Show Us Your Life -- Tampa Bay

I have never participated in a "Show Us Your Life" weekly link-up yet... but this week's topic was too good to resist. As you know, I live in Florida. I always have and I think I always will. This (to me) isn't a bad thing. I adore the sunshine, the beaches, the theme parks. So, here is a taste of "my life" in my city of Tampa Bay...

Tampa is moderately large. There are many suburbs and adjoining cities that I can't mention Tampa without mentioning St. Petersburg or Clearwater. Every place is about thirty minutes away. You want to go to the beach? Thirty minutes. You want to head to the fancy mall in Tampa? Thirty minutes away. I live in a part of town where I'm closer to the beach and farther from the city, but I enjoy every minute of it and don't mind the long commute.

That's a lot to cover, so here we go...

We have sports.

Bucs Football.

Arena football (Storm).

The Outback Bowl is here every year. And, yes, I am wearing shorts on December 30th. Thanks for noticing. :)

Rays baseball -- my personal fave.
Spring Training. The Yankees, Blue Jays and Phillies are all in the Bay area.

Lightning hockey... what you didn't know we could ice skate here in Florida?

We so can.

Besides sports, Tampa is known for strip clubs. Really, we were somehow crowned the "lap dance capital of the world." Kind of funny -- especially since the Republican National Convention decided that Tampa would be its home base in 2012!

(No, I didn't go in, we were walking by for corn dogs and milling near the stadium during the Super Bowl when it was in town)

Tampa also has an unhealthy obsession with pirates. Every year people prepare for Gasparilla--which is a parade that encourages people to scramble for plastic beads while drinking massive amounts of liquor. It's socially acceptable to walk around with an eye patch or to be passed out on the ground.

Tampa love pirate ships SO much -- they are strewn about town.

Does that one look familiar to you? Well, I hope not, but it at the St. Petersburg Pier and was used in the filming of the adult film "Pirates."

St. Pete Pier

But, what people love most about Tampa Bay (I think!) is the beaches.

& the sunsets are not so bad themselves.


So, just to recap. Sports, pirates, beaches and strip clubs. Welcome to Tampa.