Tampa's Skyline

The Road We Almost Took
Our plan for the day was to drive to Clearwater Beach and then down the Upper Gulf Keys to Sarasota. Outside Lakeland, we hit fog so thick we had a hard time seeing the edge of  I-4, which was not much good for sightseeing. 

Driving through Tampa, we couldn't see the highway signs overhead or often even the edge of the road and had to guide on the taillights of the cars ahead. This is why we almost ended up on I-275 and the Howard Franklin Bridge, which spans Tampa Bay from Tampa to St. Petersburg. We'd have missed the Northern Keys entirely. On a clear day crossing the Howard Franklin bridge and then turning around might have been worth the extra drive. But this was not a clear day.

Luckily, at the last second we spotted the sign and for SR 60 and Clearwater Beach. But we never got even a glimpse of Tampa.