From Ocala, we drove the short 100 miles into Tampa and found my dear friend Jennifer’s place right on Bay Shore Boulevard.  What a reunion to see an old friend from Seattle who had moved to Tampa.  We enjoyed catching up while at lunch and then proceeded to explore Tampa together.
She took us to the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg and we spent a couple of hours musing over his many and varied works of art.  What an interesting character her was!  At 13 he painted his first painting and everyone close to him recognized his talent.

While in the museum, which is an amazing conglomeration of steel and glass with a stunning spiral staircase up to the third floor, there was a typical Florida thunder storm.  And I mean storm!  It POURED for at least 40 minutes.  POURED.  As if someone had turned on all the faucets full bore.  And, then it stopped.  I had totally forgotten it could rain like that.

After the rain, we drove out to one of the piers and explored around and then found a lovely Italian bistro for dinner.  After checking into our hotel, I walked a short distance where I could see the sunset over Tampa Bay.

What a beautiful day.  Sun and rain; friends and food; art and nature – all to fill the soul with grace.