DonnaFL's VirtualTourist Home Page

We drove from Tampa to Utica, New York. It is a long drive. Why Utica, because my brother lives there. We made another stop on the way to see a cousin, who lives on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The Autumn colors were beautiful in New York and Pennsylvania.

My mother-in-law died on October 2nd. She was 90 years old.

We had planned to begin our driving vacation on October 3rd, obviously we were unable to leave as planned. We left several days later and drove to the Eastern Shore of Maryland and on to Utica, New York and then returned home.

After returning home, later in October, my husband slipped and fell in the bathtub while showering, he was in the hospital for 3 days due to the internal injury he sustained.

It has been a difficult month.

Tampa - my hometown, additional scenes of Tampa and animal pictures from Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo.

Ybor City a part of Tampa with a distinct cultural heritage, and some additional pictures of Ybor City.

Across the bay from Tampa is Pinellas County with its many beach communities on the Gulf of Mexico.
Clearwater - about the Belleview Biltmore Hotel, on the mainland, not the beach.
Also in Clearwater, the former Kapok Tree Restaurant - a travelogue photo album
Clearwater Beach - a busy, vibrant, beach town
Sand Key, with its very nice public beach facilities, just to the south of Clearwater Beach.

Indian Rocks Beach - one of my favorite beaches on the Gulf of Mexico
North Redington Beach - a review of the Wine Cellar Restaurant
St. Petersburg - the city on Tampa Bay (not the beach community on the Gulf of Mexico)

Places in West Central Gulf Coast of Florida that make nice day trip destinations from Tampa, St. Petersburg or Clearwater.
Dunedin - north of Clearwater
New Port Richey - north of Dunedin
Hudson - north of New Port Richey
Weeki Wachee - natural Florida, north of Hudson
Safety Harbor - quaint small town, between Tampa and Dunedin
Bradenton - for history and Hernando de Soto, south of Tampa and St. Petersburg
Ellenton - for Outlet shopping, south of Bradenton
Sarasota - for art, circus history, theatre and beaches, south of Ellenton (about an hour south of Tampa/St. Petersburg area by car)

Other Florida Locations
Inverness, Florida - a small town and county seat of Citrus County on Lake Tsala Apopka
Dunnellon, Florida - near Rainbow Springs State Park
Palatka - inland from St. Augustine, Florida
Pompano Beach - north of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Perdido Key - near Pensacola, almost to Alabama
Destin - east of Perdido Key and Pensacola
Tallahassee - the state capital, in the panhandle area
Ocala - home to the Silver Springs tourist attraction in Central Florida

West Virginia, USA
Beckley - a good homebase location for daytrips
New River Gorge and the bridge - a remarkable design and engineering feat
Prince, WV - For anyone interested in trains
Hinton - more trains
Bluefield, WV on the West Virginia/Virginia state line, also a tip for Bramwell, WV
Burke's Garden, Virginia - a quaint farming community in Virginia's highest valley

My Tennesse pages include
Townsend - the quiet side of the Great Smoky Mountains National (near Cades Cove) and a travelogue for the Lily Barn
Pigeon Forge - the Old Mill
Maryville - near Knoxville and Townsend,TN
Gatlinburg - some photographs of the Roaring Fork Auto Tour in GSMNP
Cades Cove - a former farming community now within the bounds of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, several homesteads still exist and show what life was like in the late 1800's to early 1900's.

The Northeast Georgia mountains
Helen - a small town made to resemble a Bavarian village to promote tourism
Clayton - a small town with a convenient location for exploring the area
Tate City - a fun drive to a remote community near Clayton.

Social Circle, Georgia - a small town with a wonderful Southern Buffet Dinner at The Blue Willow.

Miscellaneous pages from visits over the years since 2003 to the
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area.
An interesting Philly restaurant, the Victor Café
Day Trip Destinations from Philly
Longwood Gardens - one of the many DuPont Family estates in the Brandywine Valley area
Chadds Ford - the site of the Brandywine River Museum housing paintings of several members of the Wyeth family
Ridley Creek State Park near Media, Pennsylvania
Wilmington, Delaware - home to the Hagley Museum - the site of the DuPont family's first -gun powder mill.
Columbia, where the National Clock and Watch Museum is located and houses the Engle Monumental Clock.

Virginia
Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel - connects the Eastern Shore of the state of Virginia on the Delmarva peninsula to the Virginia Beach area

North Carolina

Cherokee, NC - southern gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Maggie Valley, NC - this is a just one tip for a restaurant
Great Smoky Mountains National Park - highlights of places to see within the park
Franklin, NC - the southern gateway to the North Carolina mountains area

1973 - Israel, Greece, Italy, England
1978 - Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, England
1983 - Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Turkey, Greece, the Netherlands

Cruises
1988 - Costa Cruise Lines- ship: mts Daphne sailed out of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Ports of call: St. Maartin, Martinique, Barbadoes, St. Thomas (USVI)

1989 - Premier - ship: Atlantic, sailed out of Port Canaveral, Florida
Port of call: Nassau and private island

1991 - Regency Cruises - ship: Regent Star, sailed out of Montego Bay, Jamaica
Ports of call: Panama Canal; Cartagena, Columbia; Aruba; Curacao.

1994 - Regal Cruises - ship: Regal Empress, sailed out of Port Manatee, Florida
Ports of call: Playa del Carmen (excursion to Chichen Itza), Cozumel

Ozzy is our challenging kitty - so sweet, but also difficult.

Casey is the kitty who would be a great cat for anyone.