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| Christmas Tree at the sponge dock in Tarpon Springs |
Happy, Happy Thanksgiving to all! We are still riding high on our blessings
from last year and here we are …another season of thanks is upon us! AND we
have reached the one month mark of our journey…yes, we are still having fun AND
we are both still on the same boat – together and most importantly we are
meeting people from every walk of life…finding common ground and molding
friendships. Life’s blessings just keep
pouring in…
Tarpon Springs is rich in Greek heritage and culture and we
are loving it! Yes, they LOVE their meat
and bread…ohhhh, the bakeries!! But they also have such love for family –
everyone seems to live, work and play in the same community. They love LOUD!! Since Charlie doesn’t want me to make this
blog a history lesson, I’m going to hide the fun facts in the links.
There is so much to do and no need for a vehicle! The Pinellas Trail is a great biking, walking,
skateboarding stretch of 47 miles! Tarpon Springs has a fitness park
surrounding the start of the trail – super cool! And yes, Charlie has really used his bicycle (including the helmet) for
quick trips to pick up those small yet necessary boat parts. Naturally the lesson of
sponges can be learned from anyone standing in a shop or the parking lot but
perhaps the best info came from our “fun map”
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| brief recap of sponge diving business |
Of course the culture of Greek food is a lesson in its own
rite. I found it interesting the area restaurants
put a scoop of potato salad in the bottom of a traditional/Greek salad – quite an
unexpected surprise! When asked why …it’s tradition. You see, when the young Greek
men arrived in Florida to kick off the sponge diving enterprise, their
traditional food was not readily available.
In order to keep their tummy full – remember they were doing manual
labor – cooks started putting a scoop of potato salad in their food. That practice is still in play today!
We have enjoyed Tarpon Springs and tomorrow will take us to
Holiday FL (via car) to enjoy the day with family. Friday will be spent
prepping the boat for our continued journey south…next stop is Fort Myers…in a
week or so.
A few stats of our journey:
We have driven/floated approx 875 miles, stayed in marinas 18
nights, anchored out 10 nights, stayed 2 nights at free municipal docks and ONE
night driving all night across the Gulf of Mexico. Based on those numbers we need to start
anchoring out more often or finding municipal docks – it’s my favorite part!
Enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday – where ever you are and
whoever you’re with, embrace it and make it a pleasant memory. Friends are just family we choose.
God Bless!
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| Because the bar TOP is where we draw the line? |
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