Soaking Up Family Time

Feb. 4 – 9, 2023

Our stay in Clearwater, FL was brief, but delightful!  Doug and Rowena (Dick’s brother and sister-in-law) have a condo there, making it possible to spend some quality time with them while we are in the “Sunshine State”!  Not only did we soak up family time and sunshine, but we visited the “Sponge Capital of the World” – Tarpon Springs!  

Our campsite was at Clearwater/Tarpon Lake KOA, located in Palm Harbor, which is only ten miles from Doug and Rowena’s beautiful condo.  Although it was only ten miles, heavy traffic in the Tampa area makes even short trips a little longer than what one might anticipate!

Not only do Doug and Rowena live in Clearwater, their son (Justin) his wife (Kalena) and children (Charlie and Sam) live nearby too!  In fact, the day we arrived, we went out for dinner with Doug and Rowena and, following dinner, we went to Justin and Kalena’s home where we had time to play with Charlie and Sam, as well as their puppy, Ollie!  So much fun!

Sunday morning, we went to Mass at St. Ignatius of Antioch, which is an amazing church!  The sense of community there is so very vibrant.  It wouldn’t take long attending this church before this place became family as well!  

Sunday afternoon, Doug and Rowena came to check out our home-on-wheels and joined us for a light dinner.  The time with family, along with the beautiful weather, made for such a nice afternoon!

On another afternoon, we stopped by Wall Springs Park.  In the 1920’s, this Palm Harbor landmark was a popular place to bathe and rejuvenate in the natural springs.  It quickly became a vacation destination for people traveling from all over, bringing economic growth to the area.  All this crazy traffic started way back then!

Note what is remaining of the historic spa in the background!

Tuesday, I got a lesson on sponges!  If you own a natural sponge, have no guilt!  In the harvesting of this natural resource, no sponges are harmed!  Tarpon Springs was settled by traditional sponge divers from Greece. For harvesting, divers walk along the bottom of the ocean, cutting the sponges, which are able to regenerate.  Tarpon Springs continues to have a large Greek population today, with many stores selling sponges.  There are also delicious restaurants scattered up and down the street.  

Walking along the waterfront, we saw a boat with harvested sponges strung on lines to dry before making their way to the stores' shelves.  It was especially cool to peek over the shoulder of an artist who had set up his easel and was using his gift to capture the scene!   

The landmark restaurant in the area is Hellas Restaurant & Bakery, which was where Doug suggested we have dinner!  Of course, it’s Greek and, although I enjoyed their salmon, I missed the boat when I didn’t order their gyro.  Fortunately, Dick did, so I at least got to have a taste of it!  Next time, I’ll order my very own!  Their bakery is another not-to-miss spot.  We actually circled back to the bakery before we left the area and took a few of their sweets “home” with us!  Honestly, I’ve never met a baklava I haven’t liked, and this one was no exception!

About a mile from Tarpon Springs sponge docks is Tarpon Springs Bayou.  If you are there at high tide, there is a high probability you will be able to see manatee swimming, feeding and playing in the bayou.  It made for a nice walk after a filling dinner!  Watching the manatee surface with only their little nostrils above the water’s surface was surprisingly entertaining!  Occasionally, you could hear the spray of water before they took a deep breath and dipped below the water’s surface once again.  Even more entertaining was when one would arch its back and expose its fluke as it took a nose-first dive to the bottom of the bayou!  We met a gal who was in the area visiting her mother.  She brings a book and hangs out there every day watching the manatee interact with each other!  I can certainly understand why!  

On our walk to the bayou, we saw a giant osprey nest and a pair of ospreys perched in it.  At one point, one of them took wing, but quickly returned to the nest.  So many fascinating creatures to view around here!

Dunedin is a cute town in the area where we also spent a little time!  The Dunedin Brewery was established in 1992 and is the oldest microbrewery in Florida!  They offer a nice bar menu as well as really good beer.  I had a half size of their Cobb salad and it was more than enough for me!  Besides, I had noticed a couple of ice cream shops in town and needed to leave some room for a scoop of coffee and chocolate chunk delight!  

We left Palm Harbor without getting out to Honeymoon Island State Park, or getting to any of the sandy beaches in the area but, as always, it’s good to leave a few things for our next trip here!

Up Next:  Wildwood, FL