A Day of Relaxation

My last post was entitled, "Easing into NOT Working," and that is just what we have been trying to do.

After a fairly quiet weekend, we took some time yesterday to plant some grass in front of the pavers by the north gate, next to the pavers which border the patio, and across the area in the back yard where we distributed the "extra" dirt dug out to make room for the paver base.  We covered the front area and the area next to the patio with burlap.  Soon we must remove the burlap that we used in the front yard since the new grass is staring to poke though.

My birthday was this past Sunday, and I told Rick that I wanted to visit certain area attractions -- museums, art galleries, aquariums, and the Tampa Zoo -- as my birthday gift.  Today we took the time to visit a couple of those chosen places.

The Moorish architecture of the old Tampa Bay Hotel made
this an exotic destination.

The first place we went to was the Henry B. Plant Museum in Tampa.  The Museum is part of what once was the lavish Tampa Bay Hotel that Plant built from 1888 -1891.  Wanting to have a southern hotel to entice guests to use his railroads and steamships to travel south for the winter season, Plant bought land next to the Hillsborough River in Tampa, Florida.

In 1888, Tampa had only a little over 750 residents, many of whom worked in the vast orange groves that covered most of the area.  Plant envisioned a grand hotel and he set about building it.  He spent 2.5 million dollars on the hotel, and he and his wife traveled Europe to find furnishings for his unheard-of 500 room hotel.  He spent another half a million dollars on paintings, rugs, pottery, art objects, and furniture for the hotel.  The place is incredible.

The veranda offers a cool place to rest after
a day filled with activities.

Wide verandas and eleven-foot-tall windows gave guests a chance to enjoy the mild breezes that make Florida a wonderful winter destination.  His guests dined on meals created by New York chefs, entertained themselves with hunting, fishing, swimming, racing, bowling, biking, and other outdoor sports. Evenings were filled with first-rate entertainment in his casino (theater, not gambling) and at balls in the grand salon.

The hotel became the national headquarters of the American Army for the Spanish-American War, and afterward returned to being a hotel.  However, as the gilded age ended, guests pursued other interests.  Plant died in 1899 of a heart attack, and his second wife and his son had little interest in the hotel.  They sold the Plant empire, and the city of Tampa bought the $3 million hotel for $125,000.

Today the hotel is owned and operated by the University of Tampa.  While the Plant Museum occupies one wing of the original hotel, the rest of the hotel houses the University's administrative offices.  However, students may still dine in the grand ballroom, and the Rathskeller downstairs still offers a delightful little sandwich shop.

From that shop Rick and I bought lunch which we shared as a picnic in the park across the street from the Museum.  After lunch, we walked across the river to the Tampa Museum of Art.  Parking at the Plant Museum was impossible, so we actually parked near the Art Museum and walked across the bridge to get to the Plant Museum.

The roses spoonbill strolls across a park path.

The spoonbill was not shy and shared our walk
in the park.

On the way back to the Art Museum, we came across a delightful surprise in the park: one of Rick's favorite Florida birds, the roseate spoonbill.  We walked along a little creek, and it followed us from the other side for the entire length of the park.  We were surprised that the bird let us get that close, but he must be used to people since students use the park as an outdoor study/ relaxation area.

The Tampa Museum of Art was not what we expected.  It is advertised as "modern art," but the first thing one sees when entering is a permanent exhibit of "the classics," -- mostly Greek and Roman jewelry and pottery from 3000 BC - 600 AD.

Rick flirts with some new friends at an outdoor exhibit
at the Tampa Art Museum.

The DID have a an exhibit of some modern works, and they also had a collection of sports photography that was interesting.  However, their exhibits were far from the "modern art" like we saw when visiting the Museum of Modern Art in London.  I guess, though, that the terminology can have many interpretations.

We were home by 4:00 so we could avoid the Tampa rush hour traffic.  All in all, we had an interesting, enjoyable day away from Gladys and working around the house.  As the next few weeks arrive, we would like to take one day a week to visit more of the attractions that are just across the bay from us in Tampa.