Ybor City: Waiting for the Final Four ~ April 5, 2019

Final Four Here We Come!  April 5 - 8, 2019

Well ... as you saw in my last post, our personal "road to the final four" came to an end at the Old Ola Bungalow in Seminole Heights, Florida.  This is a "neighborhood" of Tampa, and is really quite charming -- lots and lots of Craftsman "bungalow" style homes.  I really want to learn more about the whole Craftsman thing as I heard today that Sears Roebuck sold different "kits" depending upon the part of the country.  Our house was originally a Craftsman "farmhouse," which shares some things in common with these southern bungalows and the ones we have seen in California, but the farmhouse often had a second floor.  Definitely on my list for learning more about them when I get back home.

This morning we woke relatively early, but lingered (at least I did) for a bit in bed.  When I finally got myself out of the bed, we drove down the street to a small grocery store -- not a lot of selection, but we found most of what we needed, got a $5 off coupon on our $37 worth of groceries, and headed back to the house.  A bit of breakfast and then off we went to Ybor city to test our theory that we might be able to park there and take the streetcar to the arena.  Seems as though it might work -- we'll find out tomorrow (in terms of actually finding parking and then getting back to Ybor City after the game).

We arrived in Ybor City at about 11:30, found a place to park on the street (for free) just adjacent to the last stop on the Street Cars.  Last time we were here, you had to pay $2.50 per person to ride the Street Cars -- now they are free.  We found very few people riding the cars -- it will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow night, but we think we are going to give it a try.

We rode from the first stop to the last stop on the street car, arriving at the Amelie Center, where the games will be played.  I had gotten an email saying my tickets entitled me to a "concessions voucher" -- who knew?  We picked it up today -- turns out we get $10 each toward concessions.  Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, as I frequently say.  We also saw a very large piece of machinery having a difficult time getting unloaded (Jeff took some photos and I may be able to post them later).

Jeff had a bite to eat at the stadium, and then we got back on the street car to Ybor City.  It's a really interesting little piece of the world.  One of the things I have come to realize is that many homes in this part of Florida are 'Craftsman' Homes -- homes that Sears Roebuck sold as kits by catalogue and that differed in style depending upon the part of the country.  Because we live in a 1928 "Craftsman" (at least in its original iteration), I am fascinated by this phenomenon and think I may make a new goal in life -- to learn more about it.  I learned some new things today as we visited a "casita" in Ybor City as part of our tour of the Ybor City State Museum.

In the pictures above, our tour guide "Mitzy" (a Cuba immigrant) took us through a typical "casita" -- a Craftsman home typical of this part of the country.  The homes were ordered by the "industry" (as Mitzy put it - because it wasn't just one cigar manufacturer, but many - all of whom worked hard to take care of the workers and maximize their production).  A worker could purchase a casita for $300 - $600, depending on the size.  A cigar roller could earn as much as $18 per week, when teachers and doctors were earning much less.  Anyway, Mitzy took us on an interesting tour of a 2 bedroom casita (pictures above).

After we toured the casita, we walked back to the museum to read more about this true "melting pot" - whites, blacks, Cubans, Italians, Spaniards, and Jews - all living together in community, taking care of one another in times of need, prospering together.  When did this stop being who we are as a country?

Sigh ....

But it was a great day -- relaxing and enjoying South Florida!  Back at the house I made Ina Garten's Meatloaf (if you haven't tried it ... Google the recipe and try it -- fabbo!  And it's even better left over!), and I put together a chicken marbella marinade for tomorrow night's dinner.

Tomorrow .... Our beloved UCONN women face "the Irish" of Notre Dame.  We beat them once - when we weren't nearly as good as we are today, so .... who knows?  We could be in it to win it on Sunday night.  No matter what, it will be fun to be a part of "the big Dance."

Cross your fingers .... tomorrow night will decide whether we move on, or ... just enjoy the game for the love of the game on Sunday night!