Tampa for a day

Ok, so I usually update this when I'm still away or right afterward. This time I let a few days pass, maybe I was tired? Could be. We got up Sunday morning way too early, as in about 4:30, got ready for the day and dropped the dogs at Jimmy's. I'm sure he loved their 5 am arrival. A 7 am flight was pretty early, but we got on and were in a rental car in Tampa before 11. We drove over to the manatee viewing area at the Tampa electric plant. It's a little more touristy than we are used to, but it is Florida. In the winter when it's cold manatees gather in the river where the warm water comes out of the plant. There were about 25 the day we were there. From up above they look a lot like rolling boulders, but every once in a while there was a snout or tail to oooo and aaaww at. There are also a couple of boardwalks, one extends out into the water where we saw a lot of huge fish, and there's another that goes out to an observation tower. It is very pretty and extremely clean. There are bathrooms at the welcome center along with a gift shop and food stand. There was a touch tank with sting rays too. Overall it's a nice place.
From there we drove to Ybor City and met my brother for lunch. We went to the James Joyce Pub, it was excellent. Pub food is always a good option. Back to the airport and we were home with our monsters by 11 pm. Yes, it was a long day, but yes 85 degrees in February is well worth it!