Dunedin

Thanksgiving dinner with new-found Tarpon Springs friends, the day before we left for Dunedin.  The creative minds of these various artists even spilled over into their cooking.....Deeeelicious!

 

 

 

 

We have lots of pelicans back home, but we've never seen them roost in bushes!

 

 

 

 

The first of many, many bridges that will open up on our journey down the west coast of Florida.

 

 

 

 

As the First Mate says, "We are now in the land of TALL palm trees."

 

 

 

 

The Harbor Master at Dunedin has a terrific view from his office window.

 (Not us; the boats & water, silly!)

 

 

 

 

 

The old railway station in Dunedin is right alongside the Pinellas Trail.

 

 

 

 

 

Linda's "new" best friend.  Wanna guess who's holding the ice cream cone???

 

 

 

 

Wishful thinking!

 

 

 

 

 

These guys hang out around Spiritus.

 

 

They are very people-friendly......

 

 

.....and don't seem to mind having their picture taken.

 

 

 

 

One of the town squares hosts a Farmer's Market every Friday & Saturday in Dunedin.

 

 

 

 

I guess you have to take your business to where the people are.  Today, they're at the Farmer's Market.

 

 

 

 

We enjoyed the live music while shopping in the market.

 

 

 

 

Spanish moss is plentiful along the Pinellas Trail.

 

 

 

 

 

This part of Florida is the winter home of many Major League Baseball teams.

 

Dunedin hosts the Toronto Blue Jays.

 

 

 

 

 

The Jolly Trolley can take you to many fun places in Pinellas county..........

 

..........like the beach!

 

 

 

 

I think that's a Shark kite!

 

 

 

 

Is that who I think it is?  Bet she thinks it's a dolphin!

 

 

 

 

A stroll on Treasure Island at sunset with my sweetie.

 

 

 

 

Treasure Island is the sandcastle capital of the world.  We were fortunate to see the winning sculptures in this year's competition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another fabulous sunset on the Gulf.......

 

 

 

 

.....accented by a full moon rising over Spiritus.

 

 

 



Tarpon Springs

Tarpon Springs, founded in 1887, is the "Sponge Capital of the World".  Greek immigrants continue their traditional trade of sponge diving.  Take a walk down one of the side streets and you will hear locals speaking in their native languages, adding to the feeling that you have been magically transported to the Mediterranean.

 

 

 

 

Fellow Loopers from "Tide & Time", "Blue Angel", and "Northstar" gather with us in Tarpon Springs the day after we all crossed the Gulf of Mexico.

 

 

 

 

 Captains Eddy & Gary relive their "hair-raising" Gulf crossing experience!  Poor Gary got so sea-sick he was literally incapacitated.  His wife, Christelle, took the helm and basically made the crossing alone!

Enjoying a wonderful Greek meal with Gary & Christelle at Mykonos restaurant.

 

 

 

 

 PIRATES!!  They apparently hang out in souvenir shops these days.

Our marina was surrounded by crab boats and several crabbing businesses.

Separation tanks, where crabs are sized and cleaned.

New crab traps, made of wood and PVC pipe, being put together.  The bottoms are filled with about 1 inch of concrete in order to sink them to the bottom of the Gulf and lay flat.  We started seeing traps in water as deep as 36 feet when we crossed.

 

 

 

 

This group of pelicans were waiting behind a local fish market for the "scraps" of fish that were tossed out.  No sense in doing all that flying around and hunting!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 Sponge diving originally put Tarpon Springs on the map.

 

 

 

 

 

This boat owner is probably a former school teacher, don't you think?

 

 

 

 

Our friend, Ruth, lives in Tarpon Springs.  Linda & Ruth were sailing instructors for the Wet Hens when we lived in Hawaii.

 

 

 

 

Nope, it's not Hawaii.....just a beautiful view from Sunset Park in Tarpon Springs!

 

 

 

 

 

 Pinellas county has a wonderful bike/walking trail that is built on a former railroad bed.  It stretches for 35 miles, from Tarpon Springs to St. Petersburg.  We spent two days, one walking and the other biking, along this scenic trail.

 

 

 

 

 

Captain Eddy takes "time out" for a chocolate treat after all that walking & biking!

 

 

 

 

 A lovely Tarpon fountain in..........guess where!?!

 The Captain cooks up some shrimp pesto pasta for the ladies after their long walk to Anclote River Nature Park.

Outside of Ruth's lovely little home prior to starting our bike adventure.




 

 "The Tower" overlooking Wall Springs and the Gulf of Mexico.

A little yoga atop The Tower.

 

 

 

 

 

Wishing everyone a "Happy" Thanksgiving!!  (Yes, those are sponges)