Rich and I are Dings (single people who never had children) who love to travel. We both love Florida and while we visit Rich’s family while there, we always enjoy visiting Tarpon Springs and the beaches in the Clearwater area. There are many great shops and excursions. While in Tarpon Springs getting cigars for Rich’s co-workers, we took a trolley for only $1.00 each. I never realized Tarpon Springs has a historical district and huge mansions. It also has an antique district.
Shops in Tarpon Springs
Trolley in Tarpon Springs
Tarpon Springs is known as the sponge capital of the world. It is the largest Greek Orthodox community in the United States. Always fascinated about other cultures, I find the Madi (I hope I spelled that correctly-I do not think it would be in spell-check) Eye fascinating. The Madi Eye is their healing charm. It would be similar to a cross for those of us who were raised Christian. I have an hour glass shape and find that Greek made clothing fits me perfectly. Maybe if there is such a thing as past lives, I was Greek in a past life. We saw many interesting things on the trolley. It was the best $1.00 one could spend. Each January 6th, there is an annual Epiphany Celebration, where people dive after a cross.
Another great place is Mama’s Restaurant. Mama’s, as the locals call it, has fine dining and belly dancing some evenings. The locals say it is one of the best restaurants in Tarpon Springs.
Mama
We also visited Sand Key Park and spent an hour on the beach. Sand Key Beach is on the Gulf side and is great, a little farther than Clearwater, but well worth it because it is not as crowded and the time it talks to drive there would be spent looking for a parking spot. Rich and I are beachcombers. We love to walk the beach and pick up shells and different varieties of seaweed. Who would know seaweed was actually colorful and beautiful. The shells are also sparkly and beautiful. Something is special and spiritual about walking on the beach with sand oozing through your toes and the smell of the sea. Actually, it is not the sea that smells, but the seaweed. We never stay more than an hour or two, as that is long enough to give one a little color without burning excessively. The water was warm, the breeze nice. It is interesting to note that there were Ospreys (birds) on top of the light fixtures on the Causeway. Ospreys are predators and sit high atop light fixtures and look for food. It is totally amazing that they could spot something to eat from such a high vantage.
Sand Key Beach
We left around 3 pm. Going down Highway 589 was great. Highway 589 is a toll road. They have something called a Sun Pass, which I suspect is cheaper than paying each individual toll, even for a visitor. However, coming back on highway 589, we ran into rush hour traffic and it took us longer than we planned to get back to Port Richey, which is where Rich’s family lives. I suspect we will not travel highway 589 during rush hour anymore. We then dined at the Inn on the Gulf in Hudson. They are well known for their fish and chips.
Did I mention we were able to get great airfares at Seize The Moment Travel, a Travelocity partner? Travelocity has discount fares. It is nice to know we can travel at reasonable rates.
