RIVER VIEW

It’s not every day that you get to make your mom smile from ear to ear from start to finish. We met on the street in front of the Tampa Convention Center on Mother’s Day morning and approached the docks with gleeful anticipation. We were taking an eBoat out on the river—from eBoats Tampa.

What’s an eBoat? It’s an electric boat that moves silently through the water, sans fuel (to pay for, smell or pollute the waterways). As easy as a golf cart is to drive and equipped with a full shade canopy, comfy pillows for lounging, a sizeable dining table and an iPod hookup for music, eBoats are perfect for picnicking, sharing togetherness and satisfying wanderlust.

eBoats of Tampa offers both independent rentals and chartered tours with three itineraries to choose from: up the Hillsborough River (where many folks stop off at Ricks on the River for food and drinks), down by Channelside and around Davis Islands.

We opted for the Hillsborough River route aboard the Solstice, which comfortably seats eight passengers (but we were a party of four). All along the river, we took in the sights from interesting abodes to bridges, birds and other boats passing by. And while we didn’t stop at Ricks, I did snap a shot of a fellow eBoats of Tampa vessel docked right out front (or was it the back?).

You can do morning tours, midday tours and sunset tours making eBoat voyages perfect for revisiting with different groups of friends, family and out of town guests or for celebrating milestone occasions. Locals can request a punch card and receive a free hour rental for each five hours paid, making it even more awesome to experience our local waterways regularly.

At the close of our two-hour journey, my family disembarked the Solstice armed with smiles and warm memories that won’t soon fade away. Many thanks and much love to my husband Alan for his role as captain of our eBoats Tampa excursion.

To learn more, visit eboatstampa.com or call 813.767.2245.

Ahoy Mateys!