# Tampa Bay Attractions. Going down south. Help Plan. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 25, 2002, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tampa-bay-attractions-going-down-south-help-plan/138762 "2002-11-25T21:57:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![d12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/71c47a/32.png) [@d12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/d12)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tampa-bay-attractions-going-down-south-help-plan/138762/1 "2002-11-25T21:57:46Z")
Heya Dopers, Haven’t been around in a while but the family is leavin Canada for a trip. Hotel is being paid for courtesy of the taxpayers, but as I’m not attending the convention like my dad is, I need something to keep me occupied. Where abouts can a youngun (16+) hang out and have some fun. We’ll be all around Tampa, maybe even going to Orlando. Malls, Beaches, Tourist Traps… We’re in Ottawa and we’ll be going New York, Pensylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and then Sunny Florida. If you know or have been to any attractions, throw some suggestions down si vous plait 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tampa-bay-attractions-going-down-south-help-plan/138762/2 "2002-11-25T21:59:23Z")
Busch Gardens in Tampa. The theme parks in Orlando, but if you can only hit one, go to Universal Studios. Beaches…well, it’s too chilly right now for us Sothrons, but should be right humid for you 😉 ---
**Author:** ![d12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/71c47a/32.png) [@d12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/d12)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tampa-bay-attractions-going-down-south-help-plan/138762/3 "2002-11-25T22:12:29Z")
1st Day: Up to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 2nd Day: Up to Columbia, South Carolina 3rd Day: Orlando, Florida. Those are the distances that we’re hoping to cover by then. I know for sure I’m gonna be hitting Banana Republic and American Eagle (I think I’m the only guy who likes shopping). Nobody is at the beaches right now? 😕 How warm or hot does it need to be to get the beach girls out? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![flyboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/4da419/32.png) [@flyboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flyboy)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tampa-bay-attractions-going-down-south-help-plan/138762/4 "2002-11-25T22:35:57Z")
YBor city is a good place to go. Also, I’d recommend a slow sightseeing tour down Bayshore drive (if you’re interested in “beach girls.”) SoHo is also a pretty cool, trendy place. But if you’re looking for touristy places, I think your best bet is Busch Gardens and Orlando. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tampa-bay-attractions-going-down-south-help-plan/138762/5 "2002-11-25T22:40:43Z")
For non Tampans, SoHo = South of Howard street. I’m not sure I follow the reference to “beach girls”. On Bayshore? In Tampa? I recall a similar thread (maybe in IMHO) some time back. I’ll see if I can dredge up a link. ---
**Author:** ![Doctordec](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Doctordec](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctordec)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tampa-bay-attractions-going-down-south-help-plan/138762/6 "2002-11-25T22:53:36Z")
Try deep sea fishing. I’ve fished with these people… [http://www.dolphinlandings.com/Fishing/Partyboat/party\_boat.htm](http://www.dolphinlandings.com/Fishing/Partyboat/party_boat.htm) and they supply the tackle and bait. If you don’t have a place to cook the fish you can throw it back or give it away. If you’ve never saltwater fished it’s different than freshwater. You never know what you might drag up. Just a little tip, don’t order poutine anywhere in FLA, they don’t have a clue. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tampa-bay-attractions-going-down-south-help-plan/138762/7 "2002-11-25T22:59:05Z")
Here’s a link to the [earlier thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=101418) which I referred to. And **Doctordec** , you’re right, I’m from Florida and I haven’t a clue as to what poutine is. Some kind of food? And I live in Ohio now, and still no clue. I don’t think they sell it here. Unless it’s a cold medicine. ---
**Author:** ![flyboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/4da419/32.png) [@flyboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flyboy)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tampa-bay-attractions-going-down-south-help-plan/138762/8 "2002-11-25T23:06:14Z")
**ShibbOleth** , the stretch of Bayshore from (roughly) Tampa General down to Gandy. There’s a wide sidewalk for riding, blading, walking, and running. And at almost any time of the day or evening you’ll find many attractive women exercising. It’s easily the most difficult drive in the city for me, because I have a major problem keeping my eyes on the road. I think it’s a relatively new development, so it may not have been around before you left. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tampa-bay-attractions-going-down-south-help-plan/138762/9 "2002-11-25T23:19:53Z")
I thought maybe they’d relocated the prostitutes from Nebraska Ave and you were being facetious. Anyway my turf is more on the other side of the Bay, so even if it were there a long time ago I might not have known about it. But I’ll be back down in a few weeks, so if the weather is nice I may have to check it out. Any good rental shops in the area? ---
**Author:** ![Doctordec](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Doctordec](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctordec)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tampa-bay-attractions-going-down-south-help-plan/138762/10 "2002-11-27T01:20:24Z")
ShibbOleth… Poutine is “Canadian soul food”… fries, cheese curds, and gravy all mixed together. It’s been the subject of a few SDMB posts, just do a search on “poutine” and you’ll find out. I started making it a few months ago and now I’m hooked. Enjoy ! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Pebs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Johnny\_Pebs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Pebs)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tampa-bay-attractions-going-down-south-help-plan/138762/11 "2002-11-27T01:54:49Z")
You can always catch a Lightning game at the Ice Palace. [sub]I refuse to call it the St.PeteTimes Forum![/sub] For those of who didn’t know, they’re 2nd in the conference and 1st in the division. :eek: 🆒 As far as the temp goes, we’ve been hitting the low to mid 70s for the high and 40s-60s for the low. That’s still decent enough to hit the beaches IMHO. Ybor City has already been mentioned, but all most of the clubs are 18+. There are still other shops and restaurants to be seen. There is also Channelside which has shops and restaurants as well. Both of these are connected to downtown by the new streetcar which can be ridden end to end for $1.25 I believe. You’ve also got Gameworks in Ybor. I don’t know if they have them in Canada, but it’s basically a huge arcade but it also has a bar and restaurant. You buy a prepaid card that you swipe through the machines instead of quarters or tokens. There are machines throughout the place where you can recharge the cards. Channelside has Pop City which is just like Gameworks. For food, you have to hit Crazy Buffet up by the stadium. It’s an upscale sushi/chinese/japanese buffet place. It’ll run about $20 per person, but it’s worth it.