Oh Lord! Stuck in Tampa Again!!!

[JoanieBlon]

As philzone put it....

"Reading this forum is making me excited a lot earlier than I normally would over a holiday....."

There are times I feel like I'm just not going to survive until November 25th!!! Don't get me wrong - Tampa is a nice place and most people would be happy to vacation or live here. At 7am it's 75F and 96% humidity - a high of 92F is predicted for today with our normal "scattered thunderstorms" (We got 5" of rain 2 days ago, so we could do without RAIN!)

...I'm just ready for some ADVENTURE!! I am CERTAIN Playa and the Riviera Maya are going to provide it!!

[Doris]

I'm right there with yoiu Joanie, I live in Tampa also and that was a serious storm wed. night. Felt like Hurricane charlie landed on us! We just booked our flight for Nov. 26, so if our paths dont cross in Tampa before then, lets meet up for a margarita in Playa!

[Fernanda]

that is so weird!! we didnt feel any kind of rain here in Port Richey and we lived closed to Tampa!!....hope that everything is all right down there..

[JoanieBlon]

Doris & Fernanda....and any other Tampa "lurkers" out there.....would you guys be interested in getting together at a local Restaurante Mexicano for a little food, margaritas, cerveza and chatting about Playa? Might be fun!

One of our local favorites is Vallartas. The owners are from the Guadalajara area. The food and ambience is pretty good. Prices are GREAT! The best one (we think) is in Temple Terrace. The restuarant is so popular that they have opened on Dale Mabry and also in Wesley Chapel (?)

If you and any other Tampa Bay area Playa Peeps would like to get together, send me a PM. Also, If you know of other places that might be better (more Yucatano in flavor and style), I am certainly open to suggestions!! :p

[Jessixa]

Whoah! I didn't know there was anyone else from Port Richey here! Small world.

[Shammy]

Dang! 5" of rain on Wednesday? Guess I should be glad I hit Busch Gardens on Monday (where it rained all over us half the day anyway ) and flew my butt outta there on Tuesday!
We spent the week in Sarasota and it didn't rain once. Every afternoon, we had thunder and lightening but no rain fell out of those black clouds..not in Sarasota anyway. But as soon as we got into Tampa on Monday...the black clouds came out and it poured off an on. They shut the rides down 4 different times to let the lightening pass.
Yawl have some strange weather down thar! And you're right, twas hot as all get out!

[JoanieBlon]

Originally Posted by Shammy

Dang! 5" of rain on Wednesday? ..............as soon as we got into Tampa on Monday...the black clouds came out and it poured off an on. They shut the rides down 4 different times to let the lightening pass.
Yawl have some strange weather down thar! And you're right, twas hot as all get out!

There's a good reason that the Tampa Bay area is referred to the lightning capital of the United States! We do get some real "gully washers" from time to time here, but Wednesday's "afternoon thunder shower" was one for the books. Formed up about 5pm or so and just grew and grew right over the entire City of Tampa and rumbled, roared, flashed, and dumped buckets of rain until past 9pm. 13 homes took lightning strikes and one burned almost to the ground. In some areas of South Tampa, an area notorious for exceedingly poor drainage, the water was up to the HEADLIGHTS of pickups!! We had a drought for a few years back and now Mother Nature is refilling our aquifers (almost identical to those around Playa) for us...and HOT...oh yah...every day between 90 -95 (never has hit 100 here) with dripping humidity and some nights never go below 80! AHHHHH...I LOVE it!!! After freezing my A.. off in Connecticut for 20+ misplaced years, you won't hear ME complain about it being too hot!!

[denisea]

Originally Posted by JoanieBlon

...and HOT...oh yah...every day between 90 -95 (never has hit 100 here) with dripping humidity and some nights never go below 80! AHHHHH...I LOVE it!!! After freezing my A.. off in Connecticut for 20+ misplaced years, you won't hear ME complain about it being too hot!!

Joanie, whereabouts in CT? I grew up in CT... little town called Sherman in western CT right on the NY state line and about 20 minutes north of Danbury... of course, the town's soooo small most people, even those born and raised in CT, have never heard of it... even though it's located on Candlewood Lake... the largest lake in the state.

[JoanieBlon]

Denisea...I lived in SUFFIELD (founded 1670) in a "quaint" colonial built in 1830. I am 5'4" and could touch the kitchen ceiling without standing on my tip-toes! Talk about culture shock. Born in St. Pete FL, raised in Sacramento CA and then New England?

Suffield is just north of Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks. I worked in Hartford. Raised dairy goats for a hobby.... (even joined the Grange!) I DO know where Sherman is, because I traveled all over the place on those winding, narrow country roads visiting other goat farmers...

[Fernanda]

Originally Posted by JoanieBlon

Doris & Fernanda....and any other Tampa "lurkers" out there.....would you guys be interested in getting together at a local Restaurante Mexicano for a little food, margaritas, cerveza and chatting about Playa? Might be fun!

One of our local favorites is Vallartas. The owners are from the Guadalajara area. The food and ambience is pretty good. Prices are GREAT! The best one (we think) is in Temple Terrace. The restuarant is so popular that they have opened on Dale Mabry and also in Wesley Chapel (?)

If you and any other Tampa Bay area Playa Peeps would like to get together, send me a PM. Also, If you know of other places that might be better (more Yucatano in flavor and style), I am certainly open to suggestions!! :p

sounds great!!... Anthony & I will love to go... let me know of somebody else from the area will like to join , so we can do the "playa meeting" hahaha...

[Doris]

Count us in! Just name the time and Vallartas sounds good to me. I only know where the one on Dale Mabry is, does that work for everyone? Should we wait until after Labor day or does Weds. night look good for you guys? See you soon!

[JoanieBlon]

How does meeting at Vallartas Mexican Restaurant (13731 N. Dale Mabry 813-264-7691) on Saturday, September 11th at about 6pm sound? That's pretty central, although it will be a bit of a drive for Fernanda and her husband Anthony....

Hate to go too late to any of the Dale Mabry restaurants during the weekend, as they get PACKED!


ANYONE in the greater Tampa area is invited...just let me know that you are coming. I will phone Vallartas the day before and make reservations for a table for all of us! Should be GREAT fun!!


Doris...was reading your Charlie info and was wondering if you live in Old Seminole Heights. We live just off the river by the Lowry Park boat ramp.

[Doris]

sounds great! count us in. We don't live in seminole heights, we live in North Hyde park. Still close enough to the water and all streets flood everytime it rains.
Looking forward to meeting everyone! See you soon.

[Fernanda]

Originally Posted by Doris

sounds great! count us in.
Looking forward to meeting everyone! See you soon.

We are in too!!.... see you on Saturday!

Joanieblon... so are you gonna make dinner reservations under your "nickname"/playapeeps reunion?..sounds silly but how are we gonna to know where to find you ?