TAMPA FLORIDA USA

thomasallencummins
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TAMPA FLORIDA USA Oct 7, 2008 14:42:58 GMT -5

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Post by thomasallencummins on Oct 7, 2008 14:42:58 GMT -5

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampa,_Florida

I found the listing on Wikipedia interesting so I thought I'd share. I have lived in and around Tampa my entire life and will probably stay here for the foreseeable future. Aside from the annual Hurricane threat, unbearable heat/humidity and being a magnet for summertime lightning strikes, Tampa has been a great place to live. Three of the four major sports have teams here (with Basketball nearby in Orlando). Most everything one could ask for can be found here (with the exception of things like snow, mountains, deserts and such).
Gotta love it. ;D

"If you can't tell the difference what difference does it make?"

Cad Zombie Moderator Psuedo-Lefty Carl, Run! Posts: 287	TAMPA FLORIDA USA Oct 7, 2008 23:35:54 GMT -5 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by Cad Zombie on Oct 7, 2008 23:35:54 GMT -5 Erm,...I dunno about all that, but it sure beats Chicago in the winter.
	"Knock Knock, Who's There? I am he who knocks"

thomasallencummins Administrator Galactic Overlord I'm a futurama head in a jar! Posts: 2,650	TAMPA FLORIDA USA Oct 8, 2008 8:40:25 GMT -5 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by thomasallencummins on Oct 8, 2008 8:40:25 GMT -5 I have no personal experience with Chicago in the winter but I'm pretty sure I agree with you. However there are probably some very cool things about Chicago aside from the windy cold. :-)
	"If you can't tell the difference what difference does it make?"

cleburne Orator Posts: 350	TAMPA FLORIDA USA Oct 9, 2008 11:54:19 GMT -5 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by cleburne on Oct 9, 2008 11:54:19 GMT -5 Tampa Bay looks cool worth a visit if I ever get back to the States. Are you close to Miami ?

thomasallencummins
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TAMPA FLORIDA USA Oct 9, 2008 12:11:22 GMT -5

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Post by thomasallencummins on Oct 9, 2008 12:11:22 GMT -5

If the map is visible (never can tell) you can see Tampa situated near the middle of the state along the West coast. Miami can be seen along the Southeasterly coastline.

We're a few hours away from Miami (if you obey the speed limit of course). ;D

"If you can't tell the difference what difference does it make?"

cleburne Orator Posts: 350	TAMPA FLORIDA USA Oct 11, 2008 9:00:12 GMT -5 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by cleburne on Oct 11, 2008 9:00:12 GMT -5 Thanks for the map .I suppose I can blame CSI and GTA for wanting to go to Miami it seems to be a cool city to visit.?

ram
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TAMPA FLORIDA USA Oct 12, 2008 14:11:34 GMT -5

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Post by ram on Oct 12, 2008 14:11:34 GMT -5

Oct 11, 2008 9:00:12 GMT -5 cleburne said:

Thanks for the map .I suppose I can blame CSI and GTA for wanting to go to Miami it seems to be a cool city to visit.?

I thought CSI and GTA were the kind of things that would scare people away from Miami...

Great picture of Tampa, btw!

thomasallencummins
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TAMPA FLORIDA USA Oct 15, 2008 8:23:51 GMT -5

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Post by thomasallencummins on Oct 15, 2008 8:23:51 GMT -5

Oct 12, 2008 14:11:34 GMT -5 ram said:

Oct 11, 2008 9:00:12 GMT -5 cleburne said:

Thanks for the map .I suppose I can blame CSI and GTA for wanting to go to Miami it seems to be a cool city to visit.?

I thought CSI and GTA were the kind of things that would scare people away from Miami...

Great picture of Tampa, btw!

I tend to agree, ram. I haven't been to South Florida in many years so even though I live in the state most of my exposure to Miami comes from television and video games.
I do watch "Burn Notice" which is also based in Miami. :-)

"If you can't tell the difference what difference does it make?"

baylou Contributor Posts: 58	TAMPA FLORIDA USA Oct 18, 2008 19:22:13 GMT -5 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by baylou on Oct 18, 2008 19:22:13 GMT -5 Ah - just seeing the picture of downtown Tampa from the Bay makes my heart go pitter-patter! Tampa is wonderful.

cleburne
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TAMPA FLORIDA USA Oct 21, 2008 12:34:46 GMT -5

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Post by cleburne on Oct 21, 2008 12:34:46 GMT -5

Oct 18, 2008 19:22:13 GMT -5 baylou said:

Ah - just seeing the picture of downtown Tampa from the Bay makes my heart go pitter-patter! Tampa is wonderful.

Do you guys know the history of Tampa i.e when was it founded and by whom? etc

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TAMPA FLORIDA USA Oct 22, 2008 9:16:12 GMT -5

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Post by thomasallencummins on Oct 22, 2008 9:16:12 GMT -5

Oct 21, 2008 12:34:46 GMT -5 cleburne said:

Oct 18, 2008 19:22:13 GMT -5 baylou said:

Ah - just seeing the picture of downtown Tampa from the Bay makes my heart go pitter-patter! Tampa is wonderful.

Do you guys know the history of Tampa i.e when was it founded and by whom? etc

Here is an exerpt from Wikipedia that covers in more detail what most of us know in general terms sans specific dates and names.

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There is some dispute as to the origin and meaning of the name "Tampa". It is believed to mean "sticks of fire" in the language of the Calusa, a Native American tribe that once lived in the area. Other historians claim the name refers to "the place to gather sticks". "Sticks of fire" may also relate to the high concentration of lightning strikes that Tampa Bay receives every year during the hot and wet summer months. Toponymist George R. Stewart writes that the name was the result of a miscommunication between the Spanish and the Indians, the Indian word being "itimpi", meaning simply "near it".

Whatever its origins, the name first appears in the "Memoir" of Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda (1575), who had spent 17 years as a Calusa captive. He calls it "Tanpa" and describes it as an important Calusa town. While "Tanpa" is the apparent basis for the modern name "Tampa", archaeologist Jerald Milanich places the Calusa village of Tanpa at the mouth of Charlotte Harbor, the original "Bay of Tanpa". A later Spanish expedition failed to notice Charlotte Harbor while sailing north along the west coast of Florida and assumed that today's Tampa Bay was the bay that they had sought. Thus, the name was accidentally transferred north.

Spanish Expeditions
Whatever its origins, the name first appears in the "Memoir" of Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda (1575), who had spent 17 years as a Calusa captive. He calls it "Tanpa" and describes it as an important Calusa town. While "Tanpa" is the apparent basis for the modern name "Tampa", archaeologist Jerald Milanich places the Calusa village of Tanpa at the mouth of Charlotte Harbor, the original "Bay of Tanpa". A later Spanish expedition failed to notice Charlotte Harbor while sailing north along the west coast of Florida and assumed that today's Tampa Bay was the bay that they had sought. Thus, the name was accidentally transferred north.

In April of 1528, the ill-fated Narváez Expedition landed near Tampa with the intention of starting a colony. After being told by the natives of better riches to the north, they abandoned their camp after only a week. A dozen years later, a surviving member of the expedition named Juan Ortiz was rescued by Hernando de Soto's expedition.

A peace treaty was conducted with the local Tocobaga Indians and a short-lived Spanish outpost was established, but this was abandoned when it became clear that there was no gold in the area, and that the local Indians were not interested in converting to Catholicism and were too skilled as warriors to easily conquer.

The Tampa area would be effectively ignored by its colonial owners for the next 200+ years.

English Rule
Great Britain acquired Florida in 1763 as part of the treaty which ended the French and Indian War (Seven Years War). The bay was renamed Hillsborough Bay, after Lord Hillsborough, Secretary of State for the Colonies, whose name still adorns Tampa's largest river and home county. Britain was more concerned with the strategically important Atlantic coast of Florida (especially St. Augustine) than the mostly empty Gulf coast, and the Tampa area was by and large disregarded again.

With the native population having died from disease long before and the Seminoles still living to the north, the only (seasonal) residents of the Tampa Bay area were Cuban fishermen. These visitors stayed in temporary settlements along the shore, catching a large haul of fish from the teeming waters of the bay to take back and sell.

"If you can't tell the difference what difference does it make?"

cleburne Orator Posts: 350	TAMPA FLORIDA USA Oct 23, 2008 13:36:19 GMT -5 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by cleburne on Oct 23, 2008 13:36:19 GMT -5 Thanks Atomic for the information and history on Tampa it was very informative

menolly Orator Harper/Firelizard Keeper Posts: 107	TAMPA FLORIDA USA Oct 30, 2008 11:42:38 GMT -5 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by menolly on Oct 30, 2008 11:42:38 GMT -5 And Tampa is only about 90 minutes to two hours away from me. ...although I rarely make the trip...
	Pam Pantheon Proselytizer The world gets new-made every time you blink folks. Drop some of that baggage. ~Avatar

thomasallencummins Administrator Galactic Overlord I'm a futurama head in a jar! Posts: 2,650	TAMPA FLORIDA USA Oct 30, 2008 14:57:28 GMT -5 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by thomasallencummins on Oct 30, 2008 14:57:28 GMT -5 Oct 30, 2008 11:42:38 GMT -5 menolly said: And Tampa is only about 90 minutes to two hours away from me. ...although I rarely make the trip... Well to be fair I don't make it to Gainesville very often either. :-)
	"If you can't tell the difference what difference does it make?"

menolly Orator Harper/Firelizard Keeper Posts: 107	TAMPA FLORIDA USA Oct 30, 2008 19:29:29 GMT -5 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by menolly on Oct 30, 2008 19:29:29 GMT -5 heh There are way fewer reasons for one to come to Gator Town than for one to come to Tampa...
	Pam Pantheon Proselytizer The world gets new-made every time you blink folks. Drop some of that baggage. ~Avatar

Post by thomasallencummins on Oct 7, 2008 14:42:58 GMT -5

Post by Cad Zombie on Oct 7, 2008 23:35:54 GMT -5

Post by thomasallencummins on Oct 8, 2008 8:40:25 GMT -5

Post by cleburne on Oct 9, 2008 11:54:19 GMT -5

Post by thomasallencummins on Oct 9, 2008 12:11:22 GMT -5

Post by cleburne on Oct 11, 2008 9:00:12 GMT -5

Post by ram on Oct 12, 2008 14:11:34 GMT -5

Post by thomasallencummins on Oct 15, 2008 8:23:51 GMT -5

Post by baylou on Oct 18, 2008 19:22:13 GMT -5

Post by cleburne on Oct 21, 2008 12:34:46 GMT -5

Post by thomasallencummins on Oct 22, 2008 9:16:12 GMT -5

Post by cleburne on Oct 23, 2008 13:36:19 GMT -5

Post by menolly on Oct 30, 2008 11:42:38 GMT -5

Post by thomasallencummins on Oct 30, 2008 14:57:28 GMT -5

Post by menolly on Oct 30, 2008 19:29:29 GMT -5

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