Travel Tampa Teco Trams I want to share a secret with you – how to enjoy the unique Cuban culture of Ybor City and visit the delights of downtown Tampa – and the car parking is free. Simply take Interstate-4 exit 1 and travel south on 21st St. (one-way) for several blocks until you reach 8th Ave. Turn right and drive for two blocks to 19th St., turn right and turn right again and you will be at the entrance of the large “717” parking area. The lot offers free parking on weekdays, from 4 a.m. to 7 p.m. – I’ve drawn a map to help you. Immediately south of the lot on 8th Avenue is the Ybor City terminus of the Teco Streetcar track. Trams run every 20 minutes but, while waiting, look around. Just as in Key West’s Mallory Square, you will find roosters walking around or nesting in nearby trees. They are quite safe and used to humans – kids love them. Once the tram arrives, climb aboard for a sightseeing ride to its other terminus, Whitting Station in downtown Tampa. Keep your cameras handy. Along the way, you will pass through Ybor City with its unique architecture and restaurants, Port Tampa, a Second WorldWar Merchant ship – theSS American Victory, Florida Aquarium, cruise ship docks and the excellent Tampa Bay History Center. At the downtown terminus, walk a few blocks north toGaslight Square– the starting point of theGreat 1909 Auto Race– a gruelling fourday event ending in Jacksonville, designed to promote the construction of better roads for the state. Gaslight Square is a great place for lunch, or perhaps to take a short bus or taxi ride to the Henry Plant Museumhoused in the delightfully eclectic 1891 hotel on the University of Tampa campus. If you buy a day pass ($2.50 for seniors), you can get on or off the tram at any of the 11 stops along the four-km ride. Kathy and I enjoy this non-crowded, free-parking way to visit downtown Tampa so much that it’s always on our schedule for visiting guests. 28 | www.snowbirds.org
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