If you were here last year, you may know that I like the idea of Gasparilla more than the actual event.  So I collected abandoned pirate booty as I strolled down Bayshore Boulevard Sunday morning, the day after Saturday’s annual Gasparilla parade.  The fuzzy, smiling object is a baby’s rattle – imagine how manly Finding Tampa looked strolling around south Tampa with that.  I surely would not have frightened off any pirates.

This is the Tampa Museum of Art, located downtown, with Curtis Hixon park in the foreground.  This image is four photographs stitched together.  For Finding Tampa’s previous references to the museum, scroll down to the category cloud and select the Tampa Museum of Art link.

This is the kind of infrastructure detail I love, a brightly-painted storm drain cover in downtown Tampa.  And it was manufactured in the USA by U.S. Foundry of Medley, Florida.

On a recent Saturday we made the trek down to Bradenton to visit relatives.  Bradenton is in Manatee County, on the south side of Tampa Bay.  We all took a visit to Bradenton’s Robinson Preserve, a fairly new nature area that is free to the public.  To get there, we had to cross Tampa Bay on the Sunshine Skyway bridge.

It was a chilly, somewhat overcast day, but the preserve is lovely and peaceful.  Beautiful grasses grow wild and native birds are easy to spot.

There are hiking trails and a canoe/kayak launch.

The highlight of the park is probably the observation tower that offers spectacular views of the area, including a view of the Sunshine Skyway from the “correct” angle.

The image below is a combination of two photographs.

Seeing Robinson Preserve for the first time was a real treat, if you have plans to visit Bradenton I highly recommend it.  More information about the preserve can be found at the Manatee County website.

This is a photo of a turkey vulture flying downtown, sort of a follow-up to my previous post of a turkey vulture in front of the Franklin Exchange.  Downtown businesses have taken strange measures to scare off the birds, but I like George Allen’s idea of an annual Vulture Fest as reported in the Tampa Bay Times.  I would attend Vulture Fest.

I saw this figure on a recent Saturday morning downtown.  I’m not a fan of the restaurant, but I do love pancakes.

Some more photos of Oaklawn Cemetery in downtown Tampa.  I recommend Oaklawn if you are looking for a site for a contemplative stroll.  The trees heavy with Spanish moss set the appropriate mood and it is a welcome spot of quiet in downtown.

Oaklawn Cemetery is an amazing piece of history in downtown Tampa.  People laid to rest there represent all stages of Tampa’s history.  Including former Florida governor Henry L. Mitchell, who later served as Hillsborough County Circuit Court Clerk and County Treasurer.

Or Tampa’s “second lawyer,” James Gettis, also a Tampa city councilman and Florida state representative.

Or James McKay, Jr., mayor of Tampa from 1902-1904.  (Note to career counselors: talk more students into becoming “magnates.”)

Or another famous Kennedy family.

And veterans of numerous wars, including World War I.

And as for the original question, who is buried in Ybor’s tomb?  Vicente Martinez Ybor, who founded Ybor City, and one of his grandsons, Vicente M. Ybor y Ruiz.  That’s their tomb at the bottom.

More photos from Oaklawn Cemetery next time.

I consider myself a pacifist, but I am fascinated by military surplus stores, like Army Navy Surplus in downtown Tampa.  I hope to go back and explore some day when they are open.

A look at some of the architectural detail of the Floridan Hotel in downtown Tampa.  This ties in somewhat with Sunday’s post Elvis Ate Here – Elvis is reported to have stayed at the Floridan in 1955 following a Tampa concert.  Other celebrity guests included Jack Dempsey, Gary Cooper, and Jimmy Stewart, among others.