30 Apr - Shopping, Lunch, Beach

 

Leisurely day today.  Woke up to heavy condensation on the outside of the RV.  Warm and humid here.    Lows in the 70's highs in the 80's.  We did some shopping early at Home Depot for a few little maintenance items.  I had to take a picture of the price of 4x8 sheets of plywood.  Glad I don't have any construction projects going on right now! I need someone to explain to me the logic behind this.  I'm not swallowing the supply and demand argument.

We then stopped by Big Ray's Fish Camp which is a little lunch stop just north of the base.  This was recommended by Steve Cotter, one of our military comrades from Des Moines.  Steve is retired from the Air National Guard in Civil Engineering and also worked there full time as a State employee.

So Big Ray's Fish Camp is located in what I'm guessing was likely a gas station at one time. The building and even the location is not impressive but the food was absolutely awesome! The line was out the door when we arrived but we got inside quickly and then after ordering went outside to a picbic table area to wait for our food.  Doreen is not a seafood eater so she ordered their burger with coleslaw and I ordered a fresh oyster po'boy sandwich with fries and one of their local IPA's called "Unholy". Both of us ordered homemade key lime pie for dessert.

Our food arrived quickly and the sandwiches were massive.  Doreen, the smart one of the bunch, immediately cut hers in half to take with us.  I should have done the same!  They wisely delayed the pie until we were about done eating and at that point neither of us needed pie, but it was obviously homemade and to die for!

We both waddled out of there and headed back to MacDill and the base exchange to walk off lunch.  After some shopping back to the campground to relax during the heat of the day.  Later we headed down to the beach and soaked in some rays.  The water temp is in the 80's and very enjoyable.  Doreen searched for sea shells.  

On the way back to the RV we spotted "Sarge's BBQ" food truck and that sounded good for dinner, so we stopped by and ordered from Sarge.  

He was a retired Air Force Veteran who owns a restaurant locally and runs this food truck also.  We mentioned we were from Iowa and he told us while being stationed at Ellsworth AFB in Rapid City SD  he and his buddy drove down to Fort Dodge Iowa to visit his buddy's relatives.  He commented about enjoying a tubing adventure there.

Our brisket sandwiches were done so we walked back to the RV and retired for the evening.   Nothing crazy planned for tomorrow, our last day here.  The other Alliance RV owners we met here want to stop over tomorrow evening for cocktails and to see what modifications and enhancements we've done to our coach.  

That's it for tonight. The Cubs are losing to the Cincinnati Reds4-8 top of the 9th.  The Cubs are there all weekend.  Directv allows us to stay tuned in.

29 Apr - Oakland A's vs Tampa Bay Rays Baseball Game at Tropicana Field

 

Today was game day!  We drove to Tropicana Field for a 1310 hrs baseball game between the Oakland A's and the Tampa Bay Rays.  From where we are camping the drive was about 45 minutes considering the primarily 25 mph speed limit on base and we are about as far away from the main gate in the FamCamp as you can get!.  Once off base the drive was not bad, the traffic was light and we were able to Tropicana Field and get in line for parking quickly.  They are only operating at about 20% fill at the ballparks here, so there are tons of parking spaces therefore plenty of room for the big ol' brown truck.  We still parked as far out as we could and had no one even close to us.  

Tropicana Field started out as the Florida Suncoast Dome in 1990 and became the ThunderDome in 1993 when a National Hockey League team came here. It was renamed Tropicana Field on Oct 4, 1996, in accordance with a naming rights agreement between the Rays and Bradenton's Tropicana Dole Beverages North America. 

Millions of dollars have been invested in Tropicana Field over the years and it shows.  What a beautiful field and stadium. We were disappointed the stadium tours have been suspended due to COVID so we asked at Fan Services about areas of the stadium we should see and if they have a "heritage area".  We were told there was not, but our online research says otherwise.  There is apparently a Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame located in Center Field Street but it was closed.  Very disappointing.

At Fan Services Doreen got her MLB "passport" stamped which is a date/time stamp proof of attendance.  At most MLB stadiums Fan Services also issue a "first game" certificate for those who are attending an MLB game for the first time. Due to COVID they have suspended the certificates, BUT, they offer a QR code scan that allows you to go back and create your own certificate after the fact!  

 

After that we made our way all the way around the stadium looking at the various vendors and their fare.  

The Kid's Club.  When they sign up they get some Tampa Bay swag and are treated like royalty!

We did not put two and two together before attending this game!  Doreen and I lathered up with sun screen at the truck, hats on and sun glasses in place!  Tropicana Field is a dome!  And it does not open!  It is like the UNI dome in Cedar Falls.  It is held up by air pressure.  So a pleasant surprise inside the dome with an air conditioned, pleasant 72 degrees and no need for sun screen!  Ha!  It was absolutely wonderful inside, especially with only 20% capacity.  No lines for anything and no one around us!

As we did our self-tour of the stadium we found the string ray touch tank in the outfield, void of sting rays! Apparently due to COVID they have not been brought here yet from the aquarium. Normally you can touch them and watch them swim around.

One of the group ticket areas of Tropicana Field

We had great seats in section 123, which is the closest section to the field. You can see here they attendance was very light.

A view from our seats near third base line

A view from the outfield about the string ray tank.

Former Cardinal Stephan Piscotty up to bat.  We sent this picture back to Jim Freese, a military comrade and a huge Card's fan.  

Lunch was a Cuban sandwich for me and a chicken fajita for Doreen.  They had a good selection of food in the stadium.  We were able to stay for quite a bit of the game. We did get a photo op with the Tampa Bay Rays mascot "Raymond" before having to head back to the campground to let our dog out.

Oakland would go on to beat the Rays 3-2.  We are glad we were able to visit this stadium during our sweep through Florida.  Our next ball game will be in Miami on 9 May when the Milwaukee Brewers visit the Miami Marlins!

28 Apr - Beach Day + Driving Tour

Today we drove from the southern end of St Petersburg to the northern end of Clearwater with stops along the way, which encompassed most of the popular beaches along this part coast.  First stop was not a beach but a hotel, and an interesting one at that!

The Don CeSar Hotel, nicknamed the "Pink Palace on St. Pete Beach", opened in 1928. In 1942 The U.S. Army purchased the hotel and it served as a hospital and a convalescent center for airmen returning from their WWII tour.  From 1945 to 1969 it served as a Veterans Administration Headquarters and then was abandoned by the Government.  In the early 70's a group of local citizens formed a committee to save the old hotel and in 1973 it re-opened as a resort.  Since then it has hosted many celebrities and has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Heading north from there along St Pete's Beach our attention was diverted to a great looking Metropolitan sitting at a nice little ice cream shop.  Larry's Ice Cream and Gelatos featured a wide variety of  ice cream and we had ours in a waffle bowl.  It was delicious!

The next beach was Treasure Island but we did not stop.  We traveled over John's Pass and admired the great view.  

Soon we arrived at Madeira Beach.  We found plenty of parking in one of the paid lots and headed for the sand and the water!  The beach was not crowded at all but there were still a few families enjoying the beautiful weather.  

After Madeira Beach we continued our drive north past Redington Beach and Belleair Beach.  What a beautiful drive!  It reminds me a lot of Gulf Shores Alabama with the towering hotels.  

 We continued north over Sand Key Bridge and soon we were at Clearwater Beach.  Some amazing white sand beaches here.  

 Clearwater Beach was really busy.  The traffic was thick, the lanes narrow and parking was non-existent.  We attempted to find a parking spot in one of the surface lots or on-street parking but it simply was not going to happen, so we headed back towards the base.  

So when a career communications technician is on vacation, it is not always about beaches and sand.  We also appreciate communications towers and the like.  When we were in the Phoenix AZ area we spotted what the untrained eye would think is a Saguaro Cactus but was actually a cellular tower!  Today we spotted this "beauty" just north of the base!  Ha! Again, to the untrained eye this looks like some sort of sick pine tree, but those "buds" on top are cellular antennas!  

Back at the campground we took a break and reviewed the route for the ball game tomorrow - 1310 hrs Oakland Athletics at the Tampa Bay Rays!