Monday evening after arriving we got to go on a mini private tour of the Raymond James Stadium (where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play). It was so cool! They had just a few stadium lights on so that we could make our way down the tunnel onto the field, but it was such a neat sight.
On Tuesday, we spent the afternoon at the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa. We had a lot of fun walking around seeing the different animals and learning new bits of information about them. The Lowry Park Zoo is home to one of the largest non-profit Manatee Hospitals in the country. All of the manatees in the zoo have been injured or require care. Once they are rehabilitated, they are released back into the area where they were found, or if that is an unsafe area, they release them back into an area where there is an established manatee population.
While we were at the zoo, we were also able to take a boat tour on the Hillsborough River (for an additional fee of course) in the hopes of seeing Manatees in the wild. We did see two Manatees, as well as two alligators and various other kinds of wildlife such as vultures, invasive plants that are not native to Florida (the Brazillian Pepper Tree), and various dogs who live along the river who beg for treats as the boat goes by. Even though we didn't see as many animals as we thought that we would, we got to see some pretty neat houses along the river including one that had a tree growing up through the roof.
Overall, it was a fun day, and we enjoyed the experience.
On Wednesday, we helped out with the mass band rehearsal for the Outback Bowl halftime show. Our jobs consisted of helping to get the students onto their correct side of the field so that the could be placed into their spots. Not much sun was soaked up during this experience, but it was a lot of fun to speak with the students who were involved.
After lunch, we made our way into Ybor City where the Outback Bowl parade is held. All of the high school bands who are participating in the competition were in the parade, along with the Iowa and South Carolina University bands. The crowd was really excited for the event, and we enjoyed watching from a balcony above the street. Beads were thrown just like at Mardi Gras, and we enjoyed watching people in the parade try to throw them up to the second story to us. It was nice for me to actually watch a parade instead of being in a parade (even though I do find that to be a lot of fun), but it was a lot of fun to simply be a part of the crowd.
When the parade was over, we drove to the other side of Tampa to spend New Year's Eve with the Cevallos family. Javier Cevallos is the President of Kutztown University, and several years ago while attending the Outback Bowl, he learned that my father is one of the band directors who is in charge of the Halftime Show. He spends New Year's in Florida each year with his family, and has graciously extended the invitation to my parents every year. Pete and I were thrilled to be invited as well this year, and we had a wonderful time. The Cevallos family encorporates several Puerto Rican, Spanish, and Ecuadorian traditions into their celebrations each year, and we enjoyed learning about them. There was live music, lots of food, the eating of 12 grapes at midnight, as well as jumping over the burning man of 2008. It was so much fun, and we look forward to adopting similar traditions into our future family celebrations.
And finally, today, New Year's Day and the Outback Bowl. We were there on the field prior to the game and during halftime. We also had the opportunity to go up into the Press Box and Club Level to walk around. The view from the Press Box is amazing, and we would both love the opportunity to watch a football game from that vantage point.
While we honestly didn't watch much of the game, we had a great time and enjoyed the freedom (thanks to our field access passes) to explore the stadium and see some really neat things.
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