Gasparilla Eve . . . all about Tampa, Florida!

It seemed fitting to repost this article
on Gasparilla Eve!






TAMPA . . . The word "Tampa" is a Native American word used to refer to the area when the first European explorers arrived in Florida whose meaning is sometimes claimed to mean "sticks of fire" in the language . . ."The place to gather sticks" . . . which also relates to the high concentration of lightning strikes that Tampa Bay receives every year during the hot and wet summer months.


HISTORY

Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon first arrived in the Tampa Bay area in 1513, but the Spaniards focused their attention on settling eastern Florida and left the western areas alone. In 1824, only two months after the arrival of the first American settler, four companies of the U.S. Army established Fort Brooke to protect the strategic harbor at Tampa Bay.

Tampa owes its commercial success to Tampa Bay and the Hillsborough River. When phosphates were discovered nearby in the late 1880's, the resulting mining and shipping industries prompted a boom of growth and wealth that lasted through the 1890's. The Port of Tampa is now the seventh largest in the nation; today phosphate shipping is supplemented by trade in shrimp. A pleasure cruise line operates as well.

In 1886, Vicente Martinez Ybor established a cigar factory in Tampa. From the steps of Ybor's factory, José Marti, sometimes called the George Washington of Cuba, exhorted the cigar workers to take up arms against Spain in the late 1800's. Hispanic culture enlivens Ybor City which covers about 2 square miles between Nebraska Avenue, 22nd Street, Columbus Drive and East Broadway.

The military has also had an ongoing role in Tampa's development. The city was the primary outfitting and embarkation port for U.S. troops bound for Cuba during the Spanish-American War. Today the U.S. Operations Command is headquartered nearby at MacDill Air Force Base.





WHAT MAKES TAMPA UNIQUE . . .
DIVERSITY

One of the things that makes Tampa unique is the Gasparilla celebration, a festival similar to Mardi Gras with a pirate theme . . . best to check out the video . . . click here.

As far as I'm concerned, this is as close as I'm going to get to living in paradise. There are warm breezes, gone is the humidity, the daily afternoon tropical thunderstorms or threats of an impending hurricane and only the occasional cold day and night (what I call cold) . . . this is winter in Tampa, the best time to visit my part of the world. We occasionally get a freeze at night, but it never snows and cold fronts usually move fast and last a day or two, then back to warm and sunny Florida weather.

No matter what you are in the mood for, you can find it here, there is lots to do . . . you can relax and dine at a waterside cafe, take a streetcar ride to Channelside for shopping and back to Ybor City for a delight all to itself.

Ybor City is an experience that takes you back to another era, known as Florida's Latin Quarter, wrought iron balconies, globe streetlights, brick-lined walkways and the majestic architecture of cigar factories, social clubs and other unique buildings. It provides a glimpse into an era rich with culture and history . . . famous for Spanish Flamenco dancers, Cuban sandwiches, hand-rolled cigars, shopping at Centro Ybor by day and when the sun goes down, party at the many restaurants, nightclubs and bars that line the streets of Ybor City that are so reminiscent of New Orleans.

For those into sports, Tampa is home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Lightning and winter home of the New York Yankees and served three times as Super Bowl host.

Tampa is one hour away from Disney World and the home of Busch Gardens, where you can ride world known roller coasters like the Montu, Sheikra, Gwazi, Kumba and many other attractions, one of the most awesome zoos in the world and gorgeous gardens to walk through. Check out all to do at Busch Gardens by visiting their website, which is a treat in itself . . .
Busch Gardens website

Cross Tampa Bay and you will find white, sugar sand beaches, sport fishing, jet skiing, parasailing . . . there is nothing like walking the beach at dawn or watching a spectacular sunset on the Gulf of Mexico.

There is also an abundance of state parks, botanical gardens . . . a nature lover's paradise.

Famous people from Tampa . . . Ray Charles, Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys, his brother Aaron Carter, Hulk Hogan, Lauren Hutton, baseball players Dwight Gooden, Gary Sheffield and Steve Garvey, singer/songwriter Stephen Stills . . . and me!

Cruising to a Life Together...of Cruising

This is an excerpt of the booklet, 'Cruising to a Life Together'

‘We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.’

At 8 PM on August 8, 2008 (8/8/8/08) Bill, 64, and I, nearly 60, started putting it all together in a way that matched our dreams. With loving family and close  friends we cruised to a life together…of cruising. We were both as much in search of a wedding ceremony of meaning as a marriage that will last (this will be the third for each of us) the remainder of our lives (the 30 or so years we have left). And we believe we found who we have been looking for!

Destination weddings have become such a byword. Wikipedia defines a destination wedding as ‘any wedding in which the engaged couple and/or a majority of their guests travel to attend the ceremony’. Bill and I, however, gave new meaning to the term: one, because our destination was not a specific place but rather a kind of lifestyle, and two, because it was not at the expense that the Cruise (Tom and Katie) wedding was.With the rising costs, real destination weddings have become the wedding of  choice only for the select few, the rich and famous. So we needed a twist, an option for couples who are not so fortunate, those whose first name may be Bill but whose last name isn’t Gates!

First we visualized the ceremony of our dreams: it had to be three things: fun, affordable, and meaningful. What a difficult set of values to balance! But then again, so is a marriage. And it had to be all three according to the circumstances, the preferences, and the dreams of the bride and groom. But, yes, more especially the bride’s!

I wanted a garden/nature-inspired wedding so it had to be outdoors. Our guests  should thoroughly enjoy THE PARTY! We had to be able to afford it (our travel plans for the future should not be endangered by the expense). The location, the ceremony, and the gathering must symbolize the joining of our lives. And the date must be numerologically lucky! Whew...tough criteria!

I originally wanted the wedding to be on November 28, 2008 because by then I would have reached 60 and, hopefully, reached the age of wisdom. But 8 PM on 8/8/08 (which the Chinese believe is the luckiest day of the century that is why they fought to have the Summer Olympics of 2008 in Beijing, which opened on the same date) beckoned with increasing force.

We looked at various options: garden estates, hotel courtyards, quaint B&Bs, even public parks with earthworks and lots of greenery. Luckily, we found that charting a cruise ship for three hours can be just as affordable! We wanted a guest list that is just right and the ship’s maximum capacity was a big help! We  chartered the only available ship left and luckily, it was the smallest Argosy ship (64 max). That certainly helped take care of…affordability!

Wikipedia defines a cruise ship as ‘a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience’. Cruising has become a major part of the tourism industry and cruise ships operate mostly on routes that return passengers to their originating port (ocean liners do "line voyages" and typically transport passengers from one point to another, rather than on round trips). A river (or lake) cruise ship, on the other hand, has similar amenities, however is shorter, narrower, and has a shallower draft, allowing it to travel inland waterways.

Fun for our guests…what can be more fun than being cozily trapped together in a cruise ship for a ritual that inspires and energizes in a setting that inspires and energizes? Many people have not had the chance to go cruising around together with ALL of the people they want to be with. In a short three hours you have romance, ambiance, food, booze, dance, music, games, banter, speeches, and THE sights. And we’ll talk about that in a little while!

Eureka! With all the bodies of water around us in the evergreen Pacific Northwest, the Pacific Ocean, the Puget Sound, and the lakes, an affordable, meaningful fun-filled lakes cruise wedding suddenly popped up as an affordable option for us! But for the last criterion…meaningful…we needed to have a good look at the real meaning of weddings on a cruise ship.

According to Cruise Lines International Association, cruise weddings have grown at a phenomenal rate the last few years. Five years ago, there were practically none, but this year ours will only be one of thousands. Carnival Cruise Lines alone estimates it will plan over 2000 weddings this year, and those weddings will also have a built-in honeymoon. This growth rate should not be surprising. You can have a wedding and then sail off on your/their honeymoon! No travel  time wasted between the "I dos" and the fun.

Cruise weddings can take place on board or on a romantic shore such as a  beach, a glacier, or a rolling meadow. Many couples get married while in a Caribbean port or before the cruise begins. That way the guests can come aboard, enjoy the service, and disembark before sailing. Alternatively, you could invite all your guests on the honeymoon! However, we will not be able to do this because our budget did not allow it (sorry!).

Besides the fun and the surprising affordability of a localized cruise wedding, the meaningfulness is unrivalled. I took this meaning of cruising from Dictionary.com: ‘to fly, drive, or sail at a constant speed that permits maximum operating efficiency for sustained travel’. A late-in-life marriage such as ours is really aimed at cruising along in life after years of hard work to provide for our families (I was, after all, a single parent for more than two decades). And what better way to do that than sustained travel for the years we are still able to do so?

This lifestyle is celebrated by the song of Gwyneth Paltrow and Huey Lewis:

“Baby let's cruise, away from here

Don't be confused, the way is clear

& if you want it you got it forever

This is not a one night stand, baby, yeah so,

Let the music take your mind, ooh

Just release & you will find

You're gonna fly away

Glad you're goin' my way

I love it when we're cruisin' together

The music is played for love,

Cruisin' is made for love

I love it when we're cruisin' together .”

Doesn’t that make you feel like cruising is the best form of existence for an ‘old’ (mostly because of Bill) couple like us? What better way than to cruise around a  lake that is named Union and to share a toast with loving family members and close friends aboard a ship named Champagne Lady?

Our life will be a looooooooong cruise that will take us through our bucket list, some 88 places we want to see and 48 activities we want to do together. This indeed became the dream wedding we wanted…fun, affordable, and meaningful. It was a lot of fun…executing it in less than three months and being with our friends and family in  three riotous hours. It was certainly affordable…under $9,000. And it was, best of all, meaningful, because…

We cruised to a life together…of cruising. It is not going to be a life of raising kids, building a home, and saving for retirement. This IS retirement, call it a reinvention. We will be cruisers in the last third of our lives. We will not buy expensive floating homes or huge mansions a la Gates. But we will travel many bridges that connect cities, countries and continents. We will revisit books, objets d’art, and places that made/make history. We will be entertained in sports, theater and other art forms. We will walk endless gardens, drive long roads, and sail many seas. We will commune with all kindred spirits, and we will have the beauty of nature and man’s achievements as a backdrop to a life of leisure and payback.

This is what the cruise meant to us, this is what weddings should be made of, this is how marriages should begin. And the quote we love which we have also printed on our wedding invitation, ‘We may not have it all together but together we have it all!’  now finally hangs as a cute little art work on our door. Our dream cruise wedding on the Champagne Lady around Lake Union at 8 PM on August 8, 2008, with our close friends and loving family was definitely the finest way to start getting it all together.

Asakusa - Day Trip

I wanted to share some photos of Asakusa; famous with tourists not only for its temples but also for its winding back alley streets with food stalls, souvenir shops and rickshaws. Asakusa is always our preferred base when we are in Tokyo. It's quiet yet convenient.

When one think of Asakusa, one would think of Sensoji Temple. Here in the photo is the Kaminarimon (or Thunder) gate. Just behind that gate is Nakamise-dori, there is a shopping street with more than 50 shops selling local specialties and souvenir items. Nakamise-dori ends at the temple second gate, Hozomon.

 

A magnet for local and foreign tourists alike, this place will be swarmed with people come weekends and public holidays. Be prepared for a huge crowd if you come during these times.

It is nicer to visit the temple complex early in the morning when there were only locals about without the tourists crush.

Away from Nakamise-dori but still nearby to the temple complex, you can experience more vibrant alley with plenty more shops.

There are a few supermarkets around too. We always buy our fruits here. The residential feel of the place is what drawn us to Asakusa every time. I always love to walk around the area with Raimie in the evening (while Zaini went on his solo trip), meeting friendly people along the way.

If we were staying at Toyoko-Inn Asakusa Komagata, there is a bonus for Raimie before reaching our hotel. The hotel was nearby Bandai Office and outside the office were statues of Doraemon, Ultraman, Gundam, to name a few. He loves taking photos there. We literally had hundreds of them in our collection.

Doraemon in a raincoat because it rained earlier. Even Ultraman statue had one.

For Entrecard members, my EC profile banner is of Hanayashiki Amusement Park; located in Asakusa. The amusement park is more than 150 years old and is the oldest amusement park in Japan. The area around Hanayashiki is quite "interesting" with what I think several 'adult" theaters about.

Some photos on my post a year back, here. 

A Day With Zoffy At Ultraman Club

After meeting with Ultraman Mebius the day before, Raimie was pretty excited at the chance of meeting with Zoffy (a senior ranking Ultraman, for those not in the know). After checking out from Nikko Kawasaki Hotel, we went back to Lazona and head towards Ultraman Club again.

Zoffy's appearance. Unlike Ultraman Mebius appearance that came with a live show, Zoffy only interacted with the children. Not that Raimie complained.

 

A chance for a photo with Zoffy is not to be missed.

 

Then, after everyone had taken their photos with Zoffy, it was time to learn some cool moves together.

 

All too soon, it's time to bid farewell to Zoffy.

We initially planned for just on visit to Ultraman Club but it turned out that we made two visits there. Raimie enjoyed himself, not only because he gets to meet his heroes but also because he got to play with other kids.

He's already talking (trying to brainwash me, more like) about us making a return visit to Kawasaki, specifically to Ultraman Club. Mommy and Daddy better starting savings lots of money now!

A Dose Of Energy Anyone?

There are two drinks from Japan both Zaini and Raimie love, apart from Calpis and they are Dekavita C and Oronamin C. Both are energy drinks from Japan. In Japan, energy drinks are almost legendary as the energy drink dates as far back as in the 1960s aimed at all those hardworking salarymen needing a boost after a hard day's work or curing a hangover.

In Japan, these energy drinks are easily accessible and you can buy them from the vending machine. No shortage of energy drinks there.

Dekavita C from Suntory and Raimie happy being allowed to drink one. Well, once a month anyway.

Filled with sweet delicious nectar, it is said to be filled with loads of vitamin wonder with ingredients listed: fructose, dextroglucose, sugar, royal jelly, citric acid, vitamin C, B1, B6, B2, B12, caffeine, glutamic acid, B-Carotin.

Oranamin C, an energy drink from Otsuka which also produce Pocari Sweat.

Its ingredients include sugar, glucose, fructose, syrup, honey, salt, artificial flavor, vitamin C, cintric Acid, caffeine, ciacinamide, pyridoxine, hydrochloride, riboflavin, methyl, hesperidin, isoleucine, threonine, phenylalanine and a dose of MSG too.

For me, they taste pretty much like a fizzy version of Red Bull, to which I have no liking of (they taste like sweet&bitter cough medicine, blergh!). Zaini disagree with me on this, however. Needless to say, I'm not too crazy about these drinks. They are way too sweet for me but Zaini and Raimie loves them. Why don't you try one and decide. If you like very sweet, fizzy drinks, you might like these energy drinks. I don't know whether these drinks do provide energy but I think it'll give you a quick burst of hyperactivity after drinking it.

Zaini and Raimie drink this for fun because what kid doesn't like sweet, sugary stuff?

A bottle is priced RM7.90 (used to cost only RM5.50 but yen has gone up against RM,*sob sob*) and you can find them at any Japanese stores in KL: Jusco, Isetan, Shojikiya, to name a few. Though at the moment Jusco is running low on these drinks. No stock of Calpis either. I think people started to buy them after reading and salivating of Ladyviral's post on her Calpis drinking experience. LOL

Anyway, what's you favourite energy drink?

And The Prize Goes To...

Remember my post earlier; about giving away a book written by Hajah Halela titled Pulut Sakura Serunding Kasih?

Am happy to inform the winner is Nick Phillips of Anything Goes. Nick e-mailed me the correct answer within minutes after my post was published.

The book is on its way to Nick and hopefully he’ll receive it soon. But first Nick, you haven't replied to my e-mail yet!

Congrats Nick!

A Close Encounter With Ultraman Mebius And Empera Seijin

Going to Ultraman Club, in Namco Wonderpark Heros' Base in Kawasaki, Raimie wouldn't miss meeting his favourite heroes at any cost!

For us, the main highlight of going to any Ultraman themed places is meeting the Ultra Heroes themselves, be it at Ultraman Festival, Ultramanland, Ultraman Stadium, Tsuburaya Jungle or here at Ultraman Club.

The stage area

The staff setting the mood for the appearance of Ultraman Mebius battling Empera Seijin. Just look at the kids' concentration.

 

The appearance of Empera Seijin to battle Ultraman Mebius, right in front of the children. For any Ultraman fan, you can't get anything cooler than this. The "live show" went about for a few minutes with plenty of tumbling, fighting and lighting effects, much to the joy of the kids.

 

Raimie being "protected" by the staff member against any attack from Empera Seijin.

 

As expected, Ultraman Mebius won the battle. After Empera Seijin was gone, it was time for Ultraman Mebius to teach the kids some cool moves and gave some advice. Children, listen to what Mebius has to say now. :)

 

Then, it was time for group photo. There was no individual photo session with Mebius, so everyone had to make do with this group photo session.

 

And all too soon, it was time to bid "sayonara" to Mebius.

Was Raimie happy? Definitely! It's all worthwhile taking this trip from Tokyo to Kawasaki. Heck, we made our way to Kyushu the last two years to visit Ultramanland and even traipsed the countryside to go to Terai in Komatsu, Kanazawa for Ultraman Stadium, you know!

But maybe, he'll get way too cool and big to be such an Ultraman fanatic in years to come. Well, he still has his Kamen Rider that he love.