Report from Downtown Tampa and Alberto

I am sitting in our rental van in downtown Tampa. It is sunny and windy right now - the storm has passed. I am getting free internet from somewhere - parked at a meter - getting lunch.

We drove from Tallahassee to Tampa from 8 to 12. We ran into a little rain and some wind - not enough to matter. We enjoyed using our new GPS all the way. It is great for finding hotels - restaurants - gas stations. It is hard to get lost with it - even if you miss a turn - it re-directs you.

Here is the local storm report - Landfall was expected sometime between noon and 1 p.m. near the tiny coastal town of Keaton Beach. Damages as of noon were minimal, according to Mandy Cornelius of Taylor County Emergency Management. However, water was starting to wash over seawalls in Steinhatchee, she said.
Damages and flooding were relatively minor in the Tampa Bay area although Tampa Electric Co. reported 5,000 customers lost power between midnight and 8 a.m. in Hillsborough and Polk counties. More than half of those customers had power by 10 a.m.

I am going to meet Gary Miller at 2:30 to visit. He is at a convention. The waves are hitting the sea wall outside the convention center.

I left Nancy at Saddlebrook for her conference. It is a very nice resort - we will be staying there 2 nights.

Keith is flying to Tallahassee from Washington. His flight was cancelled last night. He is in Atlanta now. George will pick him up at the airport.