sponge shops

sponge boats

Howard Beach

beautiful skies

dolphin

stacked boat storage

We enjoyed the warm weather here, mid 80s, for the first part of the week.  We went to a nice beach that was on a small barrier island on Saturday.  Then we walked around the small town of Tarpon Springs that is known as the “sponge capital of the world”.  The docks are called the sponge docks because sailors go out from there to harvest sponges that grow in the Gulf of Mexico.  The community was settled in the early 1900s by Greeks that were skilled sponge divers.  There are many shops that sell sponges that were brought in and processed (trimmed and cleaned) there.  We returned on Tuesday to take a two hour cruise on a tour boat that goes out into the bay.  We docked on a small island where we could collect shells that wash up on the sand; I got a bag full.  Then we went out a bit farther and saw dolphins swimming all around us.  After we docked, we ate gyros at one of the many Greek restaurants along the waterfront. 

On Wednesday we went into Tampa to an inlet where the power company has a manatee viewing center.  The manatees congregate there in winter because the water is warmer there by the power plant.  But since it has been so warm, most of the manatees were out in the bay, so we only saw a couple of them.  Then we went to the Florida State Fairgrounds for the biggest RV show in the country.  We looked at a few of the 1,100 RVs, but mostly went to get info about campgrounds and RV accessories. 

The weather changed dramatically on Thursday, ruining my plans to lounge on the patio and read.  The temperature dropped about 25 degrees and there were some fairly strong winds.  But that was forecast, that’s why we did the ocean stuff earlier in the week.  Instead we did some shopping and I saw “Life of Pi” since I’d read it in book club.  Usually I like books better than the movies of them, but in this instance I think the transition to screen was great, it made for a visually stunning movie.

A nice thing about Florida this time of year is that it is full of seniors that make me feel young in comparison, haha.  Also there are lots of activities geared to the retired crowd.  We went to a free jazz concert put on by retired musicians that get together to perform because they love to.  They were excellent.  We decided to stay here for another week.  It’s a great place to relax and enjoy the winter, and there are a couple more things we want to do here.  Till next week….