Rain, rain go away!

I have been in Tampa, Florida since Thursday afternoon. It has been cloudy and rainy ever since. I'm leaving this afternoon without ever seeing the highly touted Florida sunshine, and apparently it is raining at home too. What kind of weather is this for fireworks?!

So, I'll just have to come back to Tampa another time, after Meg gets moved here for school, and experience some sunshine. On the plus side Meg got everything accomplished on the USF campus that she needed to and discovered that the Bulls are in the Big East conference. We did get a chance to go to downtown Tampa yesterday, in between rain showers, and see a bit of the riverwalk. There are a lot of new museums getting ready to open in the fall - a childrens museum and an art museum. Lots of construction downtown as well, which bodes well for the future. I can't wait to come back and go to the art museum when it opens.

Will also be going over to St. Petersburg next time. Not having a car was a problem because it limited our mobility. We rode the bus downtown and back yesterday, but Meg is opposed to public transportation because it "creeps her out." Having just come back from Europe, where I rode a lot of trams and metros, I'm a little more sanguine about the whole public transportation situation. I still have callouses on my palms from gripping the rails on the trams in Prague. Those drivers are intense, let me tell you!

Got to have a long talk with my playwright friend who has relocated to St. Pete yesterday. She has a show going up Tuesday. Wish I could stick around to see it. However, she has another show going up this winter and I hope to get here to see that. At least when I come back I'll have someone to stay with now. :)

I hope everyone has a great firecracker day in spite of the weather where you are. Spare a thought or two for our soldiers and veterans, and try to remember to be grateful for the fact that we live in a country where we are free to disagree and not get killed or tortured for our views. Be careful with the fireworks, enjoy a hotdog or two, and ooh and aah when you see the fireworks displays.