Farewell to the old Tampa home.

Last weekend we made a brief visit to Tampa, staying with friends across the street from the house that had been my parents' and my home for many years (photo above). Note the English sunrise on the door. That isn't the original door. When my parents bought the house in 1957, it had jalousie windows, as did the door. They replaced the windows and door when they had central air conditioning and heat installed in the 1970s.

White ibises were feeding in the back yard next door.

This boldly marked crab spider had spun a cobweb near the carport.

We visited some other friends who live in a high rise building on Harbour Island. This is the view looking toward downtown Tampa from their terrace.

While we were there, several horn blasts alerted us to the departure of Carnival Paradise from the nearby cruise ship terminal. In this photo, the ship appears to be headed toward our friends' apartment as it turns to head out the channel to Tampa Bay. At the left of the photo you can see the funnel and masts of the World War II vintage cargo ship American Victory, on which my late friend Paul Schiffman served as an officer on its maiden voyage. The ship is preserved as a museum and docked near the Florida Aquarium, a favorite place for both my daughter and me.

Crossing our hosts' lawn, I saw something scurrying. I looked down, and saw this anole lizard clinging to the side of a plank.

Our return flight was delayed because of runway maintenance at New York's JFK Airport. While we waited, I took this photo of our plane sitting at the gate, with the towers of downtown Tampa beyond.

We took off heading southward; the setting sun appeared as a crescent through the clouds. Below is Old Tampa Bay and the Courtney Campbell Causeway.

After we turned northward, the moon could be seen in a brilliant sky.