TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. – The bridges throughout Tampa Bay give a calming view of the glistening water that borders the space, and generally you are caught with that view for a whereas – particularly if a drawbridge is up. That course of is extra difficult than it seems.
“The thing that popped into my head when I took this job is ‘God, this is more complicated than I thought,’” laughs Dave Ditto.
Dave has been the Treasure Island bridge tender for 3 years.
“We open and close the bridge for large vessels, whether its sailboats or yachts,” he defined.
Dave Ditto on the job as a bridge tender in Treasure Island.
It was as soon as his unattainable dream job.
“I would joke with my next-door neighbor that one day I was going to retire, and I was just going to take a job at Treasure Island pushing the button on the bridge,” he recalled.
But the dream got here to fruition after Dave retired from a 36-year profession as a resort government.
“I loved it, absolutely loved it. But there was a lot of stress involved too in being a hotel executive,” he defined. “I wanted to do something that was more fun and maybe less stressful. And here I am.”
Dave fields a lot of requests from fascinated associates for excursions of the bridge.
“I really do think they think there’s one button that we push and as you can see there’s a lot more to it than that,” he stated.
After boat captains name in requesting a gap, Dave begins a thirteen-step course of to open and shut the drawbridge. The complete course of takes about 5 and a half minutes.
“If you are coming in your car and the lights red, you’re going to sit there for five or six minutes,” Dave stated. “Just enjoy yourself and watch the view.”
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