Dateline Dayton –The closing chapter of our Florida visit:
Our final day in Venice started with breakfast, then having to say goodbye to our dear friends Darlene and Ray. Now we were on our way to visit our son who lives in Tampa.
We arrived at his new place, in Ybor City, at 10 o’clock. He rents a room from the young man who owns the home in this historical part of Tampa. It was a win-win situation for both. A real plus to this location is being close to Chris’s work, cutting his drive time to five minutes.
Nearing the lunch hour, we were off to the Yummy House for delicious Chinese food ahead of our scheduled tour of Ybor City at 2 o’clock. The restaurant’s original location was near Chris’s old apartment; helpfully, they have opened another facility not far from his new place. A meal at the Yummy House has become a tradition on visits to Tampa. The service at the new Yummy is different from the other, meaning the food is served as you would expect it. At the other Yummy, you never would know what would be served first.
When we visited Chris last March, he had nothing planned, so we ended up going to a movie. This was a terrible waste of good Florida time, although it was an excellent movie. I had to come up with suggestions on where to eat and what we could do for sightseeing. This year he had plans, lunch, tour and dinner, with entertainment.
At 2, we met our tour guide and the four of us, along with a Chinese girl, who was in town for a convention, were on our way. Our guide gave us the history of Ybor City, how it got its name, told us about the buildings and homes in the area.
Ybor City was named after Vicente Martinez Ybor, a prominent Spanish-born cigar manufacturer. Ybor had moved his cigar-making operation from Cuba to Key West in 1869 due to the political turmoil in the then-Spanish colony. Labor unrest and the lack of room for expansion had him looking for another base of operation, preferably in his own company town, thus Ybor City. The tour ended with us on land owned by Cuba. It is in a gated area of Ybor City; however, our guide had a key.
Saturday, evening we had reservations at the Columbia Restaurant, one of the few businesses that remained during the decline of the area in the 1970s. We had a great meal, and there was entertainment by Flamingo dancers. A wonderful day, and best of all we got to spend it with our son.
Saturday morning Chris fixed breakfast for us and then we were on our way back to Ohio. We took the scenic route, again avoiding having to go through Atlanta. It’s a little slower and you go through the Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. But it was fun. By 5 Sunday afternoon, we were safely back home.
Next week I will report on our Grand Canyon trip.
Mr. Hennessey may be contacted at pmhenn@sbcglobal.net
