Day Trip - Tarpon Springs Florida

(Tarpon Springs, FL) 57 degrees, partly cloudy)

We traveled to the "Sponge Capital of the World" yesterday  The city is located about 1 1/2 hours northwest of Tampa.  At the FMCA rally a lady with the tourist board told us about their city and gave us a great guide to the area.  It sounded interesting and a road trip was planned.  The drive was very pretty especially along the coast.  We left early and took our bikes along.  The 37 mile Pinellas Trail runs through this area.

The night before I read through the travel guide and  highlighted some areas to check out. Our first stop was the very unique Craig Park.  It is the winter home for manatees and looks like a great place to kayak or canoe.  It was too cold to go out today but we certainly plan on returning. 



Check out this unique tree trunk



Craig Park

There are pretty houses that ring the large park many of which are Victorian in style.  Most of the huge homes were built in the late 1800's during the sponge boom. This little beauty was for sale for a little less than a million dollars.  Interested?

Jimmy enjoyed the park too!

Our second  stop was along the docks where the tour and sponge boats dock.   This city was largely settled by Greek immigrants who developed a large sponge diving business.  We parked at a place called Spongeorama for $2.  That's an interesting name. 

Men were hawking tours all along the dock area.  The tour boats will take you out into the Gulf of Mexico and the area is know for manatees and dolphins.  Some of the tours stop at the state park that is only accessible by boat.  It was very chilly this morning so we decided to skip the tours and just look through the shops and have a little lunch.  It was fun shopping.  There were lots of flip flops in every possible style, huge displays of sponges, many cigar stores, and lots more. 





Wool sponges - found in deep water

Happy Campers

There were dozens of Greek restaurants.  We stopped at one that was recommend in a tour book called Mama's Greek Restaurant.  The food was very good and it was served on a large heated patio.  The free baklava was yummy. 

Our last stop was Fred Howard Park.  The beach is located at the end of long causeway extending from the park.  The nice beach overlooks the gulf and would be a great place for a picnic.  It was way too cold to swim today. 

Causeway leading to beach

It was a great road trip.  If you are in the area be sure to stop by.