Tampa Bay Top 100 Bucket List (Brooksville, Weeki Wachee: restaurants, food, fun things to do)

[VirtualTourist]

Here is my top 10
- Take a Florida Shuttle to everywhere in Florida
- Eat in each city at the best restaraunts
- Go to a club everywhere to experience the nightlife in all of Florida
- Take a break to eat a samich,
- Have a fling fling with someone special.
- Rinse and repeat steps 1-5
- Do it all again until we can cross of a top 100 list.
- But for sure I have to go with getting that Florida Shuttle to shkurrt shkurrt myself around.

Listen to 90s grunge in the process. Thank you. Thank you very much.

[muaythaiguy]

Awesome list. My Top 10 in no particular order

1. Columbia Restaurant - My staple everytime I visit. Such a classic experience
2. Ride A Jetski in the bay. Dolphins, Sightseeing and Speed!
3. Minor League Baseball - To me this is better than the major league experience without the huge cost and huge crowds
4. Beaches! - Its Florida I mean come on lol
5. Sunset at Pier 60 - Probably the best in the world
6. Hogans Beach Shop! - For every kid growing up in the 80's and 90's its an awesome nostalgia trip
7. Sponge Docks - As a Greek Canadian I love to see how my ancestors settled in different places
8. Boating into Sheppards for some live music
9. Ybor City for the historical interest
10. A nap under a palm tree in a hammock

[The Villages Guy]

My wife did a Segway tour of DT St Pete. She has a blast.

[theurbanfiles]

Thanks for the kind thoughts and ideas all.

I've now completed 73 of the 100 on my list but the nice thing is many are multifaceted so there's still more to see of them.

Today I explored some on way home from a job fair.
-Saw/Grabbed a drink/People watched at TB Downs. No races but cool experience.
-Saw the Native mound at Philippe Park. Not as high as one in Bradenton I don't think, but steeper/wider/nicer surrounding.
-Grabbed wings from the original Hooters. Nice that they kept some of the original design despite the remodel, and they have memorabilia from the founding.
-Armed Forces History Museum criminally underrated, nothing short of spectacular. IMO one of the ten best attractions in the US of that variety. Definition of a hidden gem, I had the place to myself.

[Roscoe Conkling]

I would humbly like to add

* Drinking one of 63 cold beers on tap at the Mad Pub on Madeira Beach while smoking a hand-rolled cigar from their shop right next door.

Not many places you can drink and smoke a cigar these days in puritanical Florida.

[MAniacTHW]

Originally Posted by Roscoe Conkling

I would humbly like to add

* Drinking one of 63 cold beers on tap at the Mad Pub on Madeira Beach while smoking a hand-rolled cigar from their shop right next door.

Not many places you can drink and smoke a cigar these days in puritanical Florida.

Cigar City Brewing sells cigars at the brewery and can be smoked out on their patio while enjoying a beer. Tampa Bay Brewing Company and Coppertail are both in Ybor and both allow you to smoke in their outdoor areas. There are options for beer and cigars!

[malone7384]

Thank you so much for putting this together - as someone who is planning a move to that area, it will be a great way to get introduced to a lot of non touristy things.

[theurbanfiles]

No problem, it was my pleasure. I really like to get out and explore the things my area has to offer. I'm sure there are many others that didn't get on this list either. One of the top among them: Withlacoochee State Forest. If I don't get up there earlier by myself, then I plan to go with this group on one of their fall trips. Suncoast Chapter - FLORIDA TRAIL ASSOCIATION (Tampa, FL) - Meetup

Who knew there were limestone caves to be explored an hour from Downtown Tampa?
One could reasonably do Weeki Wachee, Dade City, and Withlacoochee in a single day.

[just_visiting 9]

I've been here for 18 months and will soon move away, here is my list of what I liked:

1. Drive the circumference of Tampa Bay, enjoying the grandeur of it all, it is quite magnificent.
2. Visit off the beaten path places like Cockroach Bay.
2. Viewing the manatees by Apollo Beach.
4. Renting a power boat and tooling around for a few hours.
5. Walking Bayside, just once.
6. Seeing the cruise ships depart while at Ballast Point Park.
7. People watching around Hyde Park.
8. Getting some BBQ in Plant City.
9. Spending a few hours in Safety Harbor, going to the greek diner.
10. Going to happy hours at expensive restaurants near the International Plaza, always a bargain.
11. On that topic, $2 martinis in Ybor City (can I hear a hallelujah!!)
12. Drive each of the 3 bridges that cross the bay.
13. Stopping at Latin Markets that have fresh hot foods, such a deal.
14. Wondering why everyone is fishing from the piers but seldom catching anything, or was it just me?
15. I.C. Sharks - and the tiki bar behind it and remembering my younger days.
16. Wondering what's the fuss about Tarpon Springs.
17. Discovering little places like Boca Ciega Aquatic Preserve off Gulfport.
18. My first Dolphin sighting, or rather it swam up and just looked at me.
19. Strolling around the St. Pete waterfront.
20. Last but not least, living in a vacation spot where others come to & enjoying it year round.

Here's what I wasn't to keen on:

1. Hot, Hot, gosh it's Hot most of the year, not sure about humidity, I was too hot to notice.
2. Traffic congestion, and I was part of it.
3. Crazy long red light cycles.
4. Sometimes I think too much appears run-down but after awhile that became part of the charm.

Looks like the pro's have outweighed the con's!!

[071402]

Originally Posted by just_visiting 9

I've been here for 18 months and will soon move away, here is my list of what I liked:

1. Drive the circumference of Tampa Bay, enjoying the grandeur of it all, it is quite magnificent.
2. Visit off the beaten path places like Cockroach Bay.
2. Viewing the manatees by Apollo Beach.
4. Renting a power boat and tooling around for a few hours.
5. Walking Bayside, just once.
6. Seeing the cruise ships depart while at Ballast Point Park.
7. People watching around Hyde Park.
8. Getting some BBQ in Plant City.
9. Spending a few hours in Safety Harbor, going to the greek diner.
10. Going to happy hours at expensive restaurants near the International Plaza, always a bargain.
11. On that topic, $2 martinis in Ybor City (can I hear a hallelujah!!)
12. Drive each of the 3 bridges that cross the bay.
13. Stopping at Latin Markets that have fresh hot foods, such a deal.
14. Wondering why everyone is fishing from the piers but seldom catching anything, or was it just me?
15. I.C. Sharks - and the tiki bar behind it and remembering my younger days.
16. Wondering what's the fuss about Tarpon Springs.
17. Discovering little places like Boca Ciega Aquatic Preserve off Gulfport.
18. My first Dolphin sighting, or rather it swam up and just looked at me.
19. Strolling around the St. Pete waterfront.
20. Last but not least, living in a vacation spot where others come to & enjoying it year round.

Here's what I wasn't to keen on:

1. Hot, Hot, gosh it's Hot most of the year, not sure about humidity, I was too hot to notice.
2. Traffic congestion, and I was part of it.
3. Crazy long red light cycles.
4. Sometimes I think too much appears run-down but after awhile that became part of the charm.

Looks like the pro's have outweighed the con's!!

Hope it's ok to repost and repost again. This made my day entirely. Please post it on its own for all to see and maybe visit. 1-19 are fantastic. #11 a must do. Thank you for posting. Made.our.day.