Thoughts of a Toddler

Being a toddler is tough business. Between trying to figure out how to communicate clearly and trying to master the art of walking really fast, toddlers …

The post Thoughts of a Toddler appeared first on Tampa Bay Parenting.

Most Instagrammed eats

Foodstagramming was not among the Oxford English Dictionary's words of the year. (The big prize went to "vaping." Eh.)

Officials acknowledge $50-million deficit at Young VA, but insist it is not a concern

Supervisors at the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center were told recently to keep quiet about performance bonuses owed to employees retiring after Sept. 30, and to not pay them unless retirees specifically asked for their money.

15 new things to do in 2015

(Photo courtesy of Lights on Tampa)

The Outback Bowl kicks off another busy year in Tampa Bay, with loads of new things to see, do and eat.

If you're local, 2015 is the year to explore your hometown like a tourist. And if you're a tourist, 2015 is the year you should take over Tampa Bay. Here are some good places to start:

Lights on Tampa (Feb. 20-21) brings an explosion of creativity to Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park and Kiley Gardens. Chicago artist Nick Cave's "Heard" performance piece will take center stage during the weekend festival. The show featuring dancers costumed as horses along with local dancers and musicians. Also on the schedule Sky Striker, an interactive lighted display that turns downtown's cylindrical Rivergate Tower into a "test of strength" carnival game complete with a mallet and a bell on top.

Busch Gardens Tampa Food & Wine Festival (weekends, March and April) adds some flavor to the popular theme park's entertainment line up for the spring. The Food & Wine events will be included in park admission.

The Colossal Curl combines corkscrews, waterfalls and a white-knuckle ride as the tallest water ride at Busch Gardens Tampa's Adventure Island water park when it opens for the summer.

Tampa Theatre (Sundays, January and February) cuts footloose, breaking out the Members Only jackets and Psychedelic Furs cassettes for eight weeks of classic 80s movies. Abe Froman, the sausage king of Chicago, gives this festival two thumbs up. Ohhhh, yeaaah.

The Florida Aquarium celebrates its 20th anniversary on March 1 and continues the party throughout the year with special events.

Columbia Restaurant, an Tampa Bay landmark, celebrates its 110th anniversary in 2015. If you've ever wanted to check out a Flamenco show over dinner, this would be the year.

The Tampa Riverwalk (March) opens its last major segment, Kennedy Boulevard Plaza, just in time for Mayor Bob Buckhorn's annual St. Patrick's Day party. The new segment of the 2.5-mile riverwalk will skim the surface of the Hillsborough River through the heart of downtown.

Fodder & Shine (@fodderandshine) adds some adventurous eating to the creative culinary scene in hipster-friendly Seminole Heights north of downtown. The menu focuses on the kind of food Florida's white settlers relied on between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries. We're talking chicken livers, bone marrow and something called the Seminole pumpkin. Try it, you'll like it! (Fun Fact: Those settlers were known as Crackers because of the sound their whips made as they herded cattle.)

Coppertail Brewery Co. (@coppertail) opens a new, larger tasting room in early 2015 at its brewhouse on Adamo Drive at the eastern edge of Ybor City.

Cigar City Cider and Mead, created by Cigar City Brewing Co. founder Joey Redner, takes Tampa Bay's growing microbrew scene is a new direction with its Ybor City operation.

Hablo Taco (January) brings upscale Mexican food to Channelside Bay Plaza ahead of a major renaissance promised by new owner Jeff Vinik.

Lufthansa (September) begins direct flights between Tampa International Airport and Frankfurt, Germany, strengthening Tampa Bay's connection to Central Europe and beyond.

Bass Pro Shops (late 2015) opens its first Tampa Bay store in Brandon, complete with the chain's trademark 15,000-gallon fish tank for practice casting.

Top Golf and its new Brandon location turns time at the driving range into a multistory, high-tech, all-day event. Track your ball thanks to the embedded chips to see who has the best technique then grab lunch and a cold one.

Tampa Premium Outlets (late 2015) puts discount shopping within 20 minutes of downtown when it opens its new complex at I-75 and State Road 56 in Wesley Chapel just in time for Christmas.

 

 

 

BluePearl Veterinary expanding Tampa HQ, will add 50 jobs

TAMPA — Capping off a year-long flurry of job creation announcements throughout Tampa Bay, BluePearl Veterinary Partners said it is investing $1 million to expand its Tampa headquarters.

Tampa Bay things to do: 15 ways to have the most awesome year ever

It's a new year, a fresh start today. Now step off the bathroom scale, because here's the only resolution you need: Enjoy the rich cultural side of Tampa Bay, the one that feeds your soul, that makes the job, the stress, the 3 a.m. feedings all worth it. No guilt-laden cheesecake involved. We offer 15 (or so) things to look forward to doing in …

Chief Putin critic is spared prison, but his brother is jailed

MOSCOW — Hours after being spared prison on Tuesday in a criminal fraud trial widely viewed as political revenge, the Kremlin's chief antagonist, Alexei Navalny, broke out of house arrest and tried to join an unsanctioned antigovernment rally, daring the authorities to throw him in jail.

Fake burglary not much of a diversion

CLEARWATER Police: Man broke into neighbors' condos looking to find some alcohol

Check out our first national TV spot

The Outback Bowl won’t be the only Tampa Bay event making the national airwaves on New Year’s Day.

Visit Tampa Bay will unveil its first national television commercial that same day. The 30-second commercial will premier during the Outback Bowl on ESPN.

“We’re excited to be taking our efforts on behalf of Tampa Bay tourism to a new level,” said Santiago Corrada, president & CEO of Visit Tampa Bay. “Joining forces with a national event like the Outback Bowl will help us show potential visitors from Seattle to New York to Dallas all the great experiences waiting to be discovered here in Tampa Bay.”

The commercial, produced by Tampa-based advertising firm PP+K, features a middle school-aged boy preparing to return home after a family trip to Tampa Bay. His mother appears at the hotel bathroom door.

“So, Tampa …” she says, “Was I right?” Cue the flood of memories from their trip: Falcon’s Fury at Busch Gardens Tampa, The Florida Aquarium, Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo, paddleboarding on the Hillsborough River, taking in a movie at the historic Tampa Theatre and bike riding on the Tampa Riverwalk.

“Yeah,” the grinning son says, breathing a little heavy from the excitement.

The spot ends with Visit Tampa Bay’s “Unlock Tampa Bay” lock-and-key logo in white on a black background, fluttering like a Jolly Roger pirate flag. A voiceover adds: “Don’t just visit. Take Over” -- the slogan for Visit Tampa Bay’s 2015 winter advertising campaign.

After it runs during the Outback Bowl, the commercial will be cut down to 15 seconds and integrated into the tourism agency’s $750,000 winter ad buy.

“We’re really proud of the body of work we’ve produced in partnership with Visit Tampa Bay over the course of the last year,” said Garrett Garcia, PP+K’s executive director. “We believe this is one of our most strategic and fully integrated campaigns to date.”

The ad campaign, also organized by PP+K, focuses on seven cities from January through April: Boston, Toronto, Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, Atlanta and Dallas. It will focus on digital advertising – so-called “pre-roll” ads that run before online videos – as well as banner and Facebook ads in all markets. There will also be radio in Indianapolis, along with billboards in Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas. 

Tampa Bay: cruising's best-kept secret

Tampa Bay racks up yet another honor, this time from Porthole Cruise Magazine, the leading magazine of the cruise industry.

Editor-in-chief Bill Panoff wrote the other day to let us know that his magazine has given Tampa Bay the 2015 Editor-in-Chief Award for Best-Kept Secret Port.

The award will be announced in February's edition of the magazine, which hits newsstands Jan. 14. You can get an early peek at Porthole.com.

"I take this chance to honor those in the cruise and travel industry who I believe have gone above and beyond in terms of service, quality, and excellence," Panoff wrote in his email."On behalf of all of us at Porthole Cruise Magazine, congratulations on a job well done!"

After years of being the home port for four major cruise lines -- Carnival, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean and Holland America -- Tampa Bay is now a port of call for AIDA, a German cruise line operating out of Miami.

The cruise ship AIDA Vita made its first day-long stopover last month, and its 1,200 passengers took over Tampa Bay from the beaches in Pinellas County to Busch Gardens to downtown Tampa.

AIDA returns Jan. 7 on its way to New Orleans, Cozumel and Key West. Other return dates are Jan. 28, Feb. 18, March 11 and April 1.

Your 2015 Outback Bowl Tampa Bay to-do list

Expedia Viewfinder partnered up with Visit Tampa Bay to reveal things to do while in town during the big game.

Every New Year’s Day, the third pick college football teams from the SEC and Big Ten Conference play in the Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida. This year, the Expedia Viewfinder team wanted to jump on the bandwagon with the hordes of fans and see what the hype was all about. We turned to our pals at Visit Tampa Bay to highlight where to eat, drink, and play, whether you are a local or visitor, during this annual football frenzy:

Eat
All that cheering will require fans to fuel up to keep their spirits high. Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar features 100 different wines by the glass, which diners can pair with impeccably cooked, hand-cut USDA Prime steaks. Fleming’s is also offering a New Year’s Eve special to help visitors welcome 2015 with a full belly.

For something a little more on the casual side, Holy Hog Barbecue will leave visitors licking their fingers after savoring barbecued pork, brisket, sausage, chicken, and more. Top off that BBQ grub with some scrumptious desserts like the banana pudding and buttermilk pie.

Drink
Keep up the casual celebratory mood at Tampa Bay’s most entertaining watering holes. Nothing says football season like some cold brews and volcano wings, so saunter over to The Green Iguana. This bar also features live music every day of the week, including DJs and local cover bands.

Looking for a swinging bar with more style? Blue Martini is as unique as its specialty cocktails. Enjoy live entertainment and tapas while sipping on one of the joint’s 42 martinis, or reserve a table for New Year’s Eve. Blue Martini is celebrating the New Year with a limited open bar, freshly rolled sushi, and hand-passed hors d’oeuvres throughout the evening.

Play
Take a break from penalty kicks and touchdowns to mosey around the International Plaza and Bay Street, one of the neighborhood’s most notable shopping and dining destinations. Shop the day away at the assortment of specialty stores, and let the kiddos romp around at the elaborate play area. Channelside Bay Plaza, in downtown Tampa Bay, is another must-visit entertainment complex with shops and restaurants. 

Tampa Bay shares the Outback Bowl spotlight

Tampa Bay will be the star of this year's Outback Bowl Preview Special, set to air three times before Wisconsin and Auburn meet at Raymond James Stadium on New Year's Day.

The preview show will showcase some of the best that Tampa Bay has to offer -- especially for those fans planning to spend days in town before and after the game.

The half-hour show is produced by the bowl organizers and looks at the Auburn and Wisconsin match-up with coach and player interviews. It also spend time highlighting the fun stuff to do in the Tampa, St Pete and Clearwater area. 

At the top of this year's list are: Clearwater Beach, Busch Gardens Tampa, The Florida Aquarium, Honeymoon Island, and the Tampa Riverwalk.  Local TV personality Jenn Holloway will host the show.

The first national airing will be at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. on ESPNU. Rebroadcasts will follow at 5 p.m. Dec. 29 on ESPN2 and 8:30 p.m. Dec. 29 on ESPNU.

The 29th Outback Bowl kicks off at Noon, Jan. 1 in Raymond James Stadium. Tickets to the game are available through Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 and www.Ticketmaster.com.  For more information on bowl events and area hotels and attractions go to the Outback Bowl web site at http://www.outbackbowl.com.

 

Winners show their Outback Bowl "fantensity"

 

When the Outback Bowl kicks off Jan. 1 at Raymond James Stadium, two fans will get the VIP treatment.

Auburn University fan Everett Duke and University of Wisconsin fan Stefanie Gliniany showed the "fantensity" they have for their favorite teams, winning our Outback Bowl VIP Experience photo contest.

For being chosen as winners, Duke and Gliniany get round-trip airfare to Tampa Bay for the game and a stay at the Holiday Inn Westshore Aiport hotel.

They'll also get: 

•          Two (2) 2015 Outback Bowl game tickets
•          Two (2) 2015 Outback Bowl Corporate Village passes (game day VIP brunch)
•          Two (2) 2015 Outback Bowl pregame sideline passes
•          One (1) parking pass 
•          Two (2) 2015 Outback Bowl wristbands for parade VIP area. Parade held in Ybor City on Dec. 31
•          Two (2) CityPASS admission tickets for winner and one (1) guest

Congratulations to our VIP Experience winners! We'll see you in Tampa Bay!

Tampa Bay? There's an app for that.

You can now carry around everything you need to know about visiting Tampa Bay in one device.

Visit Tampa Bay's 2015 Official Visitors Guide is now available as an iPad app.

Apple posted the app to its iTunes store this weekend.

This is the second year the 80-page guide to discovering Tampa Bay's treasures has been released in digital format.

The guide lays out the gems that make Tampa Bay a unique, exciting destination for visitors of all stripes.

Two centuries of history? We've got that.

Up close encounters with everything from sharks to giraffes to manatees? We've got that, too.

Boutique hotels and award-winning restaurants? Check.

The Visitors Guide breaks the region down by districts, highlight all that neighborhoods like Ybor City and West Shore have to offer.

But the iPad app is just part of Visit Tampa Bay's digital presence.

We're also busy on Facebook, Twitter (@VisitTampaBay), Instagram and YouTube.

Follow us in any of those places to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and events to #unlockTampaBay!

 

 

Visiting Tampa Bay? There's an app for that.

You can now carry around everything you need to know about visiting Tampa Bay in one device.

Visit Tampa Bay's 2015 Official Visitors Guide is now available as an iPad app.

Apple posted the app to its iTunes store this weekend.

This is the second year the 80-page guide to discovering Tampa Bay's treasures has been released in digital format.

The guide lays out the gems that make Tampa Bay a unique, exciting destination for visitors of all stripes.

Two centuries of history? We've got that.

Up close encounters with everything from sharks to giraffes to manatees? We've got that, too.

Boutique hotels and award-winning restaurants? Check.

The Visitors Guide breaks the region down by districts, highlight all that neighborhoods like Ybor City and West Shore have to offer.

But the iPad app is just part of Visit Tampa Bay's digital presence.

We're also busy on Facebook, Twitter (@VisitTampaBay), Instagram and YouTube.

Follow us in any of those places to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and events to #unlockTampaBay!

 

 

Florida Cracker cuisine gets to Shine

Tampa Bay's trendy Seminole Heights neighborhood sprouts two more cutting-edge restaurants today with the opening of Fodder & Shine and the Bourgeois Pig.

Fodder & Shine (@FodderandShine), 5910 N. Florida Ave., was created by Greg and Michelle Baker, owners of the award-winning Refinery restaurant a few blocks to the south.

The restaurant's "Heritage Florida Cracker" menu is built around the food served by Florida's earliest white settlers -- the so-called Crackers, named after the sound of the whips they used to herd cattle through the swamps and sand hills. Those early settlers developed a cooking style based on limited resources and what they had on hand.

The Bakers plan to stock their restaurant with ingredients that are native to Florida. They'll make for some adventurous eating.

Never heard of the Seminole pumpkin? Now's your chance to try one.

How about roasted bone marrow? That's also on the menu. 

There'll be roasted oysters with prickly pear cactus as well as mullet and ham.

The restaurant will also have a canning operation to preserve ingredients so they can be used out of season.

Fodder & Shine is set to open at 4 p.m.

A hour later and two miles to the north, the Bourgeois Pig will open its doors in a blue bungalow at 7701 N. Nebraska Ave.

Owners Lysa and Michael Bozel, recent transplants from California, promise "adult comfort food," from osso buco to beef rib stroganoff.

The Bozels plan a scaled-down menu for now as the first-time restaurant owners get their Bourgeois Pig to fly.

 

 

 

 

AIDA Vita makes first visit to Tampa Bay

Schiff ahoi!

The German cruise ship AIDA Vita (@aida_de) made its first call on Tampa Bay Wednesday, pulling into port at 8 a.m. after an overnight trip from Miami.

The visit by the 1,200-passenger cruise ship was the first of six scheduled for Port Tampa Bay between now and April.

Passengers spent the day discovering all the exciting things Tampa Bay has to offer. They visited Busch Gardens and The Florida Aquarium along with Clearwater Beach and the Dali Museum.

Local dignitaries met the ship and exchanged gifts with the captain. 

By 6 p.m., AIDA Vita's passengers were boarding the ship for their overnight trip to New Orleans. The 11-day cruise covers the Gulf of Mexico and includes Cozumel, Mexico, and Key West before returning to Miami.

Tampa Bay is the departure point for four cruise lines, but AIDA is the only line stopping here in transit.

The AIDA Vita returns again on Jan. 7.

Other days in port include: Jan. 28, Feb. 18, March 11 and March 29.

Visit Tampa Bay is recruiting fluent German speakers to meet the AIDA passengers and help them plan their day in port. If you would like to help out, you can contact Susan Williams, swilliams@visittampabay.com, to sign up for a future visit from the AIDA Vita.

 

AIDA Vita makes first of six visits to Tampa Bay

Schiff ahoi!

The German cruise ship AIDA Vita (@aida_de) made its first call on Tampa Bay Wednesday, pulling into port at 8 a.m. after an overnight trip from Miami.

The visit by the 1,200-passenger cruise ship was the first of six scheduled for Port Tampa Bay between now and April.

Passengers spent the day discovering all the exciting things Tampa Bay has to offer. They visited Busch Gardens and The Florida Aquarium along with Clearwater Beach and the Dali Museum.

Local dignitaries met the ship and exchanged gifts with the captain. 

By 6 p.m., AIDA Vita's passengers were boarding the ship for their overnight trip to New Orleans. The 11-day cruise covers the Gulf of Mexico and includes Cozumel, Mexico, and Key West before returning to Miami.

Tampa Bay is the departure point for four cruise lines, but AIDA is the only line stopping here in transit.

The AIDA Vita returns again on Jan. 7.

Other days in port include: Jan. 28, Feb. 18, March 11 and March 29.

Visit Tampa Bay is recruiting fluent German speakers to meet the AIDA passengers and help them plan their day in port. If you would like to help out, you can contact Susan Williams, swilliams@visittampabay.com, to sign up for a future visit from the AIDA Vita.

 

$1 billion overhaul for Channelside

Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik unveiled a vision for Tampa Bay's Channelside district this morning that promises to showcase some of the region's greatest treasures, starting with its waterfront.

Vinik, who has assembled nearly 30 acres of largely vacant former industrial land around the Amalie Arena, laid out plans for a new hotel and reinvented Channelside Bay Plaza, along with office towers, housing, shops and the University of South Florida's medical school.

The plan also envisions modernizing the TECO Historic Streetcar and adding ferry service along the waterfront and into the bay.

The Channelside waterfront "is a phenomenal resource that's been underutilized," Vinik told a packed press conference at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel & Marina, which he also recently acquired.

A key part of Vinik's proposal is reinventing Channelside Bay Plaza into a new entertainment district. Part of the redesign calls for knocking down a wall and opening the complex so it has views of the water and city to the southwest.

The new 400-room hotel will sit across Florida Avenue from the Tampa Convention Center. It will include more than 100,000 square feet of meeting space, expanding the number and/or size of events the convention center can host. Vinik also plans renovations to the Marriott Waterside.

Along with those improvements, Vinik envisions extending the 2.5-mile Tampa Riverwalk, which now ends at the Tampa Bay History Center just west of Channelside Bay Plaza. Vinik wants the Riverwalk to become a key feature of the waterfront and the thing that links some of the region's biggest tourism engines.

Vinik's project isn't happening all at once. While work on some of the proposal will start next year, the entire project could take five to seven years to finish, he said.

In the meantime, Vinik's development team wants to hear from the folks who'll be using their new waterfront development. Give your input at Tampa Waterfront 2020.

 

Ulele among top 100 US restaurants

Three months after it opened, Tampa Bay's Ulele restaurant has made Open Table's list of the Top 100 restaurants in the country.

“This is a great honor, especially because Ulele has only been open since Aug. 26,” said Richard Gonzmart, fourth generation co-owner and president of the Columbia Restaurant Group. “I want to thank all of the Open Table reviewers who put us on this very exclusive list.”

The Gonzmart family, owners of Tampa Bay's iconic Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City, created a new icon when they opened Ulele in the City of Tampa's 105-year-old former Water Works building, which housed the machinery to pump water to the growing city from the nearby spring. The Gonzmarts invested millions in restoring the historic brick building and creating a restaurant inspired by native Florida foodstuffs. It even includes its own in-house microbrewery.

The restaurant sits just in Tampa's up-and-coming Tampa Heights neighborhood at 7th Avenue and Highland Avenue, just north of downtown. It's adjacent to the city's newest park, Water Works Park, which has gorgeous views of the Hillsborough River. The restored Ulele Spring connects to the river and offers a haven to passing manatees.

Open Table made its list based on feedback collected from Open Table clients between Dec. 1, 2013, and Nov. 30, 2014. The winners received the 100 highest scores.

The list includes restaurants in 32 states and Washington, D.C. New York has the greatest number of winners with 12; California and Florida had eight each.

Ulele is the only Tampa Bay restaurant.

Ulele is named for the daughter of a legendary Native American chief. The restaurant and Ulele Spring Brewery serve unique foods and spirits by fusing elements from a rich variety of Native American and multicultural influences, including those of European explorers. The menu features items indigenous to this area’s waters and farms. The restaurant is open daily, serving lunch and dinner.

The menu includes vegetarian and seafood options. But IMHO, its star attractions are the oysters, served every way from raw to roasted, and the dessert that combines the six best words in the English language: candied duck bacon maple fried ice cream.

Get your reservation now.

 

8 reasons to spend Sundays at the Tampa Theatre

 

How ready am I for Tampa Theatre's eight weeks of classic 80s movies? Totally.

Ray Bans? Check.

Kenny Loggins soundtrack on cassette? Double check.

Red 1961 Ferrari 250GT?

Ohhhh ... yeahhhh.

If you're a child of the 80s, Tampa Bay's historic movie palace is going to be the only place you'll want to be on Sundays in January and February.

And if you're a child of a child of the 80s, now's your chance to find out what all the fuss is about when your parents hear that Simple Minds song on the radio.

The festival kicks off Jan. 4 with "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," the film that taught us 80s kids three important things: we need to stop and look around at life once in a while so we don't miss it; licking your palms is a great to fake being sick; and you can't unwind miles on your dad's priceless sportscar by running it backwards. There was also something about the Smoot-Hawley Tariff, but we weren't really paying attention.

After that, the list covers some of the biggest movies of the decade.

Tom Cruise -- the biggest movie star of the decade -- gets two shots with "Rain Man" and "Top Gun."

There's also some "where are they now actors?" (Molly Ringwald comes to mind) in "Blade Runner," "Airplane!" and "The Breakfast Club."

No trip to the 1980s would be complete with out movies by Kevin Bacon ("Footloose") back when he was just starting on his six degrees of separation. And, of course, John Cusack ("Better Off Dead").

How ready are you for Tampa Theatre's eight weeks of classic 80s movies? Fill in the blanks:

1. When Cameron was in Egypt's land ... ____________.

2. I'm an excellent ___________.

3. You won't get any ________ here. It's illegal.

4. I want my ________ dollars!

5. I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time...like tears in ______...

6. Roger, Roger. What's our vector, _______?

7. I feel the need ...The need for _________!

8. Don't mess with the bull, young man. You'll get the _______.

****

Got them all right? Abe Froman, the sausage king of Chicago, would be proud.

Missed a few? You're still a righteous dude.

You want the answers*? Surely, you can't be serious.

***

*(OK, OK. Here they are: 1. Let my Cameron go.; 2. driver; 3. dancing; 4. two; 5. rain; 6. Victor; 7. speed; 8. horns.)

 

Tampa Bay in Top 10 for active lifestyle

In Tampa Bay, a great outdoor experience is never far away.

With great weather year-round and an abundance of sports facilities, it's no wonder we ranked near the top of Wallet Hub's 2014 Best and Worst Cities for and Active Lifestyle.

We placed 6th on the ranking of the country's 100 biggest cities. We were one notch behind Orlando (No. 5) and well above our neighbor across the bay, St. Petersburg (No. 33). Even Miami (No. 49) came in lower.

At the bottom of the list: Several cities baking under the sun in Texas and Nevada along with New York City, which has some of the highest costs for gym memberships and sports facilities in the country.

So what got us so high on the list? It seems our great weather helped a lot. But so did our abundance of public golf courses, our growing number of bike lanes and sports facilities like swimming pools and tennis courts.

We ranked 4th in terms of sports facilities and outdoor environment, which counted for two-thirds of the overall score.

As the Tampa Riverwalk nears completion and Coast Bike Share makes pedal power available to more people, here's hoping Tampa Bay makes an even better impression on Wallet Hub in 2015.

6 Tampa Bay pioneers honored

Tampa Bay honored 6 of its founding citizens Friday morning with busts on the Tampa Riverwalk.

The statues will join the dozen already lining the 2.5-mile waterfront promenade through downtown. The Historic Monument Trail captures important figures in Tampa Bay's history, from Native Americans to Spanish explorers to immigrants from Cuba and and modern-day philanthropists.

Mayor Bob Buckhorn unveiled the new honorees at a ceremony on the steps of the Tampa Convention Center.

"We are who we are because of these people," Buckhorn said, before removing black drapes from the six bronze statues.

The honorees include: African-American educator Blanche Armwood; Herman Glogowski, Tampa's first Jewish mayor; Gavino Gutierrez, the architect of Ybor City, one-time Cigar Capital of the World; Bena Wolf Maas, philanthropist, businesswoman and charter member of Tampa's first synagogue; Hugh MacFarland, cigar baron and founder of West Tampa; and Moses White, a black businessman and music promoter of brought the likes of Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and Etta James to perform in Tampa.

Their statues will be added to the Riverwalk, running from Channelside Bay Plaza to Ulele restaurant in the Tampa Heights neighborhood. The Riverwalk offers a pedestrian-friendly tour of Tampa Bay's waterfront, skyline and its history either on foot or -- by renting a bike from Coast Bike Share -- on two wheels.

Snow falls on Seventh Avenue

The weather outside is anything but frightful. And a fire, while delightful, may be a bit much when its 72 and sunny. But that doesn't mean we can't let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

You'll find the white stuff blowing in the air on Saturday when Ybor City hosts Tampa Bay's newest holiday tradition: the Snow on 7th holiday festival.

The Christmas tree is lit outside Centro Ybor. The marching bands are getting in a final practice. Twinkling lights and Christmas wreaths festoon the streets. Santa is ready to make his appearance.

The last ingredient in this holiday mix is you.

So bring your popcorn and your holiday cheer and join the throngs lining Seventh Avenue for Tampa Bay's holiday parade through the heart of historic Ybor City.

The pre-parade festivities start at 6 p.m. Come down before that and grab dinner at Tampa Bay Brewing Co., the Columbia Restaurant or any of Ybor City's other great restaurants.

Then grab a spot along the parade route and settle in for the fun!

Mayor Bob Buckhorn and his family will kick off the parade. Santa will be on hand by the Centro Ybor Christmas tree for pictures afterward.

Don't miss your chance to unlock this growing Tampa Bay tradition!

 

The day the South Florida Railroad came to town

Our friends at the Tampa Bay History Center (@tampabayhistory) reminded us via Twitter that today's the day in 1883 that the South Florida Railroad arrived in Tampa Bay.

Railroad baron Henry B. Plant was to west Florida what his competitor, Henry Flagler, was to the cities along Florida's Atlantic Coast: His railroad tied Tampa Bay to the rest of the country over land, making this region a booming port town almost overnight. Tampa Bay wouldn't be what it is today without Henry B. Plant.

The most visible part of Henry B. Plant's legacy -- the former Tampa Bay Hotel, with its crescent-topped silver minarets -- has become an iconic part of the city's skyline.

More than a century ago, the Tampa Bay Hotel hosted Col. Teddy Roosevelt as he and his Rough Riders prepared to set sail for Cuba during the Spanish-American War.

Today, the restored Victorian-era building is part of the University of Tampa. But it also houses the Henry B. Plant Museum, which curates a collection of artifacts from the hotel's hey-day and tells the story of life in Tampa Bay at the turn of the 20th Century.

After you visit the museum, step across Kennedy Boulevard for lunch or coffee at the Oxford Exchange (@oxfordexchange), a unique and multi-faceted restaurant-coffeeshop-bookstore that restored and repurposed the hotel's old stables.

Teddy Roosevelt moved on from Tampa Bay after a few days, but Henry B. Plant continues to resonate in this city -- right down to the bust memorializing him on the Tampa Riverwalk's Historic Monument Trail. It sits across the Hillsborough River from his remarkable hotel.

 

Sprichst du Deutsch? Hilf uns, bitte.

Sprechen Sie Deutsch? If you’re a fluent German speaker, Visit Tampa Bay needs your help.

Starting Dec. 17, Tampa becomes a port of call for AIDAvita, a German cruise line. We’re looking for about a half-dozen volunteers who speak conversation-level German to greet 1,200 disembarking passengers at the port in Channelside and help them find their way during their 10 hours on shore. Can you explain how to use the TECO Historic Streetcar system auf Deutsch? Kannst du erklaren the virtues of lunch at the Columbia Restaurant? Then step on up and give it a try.

Volunteers need to be friendly, professional and very knowledgeable about Tampa Bay as a tourist destination. We’ll interview candidates (in English) to see how well they know their stuff. AIDAvita ships will return Jan. 7, Jan. 28, Feb. 18, March 11 and April 1. So there will be plenty of opportunities to help.