We finally made it to Tarpon Springs, FL!!!! We had originally made slip reservations back in September 2017 for a month from the middle of December to the middle of January. This was to be our base to jump off from for Christmas with family, celebrating the New Year and revisiting where we had spent the first few years of our marriage (Dec '79 thru Mar '84). We did do all those things but not in the order as intended given the weather delays in crossing the Gulf. Christmas was a car trip and we rang in the 2018 new year in Port St. Joe but we did make it to Tarpon Springs January 20th for a wonderful 3 week stay. This portion of the cruise was mainly all about family, friends and memories.
After sleeping till our hearts content after our over night gulf crossing, we set about planning our stay. The priority for me was seeing my mom and dad. So with a car rental and map in hand I headed to Clermont, FL for a 4 day visit with my parents. Just can't get enough time with them. Ken and Roofus stayed on board as the morning we were to leave, we had no power on-board due to an electrical issue at the marina, that had the fire department paying us a visit the night before. All ended well but until hours after I left.
Once back in Tarpon Springs, we walked the sponge docks, ate Greek cuisine at every opportunity and I even had my fair share of Ozo, yum-yum.
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| Hella's Bakery, Tarpon Springs - Goodies for breakfast, of course!!! |
We next headed north to explore Port Richey, to check out what changed and what had not, since we left 33 years ago. A little bit of background.... Ken and I met in Charlotte, NC while working for Belks as auditors and married a year and a half later in November 1979. Ken had been offered the Operations Manager position of a new Belk store opening in Port Richey, FL. Three weeks after we were married, we arrived in town and our new life. We met and enjoyed the company of many wonderful friends, built our first home together, bought our first boat, got scuba certified, traveled every chance we got, I got my CPA, Ken and team successfully opened and managed the store and before we left had our first child, Stephanie. The first thing we did was find out what had happened to the store which we heard had closed several years ago. The trip up US-19 was our first surprise. It is now 6 lanes and quite congested. Definitely more stop lights and businesses. We found Gulf View Square Mall and the surrounding area, a shopping mecca. Great to see that it is still successful and thriving but in place of the Belk store which was the front anchor is now shared by Best Buy and TJ Maxx. Just too weird. Our next stop was to find our house which was just north of the Port Richey in Hudson. Again the roads have been expanded to 6 lanes with new neighborhoods and businesses. The only place I recognized with St. Michael Catholic Church which is where Stephanie was baptized. Once we found our neighborhood we discovered the we couldn't remember how to get to the house. You would think after almost 4 years of living there we would have driven right to it. Not so much....but we did recognize our house immediately even with the change in paint color. Ken's beautifully maintained yard and all my garden flowers are gone so it was a bit sad but still evoked great memories of good times we had there. Next we headed to the hospital that Stephanie was born in and into town to find where we docked up Tree Frog, our first boat, behind a friend's home. All in all, a great day down memory lane.
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| Our house in Hudson, FL |
We then headed south to Clearwater for another trip down memory lane, only this time, it was one from my childhood, The Kapok Tree Restaurant. Both sets of my grandparents lived in Bradenton and actually in the same neighborhood. I remember visits and overnights at both of their homes. One of my Grandma Felici's favorite restaurants was the Kapok Tree. 'Only In Your State.com' put it better than I can. "...one of the most impressive restaurants that ever existed. Greek and Roman-style statues, cascading waterfalls, magnificent fountains and exotic plants filled the 12 dining rooms and expansive gardens." It was a dress up affair for us and I remember so vividly the glass ceilings, flowering plants everywhere, the sound of water flowing all around, the chatter of diners and how happy Grandma was. Well the glass ceilings are covered up, all the indoor plants are gone and it is now very quiet as all the dining rooms now house a huge music store and school but the gardens are still pretty though not all the fountains are running. I still thought of my grandma with happy and warm memories.
The kapok tree is still growing (below upper left) but the glasses ceilings of the main dining area have now been covered (below lower left). This beautiful chandelier (below right) remains but the dining room has been turned into a room for drums.
In the days that followed we met up and renewed relationships with friends and family. Below are co-workers from Belks. Marian was the women's buyer (below left, in the center) and Ronnie was the children's buyer (below right, second from the left). The years melted away as we talked about our times and adventures together.
On January 31st, Ken and I celebrated 9 months into our loop adventure by eating at our favorite restaurant, Berns Steakhouse in Tampa. Best steaks ever. And we topped it off with having dessert in Harry Waugh's Dessert Room. The pineapple cake was decadent and it was fun to get dressed up.
The next day we launched the dinghy and checked out our water surroundings. Saw pelicans everywhere as well as mangroves but no manatees, even though this is one of their winter retreats.
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| Tarpon Springs, FL - Mangrove. Love the root system. |
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| Tarpon Springs - These pelicans are resting in the mangroves waiting for the fisherman to come back with dinner. |
One of the highlights for me was a visit to the Chihuly Collection in St. Petersburg. I had seen Dale Chihuly's glass works one time before at Chrysler Museum in Norfolk but this museum was built specifically to for his art. I was in awe. We also went to the Dali Museum but my favorite was Chihuly.
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Chihully - Seaform in white. Ken's favorite.
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| Chihuly - Sunset Persian Wall. My Favorite. |
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| Chihuly - Ruby Red Icicle Chandelier. Red inside glass so notice clear glass tips. |
These 3 are all from the same Chihuly piece of art known at the Mille Fiori (Thousand Flowers). A garden with explosions of color representing nature and places Chihuly had visited over the years. It's a huge display and every time I walked around it I noticed something new and beautiful.
We were fortunate enough to catch up with Steve and Jen Farber. Steve was in our wedding and Ken was best man in Steve and Jen's wedding. Steve also worked with us at Belks on the audit team. We had them on Independence for a visit then spent the evening at their home for a Super Bowl party. The food was awesome, we caught up on life and had a great time, even if the Patriots lost. :( But I will say that if we had to lose to someone, I'm ok with the Eagles winning, since it was their first ever championship. I hated to say good-bye to Steve and Jen but they are retiring soon, and we all promised to vacation together in the future.
We also caught up with my cousin Brenda and her family. It turned out that they live just down the road from Tarpon Springs in Palm Harbor, a quick 10 minute ride. We were able to see a lot of each other, which was great. Time to catch up, relax, laugh and make new memories. We spent a day out cruising the gulf coast, catching rays, watching dolphins and a bit of wine. :)
Clockwise, first pic, top left, my cousin Brenda and her girlfriend Melanie. Then top right, Jeff, Brenda's husband and Ken. Third pic, bottom right, me and Ken. Fourth pic, bottom left, my Aunt Teresa, who's 90 years old, what a trooper, and Brenda and Jeff's son, Carson.
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| Our dolphin, who followed us long enough for everyone to enjoy. |
The night before we left we had a cookout at Brenda and Jeff's house. Aunt Teresa talked about our family tree. I got a chance to get some family pics I did not have and more family back ground. My girls are working on the family tree and these will be great additions.
Below, Brenda and I spent our time while dinner was cooking to enjoy a fabulous Abstract wine and made a new memory. I noticed her shirt had a bee on it with 'outch' written under it. I asked what the 'outch' was and she put it together for me. It's "bee-outch". Loved it and I want one too.
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| Love my cuz! |
We left the next day and headed south. As it turned out, I got to see Brenda and Aunt Teresa again. Carson joined us in Sarasota for a few days and we met up again Cape Coral. More of those adventures in the next posting.
PS from Roofus:
I enjoyed Tarpon Springs as my humans let Independence become a floating condo. I met lots of new humans but especially liked Aunt Teresa. She sat still long enough for me to snuggle her and I got lots of petting. I did have one adventure that ended up in the ER. I got a new toy from Grandma Ockuly that when set up had a treat in it. I got to push it around and once the timer went off, I got the treat. Well, over enthusiastic me couldn't wait for the timer to go off and got my lower jaw a bit stuck in one of the holes. My humans couldn't get me out so we headed for puppy ER and about an hour later, I was free of my new toy. But unfortunately, my toy didn't survive the operation, as the vet had to cut it off. :( Worst part is I never got the treat. They left it in the dead body of my toy. Darn. I am doing great but I did hear my humans say that I won't be getting a new one. Double darn!
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