Henry Plant owned the railroad that went down the west coast of Florida. Even in the 1800s - his trains could get tourists from New York City to Tampa in 24 hours. The travelers could leave in a winter snow storm and wake up to orange juice in Florida.
The Tampa Bay Hotel was a complex in downtown Tampa where the trains would pull right into the hotel. People could sit out the winter in tropical luxury. The hotel did not have a long run of success and it fell into disrepair. then th eUniversity of Tampa acquired it and restored it to its original spendor. Today - students stay in the old hotel room.
During the holidays - the first floor is decorated in a Victorian motif. We spent yesterday enjoy the place with our friends Carl and Marylou. They live just north of town in Zephyrhills. They have spent their winters here for the last 13 years. Their daughter Christa has her family nearby.
We will drive our camper home to Tallahassee today or make another tourist stop somewhere before we get home.
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