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This year, thanks to the magic of radio automation, I was able to easily get time away from work to visit family in St. Petersburg. Mrs. Hill and I made our way south on Christmas Eve’s Eve.

It was my intention to stop at the Sam Ash store in Clearwater (formerly Thoroughbred Music, a Dana Heritage Project Historic Site), but it was getting too late by the time we reached Tampa to hope we’d make it to that store before it closed at six o’clock. Then I remembered that there was a guitar store or two on Hillborough Avenue in Tampa. I had not traveled down that stretch of US 92 between I-75 and Dale Mabry for well over a decade, and it has changed almost beyond recognition. It was once one of the narrowest four-lane highways in America, with no room whatever for driver error. At six wide lanes with a median, it is now hard to imagine how narrow it once was. The only indication you get is at the bridge crossing the Hillsborough River. While the west-bound lane is a new span, the east-bound lanes still use the old vertical lift bridge I crossed countless times when I was a kid and my dad lived in Seminole Heights.

The Guitar Center is a pretty good store for those looking for new Fenders. I was interested in playing a couple different models, to compare neck finishes and pickups. When I walked in a fellow asked if he could help me find anything. I said, “I’d like to play the ‘52 Hot Rod Telecaster through a Twin Reverb. Lo and behold, they were right before my eyes, one atop the other. He gave me a pick, and I tried it out for several minutes before switching to the Deluxe Series Telecaster and finally the American ‘52 Reissue. The pickups on the ‘52 RI were by far my favorite, with extreme treble. I also really liked the sound and feel of the Deluxe Series Stratocaster, and the beautiful color of the Yngwie Malmsteen Stratocaster. The twenty minutes we spent in Guitar Center were torture to Miriam.

We made it to St. Pete around 6:30, and we treater Marshall and Grandma to dinner at Applebee’s. Our waitress was super nice. I wasn’t sure if I liked the hamburgers at Applebee’s, but it turns out I do. Not as much as Chili’s, but not bad. I couldn’t eat my fries, and we took them home. Back at Grandmas we chatted until after ten o’clock, then went to bed.

On Christmas Eve, Grandma was delighted to receive a series of phone calls, bringing news good and bad, starting with word that my Aunt Julie would be picking my Dad up and bringing him to St. Pete to continue his search for a driveshaft for his BMW. (By yesterday he had found an exact replacement transmission, so he could use his original driveshaft.) We also heard that Uncles Joe and Charlie’s dad had been admitted to the hospital, which is unfortunate. Then Heather called and said she would be coming by later in the day. Indeed she did, and brought Liam and Harper. We hadn’t seen them in two years, and they’re much bigger. Harper enjoyed playing with the same old toys Heather and I had played with when we were children. In the evening, when Grandma went to church, Miriam and went driving around the downtown area of St. Pete, looking at the sites and the lights. We looked at the city from the roof of the Pier. Later that evening we watched It’s a Wonderful Life.

On Christmas morning Grandma gave her gifts to Marshall, Miriam and me. Marshall got a tambourine; Miriam a blanket which Grandma stitched by hand; and I got another selection of old tools that had belonged to my late grandfather and great-grandfather. She even gave me a framed photo of me with my father and grandfather–perhaps one-of-a-kind–but I forgot it when we left on Wednesday. We went to the new home of my cousin Jessica, which is spacious and bright. Plus, she has one of the most beautiful white cats I have ever seen. Back at Grandma’s, I had a great long talk with Dad, then Miriam presented her magnificent eight cheese lasagna, which everyone loved. Grandma showed us the present that Connie and Charlie gave her: two stars named for her and Grandpa.

Wednesday morning I helped Grandma by replacing a light on her car above her license plate. We gave her our old carpet shampooer, and got on the road at about noon. On the way back home, I discovered how the Sam Ash store on McMullen-Booth Road is a pale shadow of its former Thoroughbred Music glory. The weather was warm and nice, but there were many more cars on the road than I would have liked. It makes driving fatiguing. I-75 is becoming increasingly congested day by day, and will soon have far more cars than it can safely accommodate.

We got home around 3:30 and were glad to see Moggie again. A fine Christmas.