MacDill Air Force Base - Tampa, FL

April 10th - Friday - 88 Degrees - Sunny with a slight breeze

Today is a much nicer day than yesterday was, it was 93 degrees yesterday and not enjoyable to be outside.  Today we have enjoyed getting outside a little.  In fact, we drove to Camping World to pick up a few supplies and then to Plant City hoping to get a flat of strawberries, only to find that we were too late, there were no strawberries to be had!!

I wanted to tell you a little about MacDill Air Force Base, a little that I know, it is over 70 years old and Major General H.S. "Hap" Arnold was the first chief of the Army Air Force to serve here.  From what I have heard the area was know for the rattlesnakes when Southwest Field was built.  It was opened to become a training  facility for a new bomber the B-26 Marauder.  It was initially slightly underpowered and introduced a new saying:  "One a day in Tampa Bay," as young pilots struggled to master their craft of flying and more than a few ended up in the "drink".

The base was named for Lt. Col. Leslie MacDill, who died in a plane crash outside of Washington, DC in 1938..

Today MacDill has become the nation's most important facilities.  Not only is it the home of an air refueling wing, Central Command (CENTCOM) AND Special Operations Command (SOCOM) are headquartered here.  It is not unusual to see troops from many other countries in their native uniforms when we go out to eat here on base.  We recently ate beside on troops from France and Romania.

One of the tracking planes.

CENTCOM Bldg.

Large Office Bldg.

Memorial in Ybor City

Statues of horses placed on the boulevard along Bay Shore Drive.

Huge statue of a flower  down town Tampa, you drive around it.

A view of the horses from the rear window of the car.

Skyline of Tampa.

I thought the tall building was pretty.

After we got back today, I gave Maci a bath and started putting some things away, as we have to start thinking about leaving here.  I always have mixed feeling of leaving, I hate the terrible hot weather, but I love  being here.  Krista was at out house today and took lots of pictures, and our flowers are all coming up and spring certainly is on the way, so that makes me ready to venture home.  Hopefully, Maci will remember what home is!!