On any given day, several cruise ships dock in and around Tampa. Other ships end up in Fort Lauderdale, or Miami, or Port Canaveral. They’ve all got one thing in common - art auctions! If you’ve ever been on a cruise of at least 5 nights, you’ve probably seen artwork lining the promenade of the ship. From landscapes to abstracts, and even cartoons cells, you can get it all on your cruise ship. The company hosting most of these cruise ship auctions is Park West Art Gallery, and you need not wait for a cruise to buy a piece from them! On one of my sister’s most recent trips, she and her husband ended up buying a piece of an animation cell at the art auction. The gallery conducts auctions on the cruise ships, as well as locations throughout the USA and Canada.

I had the chance to visit Countryside Mall recently, and I got to thinking about all of the changes it’s seen over the past 30 years. I’m a child of the “mall era”, and I’ve been visiting Countryside Mall since I was a baby, which was just a year after the mall was built in 1975. It was one of a kind at the time, with two levels of indoor stores. Maas Brothers was the first store to open, on the south side of the mall, in the current Macy’s location. (First it was Maas Brothers, then Burdines, and now it’s Macy’s). Robinson’s opened opposite Maas Brothers in 1976, and that spot has also been occupied by Maison Blanche and is now a Dillard’s. Sears and JC Pennys have always been in their current locations.

I remember when the mall featured tan and brown tiles, and the ice skating rink in the center (aptly named, Centre Ice) was THE place to be seen on a weekend. I remember when there wasn’t a food court, but there WAS a McDonald’s downstairs. I remember when we didn’t have a Ruby Tuesday’s, but instead, a BrewMaster’s Steakhouse. I also remember the mall being redecorated in the late 80’s - the brown and tan tiles were replaced with pink and blue, and cloud murals were painted on the ceilings.

Now, Westfield owns Countryside Mall, and despite attempting to turn it into a “Westfield Shopping Town”, the residents of Clearwarer still call it Countryside Mall. And it still remains my favorite mall in the Tampa Bay area.

Come to the 2007 Florida RV Supershow at the Florida State Fairgrounds, 4800 N. US Hwy. 301, Tampa, FL and see TrailManor the full sized travel trailer that tows like a pop-up and fits in your garage.

January 17th - 21st
Wednesday - Saturday: 9 am - 6 pm
Sunday: 9 am - 5 pm

Wednesday is seniors citizen’s day - $1 off admission

TrailManor travel trailers can be viewed at www.trailmanor.com if you can’t make it to the show!