Day 2 (January 11, 2023): Settling Into Tampa

One of the nicest things about a trip south in the winter is the feeling of waking up on your first day after arriving and just realizing, “There is no snow out there!  It is not -10 degrees!”  And so it was this morning.  Since we arrived in the evening, we decided just to take a Best Western for the night, near the airport, and to settle into the Marriott this morning.  We had breakfast at the Best Western then took a Lyft (similar to Uber) to the Marriott at 9.  Our room is on the top (27th) floor of the hotel, granting amazing views of downtown and all over Tampa Bay.

It wasn’t a complicated day by any means.  We met up with our friends, Karen and Mike (also here for the conference, and actually, the ones who told Pam about it - had it not been for them, we wouldn’t even be here!) and went to the Tampa Convention Centre to register mid-morning.  The afternoon was then spent around the hotel’s pool, followed by a stroll on the Tampa Riverwalk - one of the things for which Tampa is best-known - and an amazing concert to kick off the conference.  That was topped off with dessert in the hotel’s Concierge Lounge before calling it a day.



The Tampa Marriott Water Street holds an enviable space adjacent to the Tampa Riverwalk.


The hotel’s grand lobby.


Starting our Marriott stay with lattes in the Concierge Lounge on the 24th floor, overlooking the Hillsborough River.


The third floor rooftop pool area, where we spent a good deal of the afternoon.



Views from the hotel — the hotel’s marina along the Hillsborough River.


Home of the Tampa Bay Lightening, Stanley Cup Champions.
The Tampa Convention Centre, site of the Florida Music Education Association conference with 10,000 participants!


Pam, Karen and Mike - about to register.

Scenes from the Tampa Riverwalk:







Good thing I was warned by the sign and was ready to take on this fella!







Waterside Cafe at the hotel


The 6PM sunset from the 24th floor Concierge Lounge.
 

The two-hour concert to kick off the conference was amazing and shows what can happen when excellence is held as the standard.  This wind orchestra from a Tampa high school was followed by a Tampa-area choir and a West Palm Beach 82-piece orchestra.  The complexity of the works and the sheer excellence of the high-schoolers was unlike anything we have ever witnessed.  

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