Robert Payne

Cigars are about as synonymous with Tampa as gambling is with Las Vegas. Guilty pleasures that cost money, and you can lose big when you play with them. I’m not so much of a gambler or a smoker, but despite the risks I do occasionally like to puff on a good old stogie. I found [...]

A lot has changed since Kennedy was president. To think he never had the chance to slurp down a Starbucks non-fat latte while chattering on a 3G cell phone connection and streaming YouTube videos over WiFi is a shame. He may have helped us get to the Moon, but the idea that a human being [...]

I just wanted to give a shout out to Outdoorzy and Origo for the sweet new watch. How did I win it? Well, Outdoorzy ran a contest on their snoop bloggy blog, and the blog pound rated the comments and chose the winner. What did I say? “I run a lot of class V rivers [...]

It has been soooo HOT here in Tampa lately! The humidity and heat is a stifling stew that makes me want to run rampant, pillage, plunder, wreak havoc; but then that would make me sweat. Instead, I suckle my air conditioning vent like a lover and throw ice cubes at the fan. Despite being situated [...]

Whenever my wife and I go sea kayaking around the state of Florida, we often joke about “going down for the death roll.” It is a sick joke, but it seems to slightly alleviate the stress of being surrounded by an absurd amount of highly skilled killers. I just hope I never see this view [...]

I’ve lived in Tampa for nearly two years now, and I must confess that during that time I’ve never taken the initiative to go to a Tampa Bay Rays game. So, when I got the invite from a friend it was the only push I needed. It was a good game, and the Rays walloped [...]

If you look carefully at this mural (click to enlarge) that is painted on the side of a building in downtown Tampa, you can see that it embodies much of the personality of the city. I hope the artist does not mind that I took a picture of it and posted it here. Within the [...]

Lately, I have been exploring the different personalities of particular places I frequent. Here are two pictures taken in a 24-hour period along Bayshore Boulevard in Tampa, Florida. They go along with this shot of a Dolphin and Jack playing Cat and Mouse, Horses Resting, and this Bird On A Light.

Headed over the Cooper River Bridge on my way out of Charleston, SC over Memorial Day Weekend. Did you know the first Memorial Day was originally held in Charleston, SC and organized by former slaves? It was May 1, 1865, but they called it Decoration Day. On that day, former Charleston slaves started a tradition [...]