Just over a month ago, we lowly interns from somewhere up north were set loose on the Bay area with nothing but notebooks, cameras and "The Must-Do List": Creative Loafing's 2006 compendium of "100 Things You Gotta Do to Be a True Tampa Bay Resident." Wide-eyed, goofy, full of new-city vigor, we wanted nothing less than to scale the heights and plumb the depths of the Bay area experience, from music to museums to manatees to Mastry's. Our goal: to become official Tampa Bay locals (in under a month).
Did we make it? You be the judge. Over the course of 26 days and nights, we managed to hit 70 spots drawn from the original list, friends' suggestions and our own instincts for fun and fury. In the following pages, we've compiled a few highlights for your vicarious pleasure. Plus, we've redrawn the original list, with some additions and yes, some deletions — because not everything stays a "must" forever.
By the time you read this, we will have made our bittersweet departure from Tampa Bay. But fret not — the legacy continues. In fact, we're looking for a few tenacious urban explorers to carry on once we're gone. If you think you've got what it takes to survive the full immersion experience, e-mail david.warner@creativeloafing.com and tell him why you'll fit into our shoes (flip-flops?). In return, Creative Loafing will send you out on the town and give you the keys to our blog — and trust us: You won't be home by 10. With the help of our own rigorous, um, research, you could be the one to lead the next generation of the Must-Do List.
Meanwhile, we look forward to our next crazy adventure, wherever we land. Good of you to have us, Tampa Bay. It's been real.
Must-Do 2
This article appears in Aug 22-28, 2007.
