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Jacksonville

The city is located on the east coast of Florida on the Atlantic coast. It’s the states most populous city and by area the largest city in US. The area has been inhabited for thousands of years as they found pottery dating to 2500 BCE. Leaving St Augustine we drove along the Atlantic sea on […]

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St Augustine

This weekend we are doing St Augustine and Jacksonville which are located on the east coast and about 3 hours from Tampa. St Augustine was founded in 1565 by a Spanish Admiral and Florida’s first governor. The reason it got it’s name was that the crew had spotted Florida on the feast day of St […]

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Helping the community

Tonight I had signed up to help handing out food to servicemen and first responders, and their families, who needs support. As I don’t know this area and know the traffic might be busy I wanted to be there early. I arrived 15 minutes prior to when it said we had to be there. Well, […]

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The Urban Stillhouse

The Urban Stillhouse owned by Horse Soldier Bourbon and is a bourbon whiskey distillery in St Pete, we have been recommended to visit it by several people. You have to book well in advance but I’ve been checking now and then for lunch spots. A few weeks ago I found an opening and booked for […]

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Cross Bay Ferry to St Pete

We took our bikes and rode to the Convention Centre which is almost 9 km from our house. It was already really hot so we took it easy not to get to sweaty 🤪 Never works when it’s almost 30 degrees C and the winds are warm. The ferry over to St Pete takes roughly […]

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Good Friday at Gulf of Mexico

This week and next week there’s a Sand Sculpting Festival in Clearwater. As US don’t have religious days off we thought going there on Friday was a good idea. It wasn’t!! 🤪 Nearing Clearwater the traffic came to a full stop and we decided to turn before we were stuck completely. So instead of going […]

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Island feeling at Davis Islands

About 15 minutes from here towards downtown Tampa there’s a place called Davis Island. It was built upon two man-made islands atop two small natural islands formerly known as “Little Grassy Key” and “Big Grassy Key”. The islands were built from mud dredged from the bottom of Tampa Bay in the 1920s and expanded. Many […]

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Last day in New York…

for this time. I would love to come back and do more. New York is a big city and has so much to offer one have to choose. As we needed to head to the airport around 4 pm we chose to do some shopping. Peter preferred to do some more sightseeing and headed to […]

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Solig dag i New York

Idag vaknade vi upp till strålande sol. Vi hade biljetter till kl 11 så vi tog oss bort till World Trade Center i god tid. När vi kom fram var det otroligt mycket poliser på plats runt norra poolen. När vi kommit in frågade jag en av personalen varför poliserna var där. Svaret vi fick […]

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Ett regnigt & blåsigt New York

Morgonen började bra men sen blev det sämre. Vi hade bestämt att vi skulle åka tidigt till muséet med förhoppning om att det inte skulle vara så mycket folk. Köerna var gigantiska så vi bestämde att komma tillbaka senare. Vi skulle gå till färjeläget mot Staten Island men kommunicerade lite dåligt och gick en omväg […]

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Rainy day in New York

The morning wasn’t very inviting for a sightseeing day but if you wear clothes accordingly it’s not a problem. Raincoats on and using the public transportation we headed towards Ground Zero. Took some time to get there as the metro system here isn’t as easily navigated as the one in London. Not as many signs […]

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Second day in New York

At 8:30am we left the apartment and walked to the UN building which is about 10 minutes away. We took some pictures before we headed to Grand Central which we walked through and came out at the main entrance. Felicia found a Sephora she wanted to go to before we walked to Rockefeller Centre and […]

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Arriving in New York

Left a sunny Tampa to go to a cooler New York and meet up with Felicia. We are house swapping with another Swedish family who are now enjoying the sunshine state. We arrived three hours before Felicia and headed to East 34th Street on Manhattan where we are staying. Some grocery shopping and a short […]

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Tampa Airshow

This weekend the Tampa Airshow was held again after it’s been cancelled during the pandemic. They did their practice on Friday afternoon and then the show happened both Saturday and Sunday. As weekend was open to the public the traffic going in to the base was crazy as well as leaving the base. The actual […]

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AW at our place

We had another AW at our house and I made Pulled Beef which was really nice. As usual I mad pictures of the appetisers and then forgot. We had a love evening and sat outside even if it was a bit tight with space under the screen.

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Broadway musical Frozen

Peter and I went to Stratz Center for our first Broadway musical. We’ve seen several West End musicals and this was as good as all the others. The actor playing Elsa had a wonderful voice and when she sang “Let it be” it was amazing. There were a few kids and all the girls were […]

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Nordic Coffee Morning

Finally the coffee mornings are up and running again. Since I arrived in July we have had 3 due to the base following the recommendations for the pandemic. Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway were supposed to have the coffee morning in February but as the base wasn’t open yet for larger gatherings we had to […]

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Everglades

Leaving Homestead/Miami we had planned to go home via Tamiami Trail and do the Loop Road. While driving we passed a few airboat tours and decided to do one of these as well. We missed the one we wanted to do but knew more would come. The first part of the Loop Road was tarmac […]

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Key West

As we couldn’t find any lodging in Key West (that we wanted to pay for) we slept in Homestead just outside Miami last night. Early this morning (at 8 o’clock) we left the hotel and headed south. From the hotel to Key West it takes about 2 hours and 45 min by car. We wanted […]

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Miami

We drove down to Miami today as we are going to Key West tomorrow. It’s spring break so we couldn’t get any hotel in Key West because we planned the trip last week 😊 Instead we are staying in Homestead and will have a around 2,5 hour drive tomorrow instead. Today we saw Miami Beach, […]

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St Patrick’s Day

Coming Thursday it’s St Patrick’s Day and today it was River O’ Green Fest in the Waterfront Park in downtown Tampa. It was food trucks, beer tents and music. But the big thing was dyeing the Hillsborough River green. We took a walk among the people, listened to some music and saw the river. But […]

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BBQ at the beach

Another farewell bbq for a family who has been here for the last 6 months. At least we had a lovely evening 💞

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Daytona 500 2022

Early this morning we headed to Daytona to see this years race. We don’t know much about the drivers except Jacques Villeneuve who’s a former Formula 1 driver. Before the race there was a short concert with the country singer Luke Combs, flying over by the Thunderbirds, national anthem by Tracy Adkins and some speeches. […]

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Biking to Clearwater

We took our bikes on the car and headed to the Ben T Davis beach which is at the beginning of W Courtney Campbell Causeway bridge. We unpacked the bikes and headed towards Clearwater. The bridge is about 14 km and there is a walk and bike lane that also becomes a separate bridge for […]

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Dinner with YPO

For two days there has been a security summit at Peter’s work and it ended with a private dinner at a member of the YPO’s home. First a bit of mingle and than a sit down dinner with food from a local restaurant Mise en place. Fantastic food and the company was very interesting. Next […]

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A week in a cold Sweden

10 days ago we flew to Sweden and arrived in a cold Stockholm. Luckily the girls brought our winter coats when they came for Christmas otherwise I would have died. I spent 2 days in Stockholm where we also so my sister-in-law and her family, before I headed south to our Swedish home. The time […]

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The Children’s Gasparilla Pirate parade 2022

We ran some errands in the morning and decided to have a “fika” at The Cheesecake Factory. It was really nice but after that there was no need for any lunch 🤪 Later in the afternoon we took the bikes and biked further up Bayshore Blvd to see the Gasparilla children’s pirate parade. Gasparilla Pirate […]

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Manatee Viewing Centre

After being in quarantine for 11 days we needed to get out of the house. Peter had found a brewery in Bradenton that was said to have the biggest beer garden in Florida. Arriving at the brewery by lunch time we were looking forward to have something to eat as well as drink. It was […]

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My birthday 2022

Another birthday to celebrate and we had booked dinner at Bern’s together with Jessica and Pelle. We took a walk to Ballast Point Park and Pier where we also had some lunch. When we were at the pier we saw a pelican sitting on the rail watching the man fishing from the pier. Probably wanted […]

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First day of 2022

After a nice breakfast with scrambled eggs, bacon and avocado we took the car and headed towards Clearwater. The northern part of Clearwater is always crazy with people/tourists and we drove further south were there is more residential homes. Heading to the beach was the plan for a lot of people. The beach was crowded […]

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New Year’s Eve 2021

A New Year’s Eve a bit different but still as usual. Since 1995 Jessica and Pelle have been a part of our celebration together with others. They came to London and now to Tampa. We had lunch at Big Ray’s and sitting outside enjoying the beautiful weather. We sat outside by the pool all afternoon […]

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Arlehall’s visit 2021

Jessica and Pelle arrived the evening before the girls and Micael left. The next morning we took the girls and Micael to the airport early in the morning. We spent some time together before they needed to go through security. It was hard saying goodbye 😢 We went home and had breakfast with Arlehall’s before […]

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Christmas visitors 2021

Five days before Christmas Eve Emelie, Felicia and Micael came to visit. They arrived late in the evening after a short delay. It was lovely to see them and even if it was late we stayed up a bit to just talk. They woke up early next day and we did some driving around to […]

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Boat Lighting Parade

While we are waiting for the kids we went downtown to see the annual Boat Lighting Parade. The boats parade up and down the bay and up the river and are judged. Not all the boats are signed up for the competition but they still take part in the parade. Where we were standing the […]

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Soon Christmas

I’ve been preparing for our visitors arriving on Saturday. Emelie, Felicia and Micael will come visit for 11 days and we are really looking forward to it. Got a bit nervous Monday when Felicia called and wasn’t feeling well. Everything pointed to it being tonsillitis as her throat was hurting and was swollen but she […]

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Victorian Christmas Stroll

Today I went to Henry B Plant Museum to see their exhibition Victorian Christmas Stroll. From their website: The Henry B. Plant Museum is housed in the 1891 Tampa Bay Hotel, the Victorian railroad resort that defined the elegant frontier, now a National Historic Landmark. Unlike most museums dedicated to lifestyles of the past, it […]

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Farewell and welcome

We have a girl that will be going back to Sweden next week. She’s the interpreter and they only stay for 6 months. Now her successor has arrived and we welcomed her at the same time. H has really been maximising her time here and done a lot of things in Tampa, Florida and other […]

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Bern’s Steak House

Tonight we had dinner at a fancy place or at least fancier than we normally eat. Peter have been here before but for me it was a first time. The outside looks dull and the place has no windows. Bern’s steakhouse has North America’s largest wine cellar. They carry 6500 different wines (not bottles) and […]

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Saturday outing in November

The weather has become cooler but it’s still wonderful outside. It said 16 degrees C when we left our house but in the sun it was still warm. We drove to Circle B Bar to spot some alligators, I don’t know why but they don’t seem to like me as we saw very few. Or […]

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Thanksgiving 2021

Today Thanksgiving is celebrated in the US. It’s their biggest holiday and families gather to celebrate. We were invited to our neighbours Rebecca and Steve together with Rebecca’s sister, niece and nephew together with the boyfriend of the sister. I was bringing some dessert and decided to bring a Pumpkin Pie lasagna which I’ve done […]

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Tampa Bay Lightning vs New Jersey Devils

Today we went to see some hockey again. It’s fun watching hockey here because something happens all the time. They lost today but played well the first two periods. The third they just made to many mistakes. The last few minutes when they had a chance to score even the goal keeper switched for a […]

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Sheraton Sand Key Resort

Yesterday we were invited to Sheraton Sand Key Resort in Clearwater by the CEO of the resort for a dinner and a stay. Peter and I arrived shortly after 4pm and checked in. We went to our room where we were welcomed by some wine and cheese. Had a glass of red wine on the […]

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Beautiful coffee morning at the beach

The coffee mornings have started again but as you have to wear mask indoors on base we will do them at the beach instead. Personally the family centre is a bit boring and small which makes the beach so much better. They have huts with roof which make it perfect. Today it was Poland who […]

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Kennedy Space Centre

Yesterday US celebrated Veterans Day and Peter was off from work. As KSC had free entrance for veterans we decided to do the 3 hour drive to the east coast. It’s a smooth drive if it weren’t for all the accidents. People are not focusing on the road but rather their phones or something else. […]

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Fort De Soto Park and a clogged sewer

Saturday we were going to have the neighbours over for dinner. I cooked in the morning and when I was done I went upstairs because Peter wanted me come upstairs. I then continued to clean the upstairs’ bathrooms, which I’m glad I did. Came downstairs to clean bathroom and discovered the toilet was about to […]

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Wildlife on Halloween

We went to Sawgrass Lake Park for a walk and to see what wildlife we could spot today. Temperature has fallen with 10 degrees C or 20 degrees F so it was really comfortable to walk outside for a couple of hours. We saw turtles, birds and a baby alligator but it was not a […]

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Cruising – day 6

After a very rocky night we woke up in Tampa. We had left our bags out yesterday evening and the only things to pack this morning was the toothbrushes and chargers. We had buffet breakfast and took it slow as our time slot to disembark the ship was between 9-9:30. To avoid crowds you had […]

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Cruising – day 5

In the night and early in the morning it rained and there was thunderstorms. We had buffet for breakfast and sat outside to enjoy the sea. Today is sea day and we are heading back to Tampa. As the morning was cloudy we took a walk around deck 12 were you can walk outside. Even […]

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Cruising – day 4

During the night the ship took us to Nassau, Bahamas and when we woke up and had had breakfast we headed ashore. Two other cruise ships had also moored, Oasis and Carnival, both being a lot bigger than ours. We hadn’t booked any outings and had decided to walk. We find that we see a […]

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Cruising – Day 3

When we woke up this morning the ship had already moored at CocoCay which is a private island in the Bahamas. It’s the Royal Caribbean Group that owns it. We took a slow breakfast and then went ashore. We saw that Oasis of the sea also had moored. Our ship can host 2490 people and […]

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Cruising – day 2

Today was a day at sea going towards CocoCay and we have done very little. Didn’t sleep that well as the beds are a bit uncomfortable. But by 8am we were on our way to breakfast. After yesterday’s Italian evening we weren’t that hungry, had some fruit and eggs for breakfast before we went to […]

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Cruising – day 1

Today we boarded Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Sea for a 6 days cruise. It’s first time doing a cruise and we are still learning. Getting on the ship was much like boarding a plane with checking in luggage, security check and showing boarding pass and passports. And of course vaccination cards and Covid-test which […]

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Tampa Bay Lightning

Yesterday we had nothing planned when we all of a sudden were offered tickets to see Tampa Bay Lightning play against Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche was Peter Forsberg’s club for some years, and he was popular because several Avalanche fans were wearing club jerseys with his name on it. We arrived shortly before they opened […]

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Cheerleading

Today we went to see cheerleading in Best of the Bay Cheerleading Competition. I think cheerleading is something very American even if it exist elsewhere. There was no time for the competition, it only said all day. We arrived when they had prize-giving for a couple of teams. But soon it was on with new […]

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Davis Island from a roof terrace

Today Peter and I were invited to a gathering with YPO in Tampa. One of the members let them use his roof terrace for this and it was a spectacular view. We met up with Henrik and Sanne at a place called CW’s Gin Joint downtown Tampa so we could arrive together at Davis Island. […]

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Lunch at Picnic Island

This weekend is a long weekend for Peter as it’s Public holiday and they had Friday off and will also have Monday off. It’s Indigenous People Day which that celebrates and honors Native American peoples and commemorates their histories and cultures. We did go to the movie on Thursday to watch the new James Bond […]

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Octoberfest

Today we were invited by the German community to celebrate the Octoberfest. We were at the American Legion Post 138 which is situated by the water. We even saw dolphins swimming by. We had lovely German food and beer but I forgot to take pictures again.

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Sarasota Historical Downtown became Lake Seminole bike excursion

We did stay the night in Sarasota, we found a nice looking hotel online at a good price. Looked new and situated about 8 minutes drive from downtown Sarasota. We brought our bikes to be able to bike to downtown but due to road works it didn’t work out. Driving to the hotel I asked […]

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IKEA, coffee and rodeo

When we sold our house I packed some of my kitchen things into our “American” storage and the rest went to the new apartment. I must have, at some point, been thinking that I would bring some of my stuff from the flat as well. Six months later I had forgotten this part and when […]

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Anna Maria Island

Today Peter took a day off. Instead of having all the days off from work during the summer he will take days off when we want to do things. We drove down to Anna Maria Island which is about an hour away from us. We saw parts of the island, beaches and had lunch as […]