There was a break between cold fronts so we "hit the road" today, travelling down to Largo to visit the George McGough Nature Park. It is a nice park run by the City of Largo right on the Gulf Coast and the intracoastal waterway. We have been here several times before and it was worth a return visit. We were not disappointed after our short hike through the park and tour of the visitors' center.
We also made a stop at the nearby Heritage Village, a, reconstruction of historic Tampa Bay area houses buildings and shops. It is run by the city/state and is host to events, docent tours, exhibits and other historical reenactment and historical events. It is a neat place. We have toured the village several times but wanted to stop and see how things were going. Half of the village is closed right now for pathway reconstruction and our favorite exhibit of period quilts, is no longer there. The local quilting club that met at one of village houses and quilted and exhibited their quilts, hasn't been back since COVID closed everything down. The ladies in the visitors' center thinks the club "timed out" and they were not sure if they were coming back. Anyway, we said hello to the volunteer ladies.
After the nature walk, we returned home up the coastal parkway through the numerous beach towns along the way, stopping at another favorite restaurant. the Columbia in Clearwater Beach. We have also been to the original restaurant in Ybor City several times as well as others in Tampa and St. Augustine.
The original Columbia was opened in Ybor City, just north of Tampa in 1905. The restaurant features Cuban food in an elegant historical setting. Ybor City was the center of cigar manufacturing in the US and was home to many Cuban immigrants who came to work in the cigar industry. It was also home to a large Italian community and home base to the Tampa Mafia and its notorious crime bosses, Santo Trafficanti Sr. and Jr. It is said the Columbia was their favorite restaurant and was often the site of a number of "business lunches".
One of the most popular gambling operations that gave them their start was the Bolita racket, a sort of numbers game where you bet on what number on a ball was picked from a bag of 100 balls. The game came from Cuba and was very popular with the Cuban workers in the area. It was a huge money maker and subject to all kinds of corruption. The game is still played today in the US among Cuban, Dominican and Puerto Rican groups and interestingly is banned in Cuba.
So, after a pitcher of Sangria, gazpacho soup, shared tapas and an exquisite strawberry desert, it was through rush hour traffic back to the RV park. It was a long day but very enjoyable. And we beat the incoming weather.
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