Tarpon Springs Area

Sponge Boats
Sponge Diver Statue

Flamenco Dancers

Why are these guys smiling?

Rosemary, Pete, Jim & Nanc
Lee & Mary
Pinellas Trail
Howard Park Beach 2/17/08

We are near Tarpon Springs and still enjoying the Florida weather. While we have itchy feet and want to get travelling again, we are going to wait until the first of the month so we will, hopefully, have warmer temps as we head west along the gulf coast. Tarpon Springs is a community known for its Greek culture and the sponge trade. It has many Greek restaurants and shops selling more kinds of sponges then I knew existed. Rosemary, who worked with Nanc, and her husband Pete, who is Greek, are vacationing in the area. They joined us and shared their knowledge of the culture and the area restaurants for a couple of different dining and entertainment experiences. We listened to Greek music and enjoyed watching a belly dancer in Tarpon Springs. We also went to the Columbia, Florida's oldest restaurant (1905), in Ybor City near Tampa, to dine and watch flamenco dancers. We visited and had dinner with Lee Dunn and his friend, Mary, who live nearby. We always say we meet new people everyday but it is great seeing old friends. We went to the beach at Howard Park which is accessible by a causeway and is on a small island in the gulf. We also rode on a great paved rails to trails bike path that goes from Tarpon Springs to St. Petersburg.