Day 2 (January 8, 2025): Tampa Riverwalk and The Florida Aquarium

Even though it was a nonstop flight to get here, we still woke up feeling quite tired.  Our weather app told us the sun would rise at 7:22AM, so we flung open the curtains and watched it rise from our bed on the 25th floor.  The outside temperature was showing a very chilly 3C when we woke, but the beautiful sunrise encouraged us to get moving.  As this, the first day of the FMEA Conference is mainly about registration and meetings geared to those who teach in Florida, we had lots of time to see downtown Tampa sights.  After breakfast in the 24th floor Concierge Lounge, we headed out to do a 5KM walk along the famous Tampa Riverwalk, taking in some neat sights along the route.  We were back at the Tampa Convention Center to register Pam, when conference registration opened at 10:30AM.  After that, we had lunch at a pizza cafe, took in the amazing Florida Aquarium, had a nap, ate supper at the hotel, and ended the day with the conference's opening "President's Concert".  The latter featured a guitar orchestra, a steel band, and a mind-blowing high school jazz band.  It was a wonderful day!

Our first sunrise of the trip, taken from our hotel room at 7:22AM.

The high ceilings of the Tampa Marriott Water Street's lobby.  600 guests are due to check in today, mostly for the conference, so this quiet space will be a crazy place by this evening!

The Tampa Marriott Water Street, where we are staying, is within a stone's throw of the Tampa Convention Centre, where the conference is happening.

The Tampa Riverwalk

We decided to start our day, despite the 6C temperature, with the famous Tampa Riverwalk.  We did a 5KM roundtrip on the Walk, which follows the Hillsborough River.

Setting out on our walk.  Pam is in the plaza in front of the Tampa Convention Centre, with the Tampa Marriott Water Street (right), the J.W. Marriott (centre) and the Hilton Embassy Suites (left) in the background.

Looking northward on the Hillsborough River.  The cylindrical building in the centre of the photo is the iconic Tamps Rivergate Tower.

A rowing team from the University of Tampa out for a brisk morning practice on the Hillsborough River, with their coach following comfortably in a motorized boat, screaming directions at the crew.

These are the silver-domed turrets of the Henry B. Plant building at the University of Tampa.  At the end of the 19th and into the 20th century, Henry Plant was a wealthy businessman who created an impressive 500-room hotel served by a passenger drop-off loop from the nearby Tampa Railway Station.  This was the place to be and to be seen in Florida at the time.  The buildings have since been taken over by the University of Tampa, with a portion of the old hotel now serving as a museum to that era.  More on this tomorrow, as we are planning to go visit the site.

On my 2023 visit to Tampa, I took in the Tampa Museum of Art, which sits on the banks of the Hillsborough River.  It is an excellent collection of art and is a truly exciting place to tour.

On our walk, we remarked many times how organized and clean everything is.  You can almost smell the south Florida money that created all this amazing infrastructure!  Even the off-leash dog parks are luxurious.  I mean, if I was a dog, I would love all these structures to play on!

'Form of Wander' by Marc Fornes is an art installation along the Hillsborough River, installed in 2018.

A marker along the Hillsborough River, explaining the terrible history of lynchings in Florida. So many Black Americans died from this brutal public activity, which law enforcement not only turned a blind eye towards, but also aided.

A bull along the Riverwalk reminds visitors that the bull is the icon of the University of South Florida.  Here, Pam is literally taking the bull by the horns.

The Florida Aquarium

After a pizza lunch, we walked to The Florida Aquarium, a top-rated destination in Tampa.  The exhibits, as you will see via the highlights below, are incredibly diverse and of great quality.  We loved it!

This tank cleaner greeted us at our first exhibit. The tank is filled with different varieties of 'gar' - pointy-nosed freshwater fish found all over Florida.

Rudy ducks.

Playful otter.

Baby alligators.

Caribbean spiney lobsters.

Stingray.

Starfish.

Tiger shark.

Lionfish.  Although they are colourful, they are a destructive, invasive species in Floridian waters.

Pot-bellied sea horses. 

Jelly fish.

Electric eel. They zap their prey with an electric shock. Fun Fact: they aren't really eels;  rather, they are members of the carp family.

Paddlefish - named for their paddle-like snouts.

Various species of poison dart frogs. We saw some of these highly poisonous frogs in the wild in Costa Rica last summer.

Lemurs.  "You lick-clean my ear, and I will lick-clean your paw!"

Tortoises.

The TECO (Tampa Electric Company) Streetcar plies a 25-minute route from downtown Tampa to historic Ybor City, east of downtown, famous for its cigar-making industry of yester-year. The historic streetcar passes the Aquarium and the Cruise Ship Port.  This free streetcar is one of the most enjoyable things for me to experience each time I visit Tampa.

Some Concerts Scenes from Today

Freedom High School Guitar Orchestra.  

Blake High School Jazz Messengers.  Every one of these students was of the caliber of a professional musician. 

Faa Middle School Advanced Steel Band.  Just under 20 students from grade 8.