DUNEDIN, FL - ST. PETE BOAT SHOW AND TARPON SPRINGS, FL

Thursday, December 4th to Friday, December 5th, 2014

Day 122-123
Miles Traveled: 0
Total Miles Traveled: 2481



  Thursday we attended the St. Petersburg Power and Sailboat Show in St. Petersburg, FL.  We went with three other couples and had a great time.  Fortunately, we were able to keep most of our money in Dan's wallet.  We did purchase a few unique items. The most impressive was the Big Skinny wallet.  Dan's old wallet measured about 2 inches high, and, after changing to the Big Skinny wallet, it now measures 1 1/4 inches.  Amazing!  
See it to believe it at: http://www.bigskinny.net/


  Friday we decided to do "the tourist thing" and go to Tarpon Springs, FL sponge docks using our rental car.  Unique gift shops, tourist shops, bakeries and restaurants (mostly Greek) are almost unlimited in this area of Tarpon Springs.  This city has the largest percentage of Greek Americans in any city in the United States.  Greek immigrants came to the area to dive for sponges on the bottom of the sea.  In 1905, John Corcoris introduced the technique of sponge diving to the area, and recruited divers from Greece.  Unfortunately, a red tide algae bloom in 1947 destroyed a lot of the sponge fields.  Many sponge divers had to turn to shrimping and fishing for their livelihood.

Memorial to sponge divers

Maybe Angie will pick sponge diving as a second career

  Given the above history, it is no surprise that there is an abundance of Greek restaurants in Tarpon Springs.  One of the most popular is Hellas Restaurant and Bakery.  We couldn't leave Tarpon Springs without at least having lunch at Hellas.  We opted to split the combination plate and enjoyed each sample entree.  The highlight for Angie was the chocolate baklava - pure sweet goodness.  For more about Hellas history go to: http://hellasbakery.com/company-info/hellas-restaurant-and-bakery-tarpon-springs-florida  

Hellas Restaurant and Bakery

chocolate baklava - heaven on a plate

  After dinner Dan found a new friend from Hawaii at one of the tourist shops.  

Dan with his hula girlfriend

  Given the time of year, the sponge docks in Tarpon Springs were decorated for the Christmas season.  We continue to find it fascinating that the palm trees are decorated, given our mid-western upbringing. 

Christmas tree on the docks

decorated palm trees

  After leaving Tarpon Springs, we decided to go take a walk on the beach.  We found Sunset Beach, and, although the sun wasn't setting, the beach was beautiful.  We look forward to seeing many different beaches on this trip.  

Dan on Sunset beach

Sunset beach

  We made it back to the marina just in time to see a beautiful sunset from the Causeway Blvd beach.  This is a very small beach, but, it is only a short walk from the marina.   

sunset from Causeway Blvd beach