Today we are driving up to Tampa airport to pick up some friends who are flying in from the UK. I never fail to enjoy the drive across the magnificent Skyway Bridge that spans the entrance Tampa Bay. It is one of the most beautiful in Florida. Miles and miles of silvery blue seas stretch in both directions and the bridge is so high the name is perfectly apt.

The old bridge that was damaged when a ship ran into it years ago has been made into the longest fishing pier in the world, so at least it was not wasted.

Driving across the bridge, if you look out into the Gulf you can see the northern tip of Anna Maria Island which confirms what we all feel - it is, as we never tire of saying, a jewel in the Gulf.