
We were feeling somewhat human again on Feb 9th, so we ventured out to the TECO manatee viewing center. It is a place where the electric plant water is warm and the manatee gather. There were LOTS of manatee there. It is a super cool place and I really enjoyed it. We were able to be outdoors in the fresh air, but stay away from others enough to feel ok about going out. We were on the upswing and I think going out really helped us to feel better.
The next day, since we were back to healthy, we went to Three Sisters Springs at Crystal River. This is another place to view the manatee. It was a nice walk out to the area and the water was gorgeous. We really enjoyed the day there. I could have stayed there forever, watching the manatees go into the spring area from the river was so peaceful.
We visited Bok Tower Gardens and it is a spectacular place! I really enjoyed it. We walked all around the gardens and caught a performance on the carillonneur. It was beautiful. This is another place I could have just stayed and wandered the entire day. We will revisit it when in the area, for sure.
We went on a boat to a place called “Shell Island” and gathered a few shells. It was a fun adventure!
We had a good time in Tampa. We will likely return, hopefully without COVID coming along to rob some of our time!
Next stop FORT WILDERNESS!!!